Good point about including a social justice angle.

I think we need to develop a shared set of ethical principles, and something might included there.

Perhaps there are some reasons why the emphasis is off social justice in these aims, while it does deeply inform them.

Implicit social justice

Our primary challenge in an era of Energy Descent is to relocalise our lives. That’s probably going to be the core theme of an Energy Descent Action Plan. As Helena Norberg-Hodge says, from an ecological and social justice angle: “‘going local’ may be the single most effective thing we can do.”

She means that the ‘north’ strips the resources of the ’south’, and the best thing we can do is simply stop it; take responsibility for our own production and wastes. That is the best way to help people, prepare for peak oil and address our ecological footprint in one. We have accumulated an ecological debt to the south. However, reversing the flow of resources implies dropping to a lower level of consumption than the south. That might be fair, but it’s unrealistic, however, slowing the flow is not.

Social justice is often thought of as the rich nations providing aid to the poor nations. Whereas in some senses the opposite is needed, as Holmgren has said:

“we need to get these competent gardeners of the Third World to rich countries to teach people how to grow food.” That reversed that whole idea of aid, and effectively, that is part of what’s needed, conceptually, at least, if not literally.

Guilt vs. inspiration

So while I agree that social justice is a core value, I don’t think we should be trying to change people’s minds that way. We’ve had those reasons for a long time. They manifest as guilt, but guilt doesn’t work very well at changing people’s behavior significantly. We can do it instead by presenting a powerful, positive vision of how people’s lives might be better in a lower energy, relocalised community.

One of the curious things about peak oil is that we’re all in it together, so it has the potential to blur political differences and undermine many political assumptions across the board. It invites soul searching, and reconsideration of our lifestyle choices, our futures. I want the overt vibe of our approach to be relatively apolitical to make the most of this opportunity, to be able to approach just about any part of society in the spirit of mutual assistance and friendship, to see how that works out. I’m talking everyone from food-not-bombs to property developers, cultural community groups to cops(!)

I don’t believe that those from the political activist scene will form the core supporters, and I don’t believe it could succeed if they did. This has to connect with people much more broadly than that.

I want the wisdom if we’ve developed (I hope) as activists and in considering these broader issues to be incorporated into an energy descent framework; a world view which we can confidently articulate and share as a kind of common sense, while being open to people’s input, expecting it to be useful.

Re: emphasis on business

The plan is not about supporting current forms of global capitalism. It is about making productive local economies. Peak oil will lead to a significant drop in production of consumer goods and transport, which may lead to currency disfunction, even a new Great Depression. The global economy is already very unstable.

Economic crises are scary thoughts, but ones worth preparing for. Building viable local economies based on local businesses (and perhaps local currencies) are central to that. There will be loss of job security, and getting out of employment and starting small businesses may be a way for some to survive and be useful while learning new, more sustainable skills and trades. I’d like to see things like micro-wind and solar hot water technologies in garages and warehouses, permaculture design consultancies, cabinet making, masonry, local workshop style educational institutions, low energy health clinics, local food production and lots more local quality industry replacing cheap disposable goods.

The less monetised the economy the better I would say. Informal gift economy, permablitzes and other ‘barn-raising’ activites, family support, skillshares, potlatches are even better than business, but can only amount to a some of the economy in a semi-transient suburban population. So we have to work with business, create business, and perhaps use the organisational skills of successful business people to our own nefarious ends.

It would be good to hear your further thoughts. And before too long, unless someone kick starts it first, I’ll send through some suggested principles soon too to get that rolling.

Best wishes,

Adam

Yes, we need a sustainable and low energy future but it needs to also be just and equitable.

I am worried about a general vibe that for me is too focussed on business and business generation. Yes we need to earn some money, and yes it is good to encourage local rather than international business but more importantly people need to start being independent thinkers and live more freely and stop being sheep.

The general vibe then has to be in many waysmore about a political and policizing solutions, rather than lets save energy, built up a local community and be sustainable - this is simply not enough. Cheers RYE