Wednesday, February 18, 2009

New Year, New Visions

So, I have returned from Mexico and I am currently trying to graduate form ASU. For my senior seminar class we are required to complete a sizable thesis project, so I decided to basically continue the studies I have already done in Mexico, and see what can be applied here in Boone. What does radical community sustainability look like in Boone? More specifically, what should an organization working towards radical sustainability in Boone look like?
Perhaps I should begin by defining some key terms.
Radical: By radical I mean getting at the systemic roots of the issues our society faces today. I believe that the problems we face are systemic, not just structural, and therefore require radical systemic change. Our society is now based on the world system of neoliberal capitalist globalization, and we all know how well that's going. I see this world system as a system that necessarily must go in order for humans to live a dignified life in harmony with the earth in an ecology of liberation.
Community: By community I mean a group of people who share a common heritage, vision of the future and plan for how to make that future come about. A community is also made up of relationships of trust and equality, and the people of that community strive to live in harmony with the earth that they inhabit and all of the other living creatures there. (see past 2 posts for more on community). I must stress that this notion of community is a process, not a static state of being that we can one day achieve and say "OK, now we are a community". This definition is utopian, and therefore any group of people engaging in these processes is already a community.
Sustainability: We have all heard this word over used and under appreciated for its true meaning. By sustainable I mean truly able to sustain itself over time. Or world system right now runs off of inherent contradiction and destruction. I think we need a world system that only consumes as much as it produces, and only produces as much as it needs. These production methods also honor the ecology of the earth and are beneficial rather than destructive.

So, radical community sustainability is therefore the process that a community of people engage in towards systemic change in order to create a world based on a sustainable culture.

Any suggestions on these definitions?

No comments: