Five arguments and counterarguments about local economy and culture

Five arguments and answers

You'll note that many of these arguments stem from attitudes about "small-town living" that might be considered stereotypical (see argument 1 and argument 2). Not only do these attitudes make assumptions about small-town living; they also demonstrate the major misconceptions that locally-focused life can't happen in urban areas (see argument 3), that rootlessness has positive outcomes in the long run (see argument 4), and that we are stuck with a global economy that is built upon destruction of the environment and bent on destruction of regional differences (see argument 5).

One: Limited opportunities

Answer: These characteristics are largely the result of the destructive effects of the industrial economy. Globalization has been going on for at least 150 years, draining strength and satisfaction, as well as jobs and opportunities, from smaller communities as it continues to draw people into urban centers. It is quite possible to imagine a small-town life that has developed a healthy local economy and culture, creating new opportunities in both work and play.

Two: No privacy, too much gossip

Answer: The freedom and anonymity that people seek in a crowded city come at a steep price: No one is there when you are sick, or when you get old. No one can give you another perspective on your decisions. You are not connected to anyone or anything. This kind of freedom separates people from each other and fragments community. The real result of living out these values is not happiness and independence, but loneliness and isolation .

Gossip and lack of privacy are usually present to some degree in small communities where everyone knows everyone. And many people have had bad experiences with them. However, these negative characteristics have a flip side that is healthy and is part of what binds a cohesive community together. Community caring and support mean other people will know something of what we are doing and offer their suggestions from time to time. They also mean that people are there to care for each other, help each other and share with each other.

It is well to remember that the forces behind the industrial global economy have a vested interest in luring people into cities as industrial and service workers, and one way to do that is to cast small-town life in as bad a light as possible. At least some of the negative impressions we have of small-community life are lies, exaggerations or misconceptions fostered by this effort.

Three: What about cities?

Answer: Not at all. It would be impossible for everyone to move away from cities. In the bioregional vision, large cities can also be locally-based, and can regain a sense of control over their economy, ecology and culture as well as their politics. It seems ideal to have small, close-knit communities, such as neighborhoods, within large urban areas; but the real point is that the people who live in a given region identify with it, support it and contribute to it.

By embracing the rootedness of a local life, we can make our small communities, whether they are small towns or neighborhoods within big cities, into the kinds of places that meet our needs for connection without the intrusiveness that we dislike; for knowing our neighbors without gossip; for mutual support without claustrophobia.

Four: I don't want to be tied down

Answer: Today's dominant globalizing culture promotes "not being tied down" as a major value. This is because the global economy will only be satisfied when the whole world is one culture and there are no more regional differences. Everyone must eat the same foods, use the same products, watch the same television shows. This can only happen when people are no longer rooted in a place with a unique set of circumstances that influence its economy, culture and politics.

It may be difficult us to imagine, indoctrinated as we are in the value of rootlessness, that staying put can be not only a rich experience, but actually a freeing one. Being rooted does not have the immediate sensory stimulation of endless mobility; but it makes possible a deeper experience of connection that is what human existence is really about.

Finally, living in place does not mean no travel! Travel is still a good way to experience other cultures and grow from that knowledge. Less energy-intensive forms of travel in particular--bicycles, trains--are very much in keeping with bioregional values.

I think it is likely, however, when people are truly rooted in their place and appreciate it, that they will be more resistant to the blandishments of global culture and the lure of exotic products and travel. They will likely want to travel less often and less far, but will instead spend their free time getting to know their own place even better, and exploring nearby places.

Living a locally focused life does not mean putting on blinders to the rest of the world, or withdrawing in suspicion, or ceasing to recognize the global nature of the atmosphere and oceans, as well as the ease of electronic communication. Trade, too, can continue, though on a much more limited scale as regions seek to become as self-sufficient as possible.

Five: We can't go back

Answer: No, we can't return to the past--and the bioregional vision is not about going back. It is about reclaiming the best of what worked for people in the past, what was humane and earth-centered about culture and economy, and applying it in the context of our late-20th-century world. This is an exciting, wide-open challenge and offers tremendous potential for moving the world toward sustainable ways of living with the least possible dislocation and difficulty.

The people who benefit from globalizing the economy and culture would like us to believe that globalization is unstoppable. But that is only true if we allow it. We needn't accept the global economy, with its environmental and human destruction all in the name of profit for a handful of super-rich people, when bioregionalism is already presenting us with an appealing and very doable alternative.

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