permaculture

[Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>]

On Dec 31, 2012, at 7:44 AM, paul wheaton wrote:

> I think an important thing to keep mind when contemplating "fair
> share":  the average world income is $7000 (annual).  So if anybody is
> earning more than that and not giving a bunch of it away to people
> with less than that - to the point that you keep less than $7000, it
> seems less than ethical to speak of "fair share".

Gotta be careful with averages. The average depth of water on the planet is 
about 800 feet. That doesn't mean my yard should have 800 feet of salt water 
on it. If I were gardening based on the global mean temperature of roughly 53 
degrees F, thinking that is the temperature I need to consider,  I would be 
stupid. Local matters.  If I live in an area where the average household 
income is $47,000 (the US) and houses cost $250,000, or in Sonoma County 
where it's much more expensive, those numbers, and not the global average, 
affect what I must do to meet my needs. If there's surplus after meeting your 
basic needs in your locale, that's what gets reinvested. And a permaculturist 
works hard to create that surplus.

I think it boils down to this: I respect BIll and think he's much more 
brilliant that you or me. If he says permaculture must begin with the 3 
ethics or it's not permaculture, then, since permaculture is such a brilliant 
system, I believe him, accept it, and will look for ways that the 3 ethics 
matter. I won't tie my mind in knots over the fact that unethical idiots can 
get by with scams, or miss the fact we can unconsciously be using the ethics 
when we create good designs, and thus be tricked into thinking the 3 ethics 
aren't fundamental.

Toby