A. Thesis of Helena Norberg-Hodge’s study Ancient Futures
§1. The root of all key social and environmental problems: the global economy
climate change, loss of biodiversity and cultural diversity, shift from self-sufficient rural living to energy-intensive urbanism, communal belonging to consumerist image-making; monoculture commercialization of life promoting competition over cooperation, universalizable skills over local knowledge, individualism over community and consumerism over spirituality.
§2. Localism: A strategy for resistance and renewal, a “solution multiplier” which “reduces our ecological footprint, increases biodiversity, provides fuller employment, strengthens democracy and rebuilds community.” (xxi); not total communal self-reliance but rather “shortening the distance between producers and consumers whenever possible, and striking a healthier balance between local markets and a monopoly-dominated global market.” (xxi)
B. Themes from the study of indigenous societies (Helena Norbert Hodge, Ecologist)
§3. Health – holistic (restoring balance) vs reductive (controlling symptoms)
Almost everyone is fit and trim; The old are active until the day they die; very low stress, toxin-free, optimal diet lifestyle; Holistic energy medicine treats disease as imbalance; mental health issues are non-existent; No sense of narcissism (rooted in insecurity) in the Ladakhis, e.g. the example of the man ordered around by the kids in the truck; the mindfulness of the Ladakhis.
§4. Justice – restorative & DIY (focus on relationships) vs retributive, job of the state, focused on damages to individuals; Cultural focus on peace and non-violence, not expressing anger; “no fighting in the village in living memory”; the phenomenon of the “spontaneous intermediary”; Human scale villages (less than 100 houses), everyone knows everyone and is dedicated to “living together”
Restorative justice as based on an old, commonsense view of wrongdoing as a violation of people and interpersonal relationships. All indigenous cultures use restorative practices, as do many families. Whereas criminal justice sees humans as separate, autonomous beings, restorative justice sees individuals as part of an interconnected web of relationships. People who are harmed are centered in terms of their harm being seen and valued and addressed, bystanders are called in to encircle the person, the person who harmed is called in to take accountability for what was done.
§5. Social structures – egalitarian & heterarchical (matricentric) vs stratified & hierarchical (patriarchal)
(a) Minimal disparities in wealth, 95% of population in the middle class; destroyed by monetary economy (103); Democratic/consensus politics for collective decision-making, the representative for each village council (goba) appointed by rotation.
(b) Flexible marriage relationships to fit into land constraints (from monogamy to polyandry to polygyny) No word in Ladakhi for romantic love.
(c) Child- rearing: unlimited and unconditional affection, but it does not lead to children being spoiled, just the opposite; kids with great responsibilities.
(d) Parity of gender: women have lots of power; flexible gender roles in work and parenting
§6. Trade/Economy – gift-based, focused on group cohesion (principle of socialism) vs money-based, focused on individual consumption (capitalism)
(a) Self-sufficient farms owned by individual families, a steady-state local economy designed to fit within the ecological limits to population growth.
(b) Agriculture as resilient, nature-based, self-sufficient vs “efficient”, hydrocarbon-based, and specialized for export
(c) Private property (incl. land, houses, tools and animals) and labor which are shared. But ownership in usufruct (stewardship).
§7. The word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (com, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), a broad term for fellowship or organized society.
(a) “Community is woven from gifts. Unlike today's market system, whose built-in scarcity compels competition in which more for me is less for you, in a gift economy the opposite holds. Because people in gift culture pass on their surplus rather than accumulating it, your good fortune is my good fortune: more for you is more for me. Wealth circulates, gravitating toward the greatest need. In a gift community, people know that their gifts will eventually come back to them, albeit often in a new form. Such a community might be called a "circle of the gift.” (Charles Eisenstein)
(b) Money creates separateness, can be hoarded and controlled, is quantified, promotes individualism and independence and selfish behavior. Gifting creates relationship, promotes cycling, is democratic, promotes community cohesion and self-full (vs. self-ish behavior (i.e. a more expansive experience of self.
§8. Worldview – spiritual with a basis in shared identity vs materialistic with a basis in separate identity
Buddhism woven into the fabric of life - the philosophy of interdependency versus individualism; reverence for nature, praying to the spirits of water and earth before sowing seeds. Thanking animals for their lives
Time: not commodified but based on natural cycles
Nature as a living, conscious, sacred and intelligent being (Pachamana) vs. a non-living, non-intelligent mechanism which can be understood objectively.
§1. The root of all key social and environmental problems: the global economy
climate change, loss of biodiversity and cultural diversity, shift from self-sufficient rural living to energy-intensive urbanism, communal belonging to consumerist image-making; monoculture commercialization of life promoting competition over cooperation, universalizable skills over local knowledge, individualism over community and consumerism over spirituality.
§2. Localism: A strategy for resistance and renewal, a “solution multiplier” which “reduces our ecological footprint, increases biodiversity, provides fuller employment, strengthens democracy and rebuilds community.” (xxi); not total communal self-reliance but rather “shortening the distance between producers and consumers whenever possible, and striking a healthier balance between local markets and a monopoly-dominated global market.” (xxi)
B. Themes from the study of indigenous societies (Helena Norbert Hodge, Ecologist)
§3. Health – holistic (restoring balance) vs reductive (controlling symptoms)
Almost everyone is fit and trim; The old are active until the day they die; very low stress, toxin-free, optimal diet lifestyle; Holistic energy medicine treats disease as imbalance; mental health issues are non-existent; No sense of narcissism (rooted in insecurity) in the Ladakhis, e.g. the example of the man ordered around by the kids in the truck; the mindfulness of the Ladakhis.
§4. Justice – restorative & DIY (focus on relationships) vs retributive, job of the state, focused on damages to individuals; Cultural focus on peace and non-violence, not expressing anger; “no fighting in the village in living memory”; the phenomenon of the “spontaneous intermediary”; Human scale villages (less than 100 houses), everyone knows everyone and is dedicated to “living together”
Restorative justice as based on an old, commonsense view of wrongdoing as a violation of people and interpersonal relationships. All indigenous cultures use restorative practices, as do many families. Whereas criminal justice sees humans as separate, autonomous beings, restorative justice sees individuals as part of an interconnected web of relationships. People who are harmed are centered in terms of their harm being seen and valued and addressed, bystanders are called in to encircle the person, the person who harmed is called in to take accountability for what was done.
§5. Social structures – egalitarian & heterarchical (matricentric) vs stratified & hierarchical (patriarchal)
(a) Minimal disparities in wealth, 95% of population in the middle class; destroyed by monetary economy (103); Democratic/consensus politics for collective decision-making, the representative for each village council (goba) appointed by rotation.
(b) Flexible marriage relationships to fit into land constraints (from monogamy to polyandry to polygyny) No word in Ladakhi for romantic love.
(c) Child- rearing: unlimited and unconditional affection, but it does not lead to children being spoiled, just the opposite; kids with great responsibilities.
(d) Parity of gender: women have lots of power; flexible gender roles in work and parenting
§6. Trade/Economy – gift-based, focused on group cohesion (principle of socialism) vs money-based, focused on individual consumption (capitalism)
(a) Self-sufficient farms owned by individual families, a steady-state local economy designed to fit within the ecological limits to population growth.
(b) Agriculture as resilient, nature-based, self-sufficient vs “efficient”, hydrocarbon-based, and specialized for export
(c) Private property (incl. land, houses, tools and animals) and labor which are shared. But ownership in usufruct (stewardship).
§7. The word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (com, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), a broad term for fellowship or organized society.
(a) “Community is woven from gifts. Unlike today's market system, whose built-in scarcity compels competition in which more for me is less for you, in a gift economy the opposite holds. Because people in gift culture pass on their surplus rather than accumulating it, your good fortune is my good fortune: more for you is more for me. Wealth circulates, gravitating toward the greatest need. In a gift community, people know that their gifts will eventually come back to them, albeit often in a new form. Such a community might be called a "circle of the gift.” (Charles Eisenstein)
(b) Money creates separateness, can be hoarded and controlled, is quantified, promotes individualism and independence and selfish behavior. Gifting creates relationship, promotes cycling, is democratic, promotes community cohesion and self-full (vs. self-ish behavior (i.e. a more expansive experience of self.
§8. Worldview – spiritual with a basis in shared identity vs materialistic with a basis in separate identity
Buddhism woven into the fabric of life - the philosophy of interdependency versus individualism; reverence for nature, praying to the spirits of water and earth before sowing seeds. Thanking animals for their lives
Time: not commodified but based on natural cycles
Nature as a living, conscious, sacred and intelligent being (Pachamana) vs. a non-living, non-intelligent mechanism which can be understood objectively.
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