Totally agree and think this kind of thinking needs to be shared - and put into action - much more widely. These seem like really pragmatic, doable steps - not easy, but very implementable.
Thanks, I appreciate that! And yes, as you point out, the shift in thinking that I call for is large, but the actions themselves are small and manageable. But once we start in that direction, small victories will build momentum that will lead to bigger things.
From a thinker that has influenced me greatly, Erik Olin Wright: “An alternative metaphor is that a social system is more like an ecosystem. Think of society like a pond. A pond contains many species of fish, insects, and plants. Sometimes an alien species is introduced to an ecosystem and it thrives; sometimes it does not. Some ecosystems are quite fragile and easily dis-rupted; others can tolerate quite significant intrusions of invasive species without being seriously affected. If you think of society as an ecosystem, it still is the case that everything is interdependent, but interactions do not constitute a tightly functionalized totality.
This opens up a different way of imagining alternatives. One way to transform an ecosystem is to introduce an alien species that ini-tally finds a niche and then gradually displaces certain other species. The idea of real utopias as a way of transforming a society is more in line with the ecosystem view of society than with the organismic view.”
Mm yeah I like this style of thinking, I'll have to check Erik Olin Wright's work out. It's a rich metaphor for understanding human systems isn't it? It reminds me a little of Ilya Prigogine's idea of islands of coherence being able to attract disproportionate movement towards them when complex systems are going through unstable phase change like periods. It's like we're entering another phase for permaculture / regenerative agriculture where the concept itself is established but there needs to be some people out there pointing the way towards these ways of being, acting, relating. Otherwise, as you say, it remains confined to people's backyards and tiny private food farms...
Terrific article amd impresses by your work. Would love to discuss common interests, get help on strategy. EcoRestoration Alliance, and get your homestead on https://BigMapToSaveTheFuture.net
Totally agree and think this kind of thinking needs to be shared - and put into action - much more widely. These seem like really pragmatic, doable steps - not easy, but very implementable.
Thanks, I appreciate that! And yes, as you point out, the shift in thinking that I call for is large, but the actions themselves are small and manageable. But once we start in that direction, small victories will build momentum that will lead to bigger things.
Absolutely! Which feels in line with how living systems grow anyway...
From a thinker that has influenced me greatly, Erik Olin Wright: “An alternative metaphor is that a social system is more like an ecosystem. Think of society like a pond. A pond contains many species of fish, insects, and plants. Sometimes an alien species is introduced to an ecosystem and it thrives; sometimes it does not. Some ecosystems are quite fragile and easily dis-rupted; others can tolerate quite significant intrusions of invasive species without being seriously affected. If you think of society as an ecosystem, it still is the case that everything is interdependent, but interactions do not constitute a tightly functionalized totality.
This opens up a different way of imagining alternatives. One way to transform an ecosystem is to introduce an alien species that ini-tally finds a niche and then gradually displaces certain other species. The idea of real utopias as a way of transforming a society is more in line with the ecosystem view of society than with the organismic view.”
Mm yeah I like this style of thinking, I'll have to check Erik Olin Wright's work out. It's a rich metaphor for understanding human systems isn't it? It reminds me a little of Ilya Prigogine's idea of islands of coherence being able to attract disproportionate movement towards them when complex systems are going through unstable phase change like periods. It's like we're entering another phase for permaculture / regenerative agriculture where the concept itself is established but there needs to be some people out there pointing the way towards these ways of being, acting, relating. Otherwise, as you say, it remains confined to people's backyards and tiny private food farms...
5 stars for fresh thinking!
Thank you!
Terrific article amd impresses by your work. Would love to discuss common interests, get help on strategy. EcoRestoration Alliance, and get your homestead on https://BigMapToSaveTheFuture.net
Thanks so much, I’ll check it out!
Some great calls to action in this article. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading!