Such a hyperindividualistic and lonely scenario. Probably inevitable that many of us EAs would have this vision, given how hyperindividualistic our capitalist industrialist Anglo-centric culture is.
Why is it that when tribalism memes combine with whiteness, the scenarios always look like either Mad Max or saltine Dreadlock American Gothic? (Don’t answer that, I know why. It’s a rhetorical question.)
PS. Some folks asked what makes it individualistic. And what makes it lonely.
What makes it individualistic is that it ignores the fact that so many cultures worldwide are already living a tribal indigenous sustainable lifestyle.
We don’t have to reinvent it. We just have to stop destroying it, and take a page from their book. We can look all over the Asian continent and African continent, and Mexico, South America, indigenous Australia, the South Sea Islands, the Caribbean etc.
BTW in recent months I seem to have a wealth of reels from Indonesia and the Philippines popping up in my feed. Just one example of why we don’t need to reinvent.
So many traditional cultures all over the world have ALREADY got sustainable Village life down pat. They are close to nature AND they have deep community.
We don’t need to make a Eurocentric reinvention of this, and shouldn’t!
it won’t work as well because we’re not socialized to create community. We can see the fruits of our mis-socialization all around us, it’s not our fault individually, I’m not blaming anyone – I’m just reporting societal reality.
Permaculture design principles & ethics are rooted in observation of nature, and of indigenous ways. And then adding any beneficial pieces of modernity / industrialization, of which there are some! Witness the solar oven, passive solar water heating, etc. And modern tweaks to optimize rainwater harvesting, greywater systems, humanure composting, composting in general. Not everything modern is bad, and these Mad Max type names or romanticizing tribalism tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Within this category we need to stop romanticizing hunter-gatherer society in some weird bleached form. Instead look at peoples who are actually living this way successfully for thousands of years. Such as the Masaai.
Also animal-herding tribes such as found in Mongolia and elsewhere in central Asia.
Their ways are rapidly being crushed by creeping colonialism, and we need to just do the work of getting out of the way and allowing them to exist. As opposed to reinventing our own weird take which will not work.
Indigenous cultures alive and well today are who we should look to for the blueprints of how to manage resources and create real community. Including tribal governance etc.
#decolonize #DecenterAnglocentrism
PS. If you’re curious about the various flavors of toxic white tribal / hunter-gatherer / cottagecore type memes, check out “Anastasia Ringing Cedars”, as well as this quote from Tyler Durden which prompted my rantish post.
BTW I learned something new today. Tyler Durden is the name of the character in the popular Hollywood movie Fight Club (1999). I saw this movie but it was years ago, and I don’t have a very detailed memory for movies, and I don’t remember this quote, but here it is:
“In the world I see – you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You’ll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You’ll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you’ll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.”
Honestly I can’t even tell if that’s meant to be utopia or apocalyptic. But I hear a lot of people quoting this kind of stuff as an example of some sort of weird future paradise. “Sounds about white,” as some of my favorite antiracism teachers say!
We, humanity as a whole, have unprecedented access to information including skill sharing. We are a living library and laboratory of best practices from all times and places. All throughout history, and extending all across the globe in present day as well. Multiple axes — temporal and locational.
Let’s use this wealth to make a society(ies) that’s nurturing to all creation! BTW if you want inspiration, you can also look up “solarpunk” and read some stories and see some beautiful art.