This is what I call the 'solution-multiplier' effect of localization, and the pattern extends beyond our food systems. In the blind, disconnected and over-specialized system of global monoculture, I have seen housing developments built with imported steel, plastic and concrete while the oak trees on-site are razed and turned into woodchips. In contrast, the shortening of distances structurally means more eyes per acre and more innovative use of available resources. It may sound utopian, but as we withdraw dependence on highly centralized, automated systems in fields like healthcare and education, we can rebalance the ratios between doctor and patient, between teacher and student, and thereby make space for individual needs and capabilities.
It is entirely reasonable to envisage a world without unemployment; as is true of every price-tag on a supermarket shelf, unemployment is a political decision that, at the moment, is being made according to the mantra of 'efficiency' in centralized profit-making. As both political left and right have bought into the dogma of 'bigger is better', citizens have been left with no real alternative.
When we strengthen the human-scale economy, decision-making itself is transformed. Not only do we create systems that are small enough for us to influence, but we also embed ourselves within a web of relationships that informs our actions and perspectives at a deep level. The increased visibility of our impacts on community and local ecosystems leads to experiential awareness, enabling us to become both more empowered to make change and more humbled by the complexity of life around us.
At a fundamental level, localization allows us to appreciate the constantly evolving, changing nature of the universe. Instead of living by labels - seeing the world through words, fixed concepts and numbers - we become aware that every person, animal and plant is unique and changing from moment to moment. Localization lends us the intimacy and pace required to feel this fullness, and to feel the joy of being an integral part of a living web of relationships.
We face a stark choice between two radically divergent paths. One leads us relentlessly towards fast-paced, large-scale, monocultural, techno-development. It's a path that separates us from each other and the natural world, and accelerates our downward social and ecological decline. The other path is about slowing down, scaling back and fostering deep connection, in order to restore the social and economic structures essential for meeting our material and deeper human needs in ways that nurture the only planet we have.
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