Enjoyed Reinventing Collapse despite its sobering subject matter. I know Catherine Austin-Fitts has suggested bring back small farms (tons of them) and farming as a way to put people back to work quickly in lieu of a productive capacity which the USA doesn't have. This would be tough though considering BigAgribusiness holds the reins on farming.
I see that you mentioned the collapse of our educational system in your slides. I just wrote a post, "Homeschooling As An Exit Strategy," that describes how many Black American families are pulling their kids out of a predatory public school system.
I have also been thinking about some of your comments on the American drug war. I see a benefit in legalization of certain drugs in that it removes a reason for the existence of the police state. Yet a potential disadvantage of legalization is that wealthy interests in the U.S. may then try to use drugs to subjugate poor and minority populations in much the same way that the British used opium to subjugate China for many years. Any thoughts?
I am not in favor of legalization per se, because the result will be a land grab by the authorities, who will want a cut of the profits from drug use. Pot is cheaper than beer, and more affordable for low-income people, precisely because it illegal. However, I am not in favor of drug enforcement, because all it does is create a climate of violence. I am optimistic that the drug enforcement system will be starved of resources along with the rest of the completely useless and harmful parts of the US government (such as most of the defense and intelligence establishment). The important thing is to make sure it gets prioritized low enough: below food, shelter, health and security needs of the population (which includes low-income people, but also now including much of the former middle class).
I've been thinking about higher ed. lately, and would be interested in your take on the following ideas in the context of what you expect for the U.S.
When I consider the mission of higher education and the needs of young adults in years to come, an alternative higher education model emerges, one significantly different from the one we replicate widely now. The college experience at some institutions could become an exercise in creating a self-sustaining, self-supporting community blending necessary work, apprenticeships, community and studies. It could be tailored to answer needs of young adults - meaningful work, means to survive, skilling for the future, living in community, pursuing higher learning, and mapping constructive approaches to a future very different from the world they have known (not only conceptually but in practice). It seems imperative that we create institutions and strategies that nurture societal transformation and address current needs all at once. This college model would do both and would be a viable option when higher education implodes given economic collapse or a long descent and when students can no longer see the sense in spending four years racking up educational debt that might be difficult or impossible to repay.
I like this. I'm a big James Howard Kunstler fan, but he doesn't talk in much detail about changes we need to make to shape a new future. We like to whine about how much things stink and how we're headed for doom, but not enough of us get on with the hard work of making things better.
7 comments:
I wish the CAP logo didn't obscure part of the last couple lines of each slide...
Enjoyed Reinventing Collapse despite its sobering subject matter. I know Catherine Austin-Fitts has suggested bring back small farms (tons of them) and farming as a way to put people back to work quickly in lieu of a productive capacity which the USA doesn't have. This would be tough though considering BigAgribusiness holds the reins on farming.
I'm sorry I couldn't attend the speech, although I was in Boston at a time. However, the slide show is informative enough.
I see that you mentioned the collapse of our educational system in your slides. I just wrote a post, "Homeschooling As An Exit Strategy," that describes how many Black American families are pulling their kids out of a predatory public school system.
I have also been thinking about some of your comments on the American drug war. I see a benefit in legalization of certain drugs in that it removes a reason for the existence of the police state. Yet a potential disadvantage of legalization is that wealthy interests in the U.S. may then try to use drugs to subjugate poor and minority populations in much the same way that the British used opium to subjugate China for many years. Any thoughts?
TH -
I am not in favor of legalization per se, because the result will be a land grab by the authorities, who will want a cut of the profits from drug use. Pot is cheaper than beer, and more affordable for low-income people, precisely because it illegal. However, I am not in favor of drug enforcement, because all it does is create a climate of violence. I am optimistic that the drug enforcement system will be starved of resources along with the rest of the completely useless and harmful parts of the US government (such as most of the defense and intelligence establishment). The important thing is to make sure it gets prioritized low enough: below food, shelter, health and security needs of the population (which includes low-income people, but also now including much of the former middle class).
I've been thinking about higher ed. lately, and would be interested in your take on the following ideas in the context of what you expect for the U.S.
When I consider the mission of higher education and the needs of young adults in years to come, an alternative higher education model emerges, one significantly different from the one we replicate widely now. The college experience at some institutions could become an exercise in creating a self-sustaining, self-supporting community blending necessary work, apprenticeships, community and studies. It could be tailored to answer needs of young adults - meaningful work, means to survive, skilling for the future, living in community, pursuing higher learning, and mapping constructive approaches to a future very different from the world they have known (not only conceptually but in practice). It seems imperative that we create institutions and strategies that nurture societal transformation and address current needs all at once. This college model would do both and would be a viable option when higher education implodes given economic collapse or a long descent and when students can no longer see the sense in spending four years racking up educational debt that might be difficult or impossible to repay.
I like this. I'm a big James Howard Kunstler fan, but he doesn't talk in much detail about changes we need to make to shape a new future. We like to whine about how much things stink and how we're headed for doom, but not enough of us get on with the hard work of making things better.
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