Comments on: The Myth of Self Reliance http://transition-times.com/blog/2010/02/07/the-myth-of-self-reliance/ Information, insight, and inspiration for The Long Emergency Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:42:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: uberVU - social comments http://transition-times.com/blog/2010/02/07/the-myth-of-self-reliance/comment-page-1/#comment-48 uberVU - social comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:43:12 +0000 http://transition-times.com/?p=1933#comment-48 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by simonstl: RT @chelseagreen: Toby Hemenway rocks! Permaculture & the myth of self-reliance: http://bit.ly/9myg65... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by simonstl: RT @chelseagreen: Toby Hemenway rocks! Permaculture & the myth of self-reliance: http://bit.ly/9myg65...

]]> By: jtellerelsberg http://transition-times.com/blog/2010/02/07/the-myth-of-self-reliance/comment-page-1/#comment-47 jtellerelsberg Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:20:30 +0000 http://transition-times.com/?p=1933#comment-47 Toby, you are hitting the nail on the head. One additional mistaken aspect of the self-sufficiency notion went unanalyzed. You quoted the "prominent permaculturist" as seeking "projects where people are fully self sufficient in providing for their own food, clothing, shelter, energy and <b>community</b> needs..." (emphasis added). The illogic of the desire for self-sufficiency is clear when you pause long enough to look at just what a self-sufficiency purist thinks they might achieve. What would it possibly mean to be "self-sufficient" in "community" needs? On top of growing your own food, are you supposed to become a misanthrope? "<i>Culture</i>" is half of "Permaculture"--yet culture of any kind cannot exist when there is no exchange between members of the whole. In theory, people individually might achieve self-sufficiency (though certainly not permanence unless they figure out how to reproduce asexually) but it would be a barren, worthless existence if that really were the end state of things. Toby, you are hitting the nail on the head. One additional mistaken aspect of the self-sufficiency notion went unanalyzed. You quoted the “prominent permaculturist” as seeking “projects where people are fully self sufficient in providing for their own food, clothing, shelter, energy and community needs…” (emphasis added). The illogic of the desire for self-sufficiency is clear when you pause long enough to look at just what a self-sufficiency purist thinks they might achieve. What would it possibly mean to be “self-sufficient” in “community” needs? On top of growing your own food, are you supposed to become a misanthrope? “Culture” is half of “Permaculture”–yet culture of any kind cannot exist when there is no exchange between members of the whole. In theory, people individually might achieve self-sufficiency (though certainly not permanence unless they figure out how to reproduce asexually) but it would be a barren, worthless existence if that really were the end state of things.

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