Re: Durability as a means of conservation...is not quite enough

In a message dated 7/16/99 3:56:51 AM, durable@earthlink.net writes:

<<Our economy needs to find an alternative kind of 
income for people to depend on since wages and paid jobs will nearly 
disappear 
when the automation revolution is over.>>

Hello, 
          I would like to enter the discussion here. There are many good 
ideas, but a few things seem to be overlooked. Like political realities. 
The 
capitalist system perpetuates an exploiters (small group of gov't, 
corporate, 
criminal/CIA interchangeable people) and exploited class (masses). All 
under 
the guise of "democracy". People are gulled into allowing and tolerating 
such 
an intolerable system, by the exploiters controlling the information to a 
large enough extent (mass media). Individuals let their entire lives be 
sucked to the bone thru voluntary enslavement (jobs) for at least 8 hours a 
day, 5 days a week, until they are no longer capable or viable as workers 
(65 
or older). Mostly, because they feel there is no other choice.

There are plenty of real solutions, but they will not come to be, because 
they would upset the status quo, and those who control, will not allow 
that. 
That is why the above statement, " Our economy needs to find an alternative 
kind of 
income for people to depend on since wages and paid jobs will nearly 
disappear 
when the automation revolution is over." seems unrealistic.

Besides the imposition of capitalism (based on a bad idea of pitting one 
against another, competition as opposed to mutual co-operation, looking out 
for one another). There is one other thing that IMHO, needs to go. That is 
the existence of "sovereign entities" (gov't., nations, dictatorships, 
corporations, institutions). They take on the properties of a living thing, 
in that, once they exist, they need to stay alive, perpetuate themselves, 
be 
strong, grow. Thus, we have imperialism and wars, not to mention 
boundaries, 
borders, and bureacracies, and many other bad things like espionage and 
torture.

People are so conditioned and brainwashed (acknowledge that our schools 
teach 
a very slanted and false history to our children, glorifying nationalism 
and 
militarism), that they actually think we couldn't exist without governments.

I propose, a radically different way for our world to be structured, 180 
degrees the opposite of what exists today: small, autonomous, 
self-sustainable, mutually co-operative, non-sovereign (open/fluid), 
communities/neighborhoods interacting organically. Utopic? That just means 
you like it, because it is not impossible at all.
Human nature is a problem? I don't think so. Look to yourself for human 
nature. We are all capable of acting anywhere from a saint to a devil and 
anything in between from moment to moment. The only true thing you might 
say 
about human nature (IMHO) is that it is highly adaptable.

How do we bring this about? We could start right away by making yourself 
and 
your neighborhood as self-sustainable as possible, utilizing low-tech 
methods 
available to everyone. There is a website established for this purpose 
<A 
HREF="http://bagelhole.hypermart.net/">http://bagelhole.hypermart.net/</A> 
(awaiting volunteer webdesigners to fix it up and make it "truly 
effective", 
some from this list). 

If the world should give way because of Y2K or any number of possible 
future 
disasters, all we have to do is be fully prepared (sustainable 
neighborhoods 
globally, before 2000). Sounds impossible? Maybe, but the idea is that by 
accessing this free, humanitarian, non-profit website, one could become 
relatively self-sustainable within 1-3 months, regardless where in the 
world 
you might live. 

Well, that's enough, I hope this isn't boring or seem simplistic to you. 
Would be interested in what others think.
                                                                            
    
                                Kind Regards,
                                                                            
    
                        Tom O (bagelhole1)