President Barack Obama offers a toast to President Xi Jinping of China during a State Banquet at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China, Nov. 12, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Originally posted December 20, 2016.
The way out for America is shown by the powerful movement labeled “resilient communities“ described here in theamericanconservative.com.
Through the modern age, communities have found themselves increasingly looking to the outside world for their needs. This began with security. As the state rose and asserted a monopoly on armed violence, communities no longer had to man their walls. Eventually those walls disappeared.
In the 20th century, the trend broadened. Instead of relying on local agriculture for food, it was shipped in on national networks such as the rail system. Local electric-power companies, which often began as streetcar lines that sold surplus power, were absorbed into regional systems.
Globalism has made us dependent on foreign countries for many things. This is true even of finance. The money to sustain our debt-based economy and government mostly comes from abroad.
With dependence comes vulnerability. Much of the world’s oil originates in unstable regions.
A new movement called “resilient communities” is addressing this question. The basic answer is that through a combination of new technologies and revived old ways of living we can relocalize the systems our lives depend on.
What potential challenges face a community that wants to become resilient? The first is security. If global or national systems fail, the local government and police force will not vanish. They are the basis for local security. Beyond them, a community may need a militia. This is tricky, because militias can bring disorder. The key is to have only one militia, built on the local remnants of the state, i.e., the National Guard. Competing militias must be ruthlessly suppressed.
Beyond personal safety, a community’s first need is potable water. A local ability to treat river, stream, or lake water would be important, or, alternatively, a program to give each block a hand-pumped well before disaster strikes.
Realists know that big systems mean big failures. Our lives will always be local, and if our locality can provide all the things we need to live, we are secure. Were we to divert the $1.4 trillion slated for the F-35 fighter/bomber to helping communities become resilient instead, we might actually get something for the money.
Our family spends time weekly building on our long standing approach to “resilient communities”. We look to achieve the goals mentioned above on our individual properties. You will find a regular series of posts at richardcyoung.com detailing our on going efforts.
