“Economic Power is always tied to Political Power. And what is happening is that we want political power, but we put ourselves into economically powerless situations and wonder why we aren’t more empowered.”
-Ashley Sanders
The relationship between our economic system and the unraveling of our social and ecological systems is becoming more and more recognized. With this awareness, people like Russell Evans at The Transition Lab are getting creative about finding new ways to be in relationship with each other, the work that needs to be done, and the work that we are called to do.
“Yet missing from this conversation are ideas that are both practical and radical. Ideas which could serve as a blueprint for what a fundamentally different lifestyle would look like. Just as changing lightbulbs won’t be enough, we also know that occupying Wall Street is not a practical choice for most Americans. So what we need are ideas which are radical enough to cause widespread change, yet practical enough, that folks living in the suburbs could put them into practice.
I appreciate the emphasis on finding ways to make widespread systemic change accessible to the masses. This is one of the most daunting tasks and because of that, I find that many organizations, campaigns, and education programs concentrate too heavily on individual actions.
If we agree that an economy based on unlimited resource extraction is destroying the planet, and that our consumeristic lifestyle is the thing that keeps this economy in motion, then debt is the biggest and most powerful force that guarantees our continued participation.
I also appreciate that the author (Evans) is in debt and is advocating for ways to be relate to that debt differently. This is more realistic and practical, unfortunately, than if he were describing how he had avoided debt altogether. Debt is such an ingrained part of our system.
I think that the biggest problem with our world is that we do not live in relationship with most things in our lives. We are not really connected to where our food comes from, where our phones are made, or where our gas is drilled. This often makes the ecocide all around us distant enough that we are able to keep on going about our lives without much thought to the consequences of our actions. Conversely, when we start growing our own food, hosting skilled residents, and working with community, we make fundamentally different choices that consider the well-being of one another and not just our pocket books.
Relationship to my research:
The education system that I envision addresses our economic system on multiple levels. It would critically analyze the current system and it’s consequences on people and planet. Students would be introduced to and encouraged to imagine alternative ways for getting needs met and re-building relationship between people and “things”. Finally, opportunities would be created so that students can get experience and skills for building a new economy.
There is also a strong emphasis on community in this article and in Evan’s work. My ideal high school would both be a community environment in itself, but it would strengthen ties between the school and the wider community through project based work, service learning, and intergenerational mentoring.
