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  • From: Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Political Control Over Globalization or Get HELP!!!!(Political)
  • Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:48:16 -0400

Tommy Tolson wrote:
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?
There have been many conversations about it. There ARE organized responders that include the occasional permaculturist (see

http://www.relocalize.net/
I know of no organized response from Permaculture, per se, to globalization.
I am one of probably many permies addressing the subject.

http://www.relocalize.net/groups/applebloomington

See also Occidental Arts and Ecology's work in this area
http://oaec.org/programs

*/(snip) GOALS THAT GUIDE OUR PROGRAMS/*

1. Preserve and restore native biodiversity and healthy ecosystems,
with a particular focus on the Northern California bioregion.
2. Preserve and propagate biodiversity in open-pollinated and
heirloom varieties of food, fiber and medicinal agricultural crops.
3. Support appropriate-scale ecological farming and sustainable local
food systems.
4. Cultivate ecological literacy, especially within watershed
communities and in public schools.
5. *Create and model sustainable, local, practical alternatives to
global corporatization and the economic paradigm that is dependent
on growth and consumption.*
6. *Build the capacity of local nongovernmental and grassroots
institutions to increase the level and effectiveness of local
participatory democracy.*
7. Encourage the reawakening of the evolutionary and spiritual
connection between human beings, human communities and the natural
world.

Are we resigned to the inevitability of corporate dominance?
NO. I can't speak for all, but I suspect a general consensus on the subject.
Do we seek to fly under the corporate radar to avoid this fight with the unbeatable foe?
"Unbeatable"? That's a limiting perspective and projection. I'm sure THEY are quite aware of those who resist.
How wonderful is that? How much of the troubles in the world can be directly attributed to multinational corporations that are beyond political control?
A fair bit....unelected rulers have been making bad choices for the rest of us for quite a while (eg. GWB)
Aren't we ultimately responsible for the behavior of our corporate persons?
Used to be we could revoke their charters. Link up with Dave Henson at OAEC for more on this subject: http://oaec.org/davehensonbio
http://www.poclad.org/images/illustrations/achilles.jpg
http://www.poclad.org/resources.cfm
http://www.wilpf.org/
http://www.wilpf.org/cvd
Are we asleep at the switch of global citizenship?
"We" who? The citizenry?....or permies? I'd say Yes to the former and, generally, No to the latter.
What can we do to gain political control over globalization?
Now, there's a question. Join those already active? Gain control over Localization?
http://www.poclad.org/
http://www.poclad.org/illustration1.cfm

(snip) "Giant corporations govern, even though they are mentioned nowhere in our Constitution or Bill of Rights. So when corporations govern, democracy is nowhere to be found. There is something else: when people live in a culture defined by corporate values, common sense evaporates. We stop trusting our own eyes, ears, and feelings. Our minds become colonized."

"Hundreds of small, low-budget groups have stopped corporations from poisoning a river, clear-cutting a forest, breaking a law, busting a union, carrying propaganda into a school. This is extremely important. *Valiant and persistent organizing has bettered the daily lives of millions, instilled confidence and self-respect, and transformed communities. * But when the joy of victory fades, imperial corporations remain. Slowed in one place, they pop up in another. They're in our schools, town halls, statehouses, and Congress. They block sane, logical transitions in food, energy, transportation, healthcare, finance, forestry, and manufacturing. They fund think tanks and universities to frame public debate. They buy obedience and define society's values.*"
http://www.poclad.org/images/illustrations/eliteconsensus_01_big.gif*
Shouldn't we be doing it?
Of course, and we are....in MANY small, but cumulative, ways we can make a difference and ARE making a difference (even if it just *looks like* a neighborhood potluck). MANY permies ARE working within their LOCAL political milieu and some of us ARE wielding our influence to bring about change. The 'rules' we can apply look like these quotes taken from our PDC teaching manual:

Make the least change for the greatest effect.
Work where it counts.
Do only what is necessary.
The edge is where the action is.
Work with nature not against it.
It's the connections that matter NOT the number of elements or components. For good connections, things need to be in the right place.
"The role of beneficial authority is to return function & responsibility to life and to people; if successful, no further authority is needed. The role of successful design is to create a self-managed system." (How's that for a political challenge?)
Use biological resources.
Work out from a nucleus on a controlled front. Don't undertake more than you can manage. Recognize natural limits.
We are only limited by a lack of information and imagination.
Haven't corporations had it their way long enough for us to tell where it takes us?
It's been clear to many of us for some time that THEIR plan is, in the long term, a lose / lose scenario (as opposed to win / win).
Can we allow this course to play itself out? Dare we? Who is it up to?
We (the collective human global 'we') have so far supported, or at least failed to prevent, the corporate racket (and have been failing for a few thousand years, at least more often than we have succeeded). The cost of continuing to do so is becoming more obvious to many. How 'many' is enough? Whatever that number is, that's WHO it's up to. 10%? 20%? Cultural Creatives suggest that the 25% of us who are ALREADY aware DO have the power to make the changes.

http://www.culturalcreatives.org/
http://www.culturalcreatives.org/bigpicture.html

Tommy,
I hope you have allied yourself already with folks NEAR you, otherwise you may continue to flounder, feeling unsupported, unhelped, unheard, frustrated that people aren't doing enough, angry, lonely, and isolated (not recommended).

The (usually unwritten) "First Principle" of Permaculture is to "Get help". Two heads are better than one and many hands make light work.
http://www.culturalcreatives.org/connections.html
http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=worldview&ctr=lanorien%2E97440952910105602 <http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=worldview&ctr=lanorien%2E97440952910105602>
http://www.culturalcreatives.org/book.html
http://www.culturalcreatives.org/livinglightly.html
http://www.iisd.ca/

From: http://www.permacultureactivist.net/pcresources/NorthAmerica.htm
*Cross Timbers Permaculture Institute
*Inger Myhre & Kirby Fry, 1483 County Road 311, McDade, Texas 78650
512-273-9538 http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ctpi/
peace@totalaccess.net <mailto:peace@totalaccess.net>
*Animal Farm
*Gita Vanwoerden, Box 15NA, Catspring Texas, 78933 USA
(409) 992 3038/ (713) 666 3991 Fax:(713) 668 9145 http://www.neosoft.com/~animalfm/afpchome.htm <http://www.neosoft.com/%7Eanimalfm/afpchome.htm>
* <mailto:patricia@patriciamichaeldesign.com>Heartland PC, Patricia Michael, teacher/designer/consultant
*8801 Scarlet Circle, Austin, , TX 78606, USA
Ph: int+ (1) 201 833 2440
patricia@patriciamichaeldesign.com <mailto:patricia@patriciamichaeldesign.com> http://www.patriciamichaeldesign.com/
*Rhizome Collective <http://www.rhizomecollective.org/welcome.htm>The Rhizome Collective http://www.rhizomecollective.org/welcome.htm
*We are a collective that has been given a long-term rent-free donation of a 9,400 sq. ft. warehouse on the East Side of Austin. We are working to build the world we want: to live in, based upon the values of cooperation, autonomy, self­-empowerment, creativity, openness and mutual aid versus the values of competition, greed and exploitation upon which the dominant power structure relies and thrives. The practical application of our work consists of taking the techniques of sustainability practitioners and permaculturists, and innovating ways for them to be used at low or no cost.
300 Allen St., Austin, Tx 78702. (512) 385-3695 Send questions or comments to rhizomecollective@earthlink.net <mailto:rhizomecollective@earthlink.net>
*The Last Organic Outpost
*Our purpose is to build community around the cultivation of our organic vegetable garden East of downtown Houston, Texas. With time we hope to include more sustainable and permaculture principles into the garden and into our broader community. Our vision is to build a garden, learning from the garden how to grow high-energy food, and wild edible plants. Joined by others, the Last Organic Outpost has become a market garden selling to local co-ops and restaurants, an educational garden for novice and home-schoolers, and an agricultural park for a place of tranquility in the midst of the city. See our website for more details! 4507 1/2 Inman, Houston, TX 77020
Joe Nelson Icet www.lastorganicoutpost.com <http://www.lastorganicoutpost.com> 713 875 9569
*The Permaculture Guild of Houston* <http://www.urbanharvest.org/permaculture/index.html>
http://www.urbanharvest.org/permaculture/index.html <http://www.urbanharvest.org/permaculture/index.html>
The Permaculture Guild of Houston consists of Permaculture Design Certificate holders who meet on a regular basis. The Teaching Guild meets regularly to plan the scheduled classes and to work out class logistics and needs of the group as a whole. This may include ongoing or future projects and long-term goals for the Guild. The Quarterly Guild meets 4 times a year. The mission of the Quarterly Guild is to perpetuate the existence and the work of the Guild by supporting the teaching of Permaculture classes and community involvement of the Guild. The quarterly meetings are intended to be an active outlet for current members, new graduates and interested parties for networking, information sharing, continuing education and fellowship.
*Austin Permaculture Guild*
http://www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/permaculture.htm
*www.urbanharvest.org <http://www.urbanharvest.org> Working with Gardens and Orchards to Build Healthy Communities
*Bob Randall ( bob@urbanharvest.org <mailto:bob@urbanharvest.org> 713-880-5540 Fax # 713-880-5545
1900 Kane St., Houston, 77007
Urban Harvest P.O. Box 980460 Houston, Texas 77098-0460

Good luck.
Be well.
Do good work....
and stay in touch.
"Kill your television"
<http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=worldview&ctr=lanorien%2E97440952910105602>

--
Keith Johnson
"Be fruitful and mulch apply."
Permaculture Activist Magazine
PO Box 5516, Bloomington, IN 47408
(812) 335-0383
http://www.permacultureactivist.net
Impeachment: It's not just for blowjobs anymore.
Switch to Solar Power the Easy Way
http://www.jointhesolution.com/KeithJ-SunPower
http://www.PowUr.com/KeithJ-SunPower
Blog: http://kjpermaculture.blogspot.com/
also Patterns for Abundance Design & Consulting
http://www.permacultureactivist.net/design/Designconsult.html
also Association for Regenerative Culture
also APPLE-Bloomington (Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy) It's a
small world after oil.
http://www.relocalize.net/groups/applebloomington
also Bloomington Permaculture Guild





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