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  • From: "Jara" <jara@otenet.gr>
  • To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Rhizome culture
  • Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 11:27:54 +0300

Sean,

This is brilliant ! You have put into words here what I have been trying to express a whole lifetime ! Thanks a lot ! Where did you get the Rhizome Culture concept from ?

Andrew.

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:27:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sean Maley <semaley@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Response to "Prepare for disaster"
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <20060617212702.41320.qmail@web52807.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

--- scakya@lobo.net wrote:
Great piece Harold,
As one who is linked closely to East coast traders and behind the scene
folks in DC, know you are on the right track-you've hit a bulls eye in fact.
But, instead of fear, knowledge of how to and what to is important for
survival in uncertain times.

Working in the financial mines today, there is absolutely no talk about gold. In fact, they have
been investing in oil with the thought that big oil exploits peak oil paranoia and there is a race
to sit on the remaining oil reserves (diamond industry thinking). The talk about real estate
investments has subsided. Some have bought property where they go on ski vacations, but this
seems to be a practical matter.

When reading about economic theory, I tend to find demonizing and trash talk to be tiresome. I
shouldn't have to read for hours before getting to a meaningful premise. The economic system is a
pyramid scheme, based upon controlling the means of production. For a simple demonstration on how
this works, play the monopoly game. If you can control Park Place and Boardwalk before another
player can control one of the lesser monopolies, you tend to win the game more easily. Monopoly
is based upon Henry George economic theory. Getting bogged down in this gold and paper theory
misses the bubble bust cycle that predates even gold currency in ancient times. Besides, gold
isn't very nutritious, too soft to make shelter, and too heavy for making good clothing (useless).

With or without gold, oil, or the US government, there will always be poverty, so long as the
pyramid scheme continues. Yes, all those starving people really are starving, but no it isn't
because food is in short supply, just that a man with a gun guards the food unless the starving
submit to the hierarchy. This mirrors the most ancient of "history" that we know: most work for
a few privileged, and well-fed, aristocrats. To escape the hierarchy, we must counter it with
it's opposite, called a rhizome. In doing this, we must remember our current hierarchy context
and maintain a shield for our rhizome. Establishing a church or emulating the top of the pyramid,
business structures, accomplishes a form of a shield. Fundamental to all of this involves holding
land within the hierarchy context, which is sufficient to "make a living".

Hierarchy causes us to loose trust in our friends and neighbors, which is reflected in the gold
collapse theory and identifies gold theory as intrinsically hierarchy culture. In our rhizome
culture, we seek collaboration and cooperation towards "making a living together". The hierarchy
culture collapses when sufficient labor can't be found.

Wealth => Land, Labor, Improvement

Hierarchy:

Everyone starts the hierarchy game with equal holdings, but not everyone can own Wall Street, so
those with less useful land get stuck in a dilemma of working for the man or starving.

Rhizome:
Everyone starts with the assumption of "making a living" with available land. If the land is
insufficient where you are, you must find land that can support you or improve the land where you
live (permaculture?). Our monkeysphere limits us to groups of 150 members "making a living
together", called tribes, so land holdings vary in size according to the ability to support life.
Labor isn't a matter of producing wealth for the landholder, but rather for supporting yourself
and your tribe.

The transition:
1. Establish a tribe (make a living together).
2. Set goals to purchase land/shelter transitioning from hierarchy
3. Establish your range/territory
4. Improve your land
5. Keep enough hierarchy business to pay the taxes
6. be sociable with your neighbors
7. Share your surpluses to help other tribes






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