August 5, 2005
Community is Necessary to Survival
Synopsis: It is our belief that individuals are unlikely to survive environmental destruction or the end of the oil-based world we live in. Even if individuals survive, society will not. Our submission focuses around community - building it from the base of existing associations, development of necessary skills, and what governments could do to assist in the process of preparation, transformation, and the building and strengthening of communities.
There are innumerable threats that are imminent today, from environmental devastation and climate chaos to war and other attack. At Uncommon Thought Journal, we believe that survival is rooted in community. Individuals are unlikely to survive and thrive without a strong community infrastructure. In discussing our thoughts for facing the coming dual crisis of oil depletion and climate collapse we constantly circled back to the importance of community in our efforts to address the challenges of the future.
Community, as we envision it, is not twenty folks buying land and setting up to survive, but ordinary folks living in the social environment that exists across much of the world. In the U.S., and other highly technologized societies, we have lost many basic skills and the knowledge of how to live without the constant assistance of that technology. We are not only dependent on oil, but bound by a technological specialization that makes much of the workings of our daily lives invisible. Our dependence has also physically reduced our ability to survive without the support of that technology. We see three primary areas to address the coming changes: building community, gaining knowledge, and building skills. These three areas are interdependent. They interweave with each other. We are basing our discussion on industrial societies in general, and the U.S. in particular.
The focus of capitalistic industrial society is based upon the idea of competition rather than cooperation. The United States, in particular, has become atomized to the point that even family has become almost non-sustainable. This atomization creates a highly consumptive and competitive society, but it also underlies many social problems, from poverty to crime and mental illness. It is therefore not surprising that one of the most frequent longings expressed in the U.S. is the need for "community." It is a refrain that is only superceded by the call for family and "family values." But there is a lack of concreteness in either of those longings. The expression is of something that is felt to be missing, but for which most have no model or experience. The ability to concretely approach "community" is further complicated by the simple contradiction that social organization and ideology runs directly counter to its very existence.
Given the foreignness of the concept of community, and the lack of access to a nucleus from which to build, the challenge of preparing for coming catastrophe must start here, based from the atrophied and restructured possibilities of community that currently exist. The basis for community building may come from things such as neighborhood associations, neighborhood watch programs, "safe house" programs, community gardens, and existing friend and family networks.
Two problems are inherent in all of the neighborhood and community programs that exist in the U.S. First, very few people are currently participating, or even have access to any sort of community program. Second, they are largely based on individuals focused on themselves rather than the community. Community gardens are an excellent example of this. Most community gardens are public spaces in which individuals have a garden spot. They are (usually) not about people working together on a garden where the produce will be shared with the other gardeners. The current reality of community gardens can offer an example of how they might be reshaped to build authentic community. The only way to build community is for people to "work" together. Community must move from concept to experience.
An area of community gardens could be set aside as true community space. "Master Gardeners" could offer hands-on lessons in various gardening techniques that would be applied by the gardeners in the "community" space. Everyone participating would work together throughout the project, and the harvest would be divided among the participants. As harvest time approached, other "experts" might offer short hands-on classes in various food storage techniques (canning, drying, etc.) These could be extended, or built upon, for knowledge of nutrition, food preparation, and even recipes.
Community gardens, even true community gardens, are unlikely to meet the basic food needs of the community. Community gardeners could join cooperative networks with communities of farmers. At first, this might consist simply providing food that cannot be reasonably grown in a relatively small urban environment. The incentive for farmers could be a guaranteed market for their produce. However, the project might extend to actually drawing on community labor in actual farm work. The need for more "hands" on farms is likely to become necessary as oil becomes prohibitively expensive, and possibly unavailable. Networking farmers with gardeners expands the concept of community, and builds interlocking community networks.
Knowledge is critical. Currently, there is little knowledge of basic survival skills, and even less knowledge of the scope of the problems that are looming. Two primary existing institutions can be built upon to expand the basic knowledge that people have - alternative media (we’ll use the term "people’s media") and colleges - particularly community colleges.
One of the advantages of the internet is that it has brought growing access to a wide array of news and information sources. Given recent political events in the U.S., there is also increasing skepticism with the corporate media. Many people are searching for reliable news and information sources, and many of them are turning to the internet, print people’s media, and community newspapers for an understanding of the world around them. Supporting and expanding both news and information bases is critical at this time.
There are a variety of models, some of which have been around for a long time, on how media can work. Publications such as Mother Earth News and Mother Jones have been in operation for decades. Internet sources such as ZNet or CommonDreams are relatively new. All of the aforementioned are based on screened submissions. They are seen by growing numbers of people as good sources for an array of information and perspective. An entirely different model that seems to be growing is Indymedia. Indy has formed its own community based news and information reporting as well as allowing open participation from the community. Indymedia presents a truly community-based model, both in terms of information and analysis, and in terms of skill building for the volunteers who keep it running.
Colleges, particularly community colleges, offer tremendous opportunities to expand both knowledge and skill. This is due to the non-credit community courses that most community colleges have as part of their offerings. Community colleges are also more responsive to the needs and interests of their communities. If there is adequate demand for specialized classes, then community colleges are likely to create and offer such courses. Whether they are classes that deal with generalized knowledge such as environmental issues, or specialized classes in first aid or bike repair, these institutions will frequently accommodate either through credit or non-credit options. Many are also willing to work with groups and organizations to meet specific needs and content.
The array of skills necessary for people to thrive in a non-oil economy are many. So much of the infrastructure of our lives is supported by hydrocarbons. While transportation is frequently the first thing that comes to mind, basic products and amenities are also supported by this unsustainable foundation. This hidden dependence combines with technological specialization to leave most people lacking in the skills necessary to survive without the infrastructure. Nor do most people have the essential skills to reproduce (or even repair) the technology on which we depend.
Successful continuation of society will ultimately depend on communities who collaboratively have necessary skills. These include everything from working with manual hand tools, to repairing bicycles and carts. Medical technology and pharmaceuticals will likely become very difficult to attain. This requires basic medical skills, and a broad base of herbal knowledge. Maintaining health will be as, or more, important than dealing with disease or injury.
The post-oil environment will be much more physically demanding than is the current society. Attaining and maintaining optimal health now will greatly enhance survival and success later. The sedentary lifestyle of most of those in the U.S. must change. Walking and biking more will not only strengthen people, it will reduce the amount of petroleum being used for transportation.
We believe that there are a number of skills that will be necessary, but may be overlooked. Skills such as making septic systems, hand construction, making of shakes for shingles, paper making, candle making, glass blowing and blacksmithing may all become highly necessary and desirable skills. In other words, recalling the skills of daily living from the preindustrial society. Other technological skills will also be useful, such as construction of solar, wind, hydro power systems; simple generators, motors, and batteries; basic and advanced understanding of chemicals; conversion of engines to non-petrol based fuels.
When one considers the skills needed, it becomes clear that every individual will not likely have all of them. Once again, cooperative communities become a necessity - not a choice.
Early on, we discussed the idea of communities. Communities can come in many forms and have numerous functions. There will be children in this new world, and their future and safety will lie not in the individual family unit, but in the broader community. Individual families striking out and surviving in the woods may work for a brief period, but it will not work over the long haul. Survivalist mentality is stop gap. We believe that in order for societies to continue, we must move beyond survival and recovery, to sanity and stability. Distance communication becomes a critical issue. We feel that the internet should rank high on the list of priorities. Access may be different and more limited, but it does offer information and communication across distances. Coordination of efforts and interlinking of communities would be greatly facilitated by the internet. Certainly we can survive without it, but it is a valuable tool that could potentially be maintained without a tremendous outlay of resources.
Existing government could assist in this transition, though we have not assumed that it would. Economic resources could greatly assist in the development of community and help to meet future needs. For example, cutting the work week to 30 hours while paying people for 10 hours a week of community work and development would get many people involved in the community. Providing space and training could help many gain necessary skills. Funding neighborhood based programs, and setting up more decentralized communications and planning facilities would put both access and control closer to where people live.
The future we face will be devastating in a number of ways. It does not have to destroy us. Preparation, planning, and community building can all mitigate the coming transition. Ideally, we could work internationally and cooperatively on the coming change. If people were aware and pressed their governments, then positive action at a larger level would be more than helpful. Without it, it is likely that hundreds of millions (if not billions) will die. Those remaining may well strip their local environments in the effort to survive. The remnants of humanity and society could face a short run at a terminal future. The efforts we make now will not totally turn the tide. However, the more we can do now, and the more we can build and move into an alternative organization and economy, the more likely we are to successfully meet the future that will come.
This article was done as a collaborative project by readers of Uncommon Thought Journal as part of a project started by Dale Allen Pfeiffer. He sent out a Call to Action about the peak oil crisis soliciting manuscripts. The result became the basis for the site Surviving Peak Oil
Posted by rowan at August 5, 2005 6:12 AM | [eMail this article!] |