permaculture

[Tommy Tolson <healinghawk@earthlink.net>]

Colin Mason writes, in /The 2030 Spike, "/Failure to redress the poverty 
most humans live in, and an almost total lack of political control over 
globalization - which is irresponsible in the pure sense of the word - 
are likely to increase economic disproportion and the conflict it causes."

I read over and over that the thing feeding Islam's radical 
fundamentalists is poverty and powerlessness to maintain traditional 
cultural values.  The reason Osama bin Laden gave for 9/11 was the US 
military occupation of Saudi Arabia, which Wasabis consider holy, thus 
inviolate.  Note that there is no longer an obvious US military presence 
in Saudi Arabia.  Does it pay to punch the US in the nose in front of 
God and everybody big enough to look?

If Permaculture embraces the principles of personal responsibility for 
the state of the world, why is there not an organized response to, or 
even a conversation about, globalization on this listserve?  I know of 
no organized response from Permaculture, per se, to globalization.  Are 
we resigned to the inevitability of corporate dominance?  Do we seek to 
fly under the corporate radar to avoid this fight with the unbeatable 
foe?   How wonderful is that?  How much of the troubles in the world can 
be directly attributed to multinational corporations that are beyond 
political control?  Aren't we ultimately responsible for the behavior of 
our corporate persons?  Are we asleep at the switch of global citizenship?

What can we do to gain political control over globalization?   Shouldn't 
we be doing it?  Haven't corporations had it their way long enough for 
us to tell where it takes us?  Can we allow this course to play itself 
out?  Dare we?  Who is it up to?

Smiles.
Tommy Tolson
Austin, TX