humanity questions 1135 5

Yes, we have no bananas

In the 1950s, two scholars, who did not know one another or think of their work as overlapping, produced books which have become the dual scriptures of the bioregional movement. Leopold Kohr's book  The Breakdown of Nations  argued that conflict is not the result of opposing "isms" but stems from the fact that nations are simply too large and powerful. He recommended the breakup of almost all countries into very small entities which would be truly democratic and peaceful because their populations would be small enough to take a direct part in governance, and too small to threaten one another with war and aggression.E. F. Schumacher's book (that's him in the photo; he died in 1994) was called  Small Is Beautiful: Economic as if People Mattered . His work spawned a whole school of radical economic thought: again, the trouble with today's economies is not that they are capitalist or socialist or whatever, but that they are too big. Individuals have little control over fiscal and trade policy, over what is available to buy in the marketplace, or even over their own jobs and professions. Small, locally-based economies could return economic power to the people, where it belongs - and, incidentally, go a long ways toward saving the environment. For both men, and for bioregionalists today, the key word is scale.

Click on the following link for a short video documentary.

Bioregionalism is a good deal more radical than it appears at first glance. The idea behind it is that much of the world's ecological woe is due to the fact that both governments and economies are way too big: they allow and encourage people, goods and services to travel over great distances, and this process uses far too many resources and produces environmental damage. The solution is the abolition of all large nations, corporations and other institutions, and the localization of all their current functions. If our jobs, education, governance and resource use all happened on a local level, we could enjoy a strong sense of community, govern ourselves through direct democracy, and do less damage to the planet. "Local" in bioregional talk means "within a more or less self-contained ecosystem." The drainage basin of the Ohio River, for example, makes a sensible bioregion: climate, flora and fauna are similar throughout the region; it is relatively small but not so small as to be unsustainable as a political and economic entity; and it has sufficient resources to support a stable population. At present it is broken up into six or seven states and many counties, all with their own laws and policies which are often in conflict; and over all is the federal government and the power of vast corporations, neither of which have much interest in or knowledge of the region from a local perspective. A self-governing Ohio Valley Bioregion would solve many problems.

One bioregional idea that is already working is local currencies, not tied to the US dollar or any other national currency. Click on the following link to view the Ithaca Hours webpage. This system in upstate New York has been working well since 1991.

· Ithaca Hours

Bioregionalism would also present new problems, of course. Diet and lifestyle would have to change radically: if you're in Ohio, plenty of soybeans and corn, but no bananas or Darjeeling tea; travel outside the region would be difficult if not impossible; we would need some kind of "Ohio Valley dollars" that would not be tied to any larger monetary system; we could still get low-tech locally-made consumer goods like bicycles and furniture, but where would we get cars and computers? (or would we need them?) Our political allegiances would have to be retooled: there would be no more "United States of America," nor even a "State of Ohio." As you look at the web sites and readings more such issues will occur to you (and you'll write in the Forum about them); but also you will see new opportunities for a better and safer life for everyone.

In this week's discussion we will weigh the pros and cons of a change to bioregionalism - think about it as a serious proposal, and consider what arguments might be offered on both sides by politicians, big business and ordinary people. Then, in the forum, I want you to defend some bioregional idea: the elimination of large nation-states; living on locally produced foods; small local industries as opposed to huge corporations; local currencies such as Ithaca Hours; direct as opposed to representative democracy; or anything else in the readings that strikes you as interesting. Even if you disagree completely with the idea, I want you to defend it - it will improve your logical and argumentative skills.