NP Rank:
Cities = unsustainable systems
Cities consume resources and produce little.. Okay, maybe a few things: education, health services, and some intellectual property.. But by and large, cities are unsustainable consumers of resources. This is the primary failure of modern human civilization. Not war; not conflict over resources or ideology. Cities are the 'enemy' of humankind and they will be its downfall if not corrected very soon.
Within the next 100 years, we will see such depravity as it will make the 'dark ages' look like a picnic. i'm not speaking of moral depravity tho there certainly will be that. The kind of depravity we will see in the next 100 years is the kind of squalor only created by human exploitation and apathy. “Why should we care?” will be the motto of privileged generations to come. The rampant apathy, exploitation, and indifference expressed by these elite will effectively destroy and subdue the rest for uncountable generations unless we act NOW.
Yes, we live in Orwell's famous '1984' scenario. Powerful families, corporations, and banking systems effectively dominate the rest of us. 'Democracy' is a parody of the word now. The only thing our 'representatives' represent is the power/money that got them there. Look at Obama: “Change!” right; only more of the same: wasting money on military endeavors bla bla bla.. If Bush was a puppet for elite oil interests, Obama is a puppet for elite banking interests.. The corruption never ends. When will we EVER get leaders who actually CARE about US??? That must be a joke to them..
1984 was wrong about one thing tho: it's not about how to 'spend' human resources – it's about control. Those that control (the elite, powerful families, corporations, and the puppet governments under them) will do ANYTHING to keep their power over us.. Manipulate the media and 'causes'.. Get us to focus on trivial things other than the REAL issues at hand.. Distract us from Truth with silly playthings.. That is the FIRST thing we need to overcome.
In this essay i'm calling for a complete revolution globally:
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return the media to the people
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revise our educational systems detailed below
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return political power to THE PEOPLE
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mandatory dismantling of cities to sustainable villages detailed below
If we act NOW, we may avoid the looming Dark Age. If not.. All i can say is “enjoy your ride to Hell”.
The ways we must revise our educational systems follow. We must STOP being so f'ing nationalistic in our schools. Stop teaching American history and politics (for instance); start teaching world history and government systems. Stop imbuing our education with materialism and selfishness; start permeating ALL our education with sharing and cooperation.
What is a sustainable village? Good question.. Off the top of my head, i'd guess around 100 families. It must be near arable land – enough to sustain the village. Some might guess i'm against technology or specialization but they'd be wrong. We need doctors, nurses, teachers, farmers, technicians, builders,.. People to manage composted human wastes.. i suggest there be a stem cell research lab on premises so the village can produce something of value for the 'outside world'.. There should be a limit on how big the village can get. Nothing beyond what local resources can support. The idea about having a lab on premises can be changed to anything that inspires the locals :) just as how they decide to limit their population growth – that should all be decided locally. In fact, all decisions should be local: what kind of government they have, what decisions are made, and how to enforce them.
All it takes is one example – one community – to prove it can be done. We need a celebrity for their wealth and celebrity to start one (obviously). We DON'T use the word 'commune' cuz we know what a bad rap they have.. We use the correct phrase to describe it: a self-sustainable village that produces something of value to 'the outside world'. That 'thing' could be health-care, education, or sexual fantasies (for all i care) – AS LONG AS WE DO IT.
So.. Dark Age or Golden Age – the choice is YOURS.
And i suggest we stop attempts around religions .. Religions are divisive things just like our current educational systems .. Religions are like cities: they consume (human lives). No.. i suggest we choose to base these villages around 'themes': based on that one thing they produce. In that way, these small villages would attract people who are interested in that one thing whether it be stem cells or sexual fantasies. ;)
So.. Dark Age based on: elitism, exploitation, class struggles, control, power struggles, ignorance, apathy, indifference, overpopulation in cities, domination, corruption, payola, grifting, dishonesty,..
Or.. Golden Age based on: self-sufficiency, sustainability, moderation, balance, respect, equality, democracy, trust, village life, faith, hope, love,..
The choice is yours..



Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 07:28 on November 6th, 2011
Sam_m,
Do you have a reasonable time line for this transition, cities to small villages? We are not looking to reduce populations, right? I am persuaded in opposition to some of your ideas; cities are the answer to unsustainability of human culture. I have written on this subject and will send you a copy if you are interested.
at 13:39 on December 13th, 2011
some years ago, i considered majoring (in a graduate program) in reliability engineering in Maryland.. the only prohibitive factor was cost (very expensive for a distance program).. i'm sure many of the courses would have solidified/deepened my intuitions about the subject :) ..i believe there are two neglected issues surrounding the topic raised above: centralized authority and centralized resource distribution (like energy). several years ago, i chatted w/ a coworker about energy system catastrophic failure mitigation; the point was: there is none he.. catastrophic failure has a domino effect propagating cost to all sectors.. but because it's so unlikely, no resources are allocated toward it.. relatedly, the more we centralize authority, the more unstable the system becomes.. so centralized authority and resource distribution 'builds in' instability and high risk - risks we cannot really afford in these unstable/uncertain times.. so now more than ever we need to decentralize authority and resource distribution/consumption.. this means spreading out our populations from cities to villages where authority and resource distribution are distributed :) more stable and less risk associated w/ that configuration :) ..one last analogy: imagine a million individuals spread across a frontier (say America or Mars), what's a more stable configuration for the population? A quater-million homesteaders who live off the land or ..a million city dwellers with Tokyo population density? it's intuitively clear the homesteader-scenario is more: stable, reliable, sustainable, and preferable :) history has taught us clearly: centralize authority (away from democracy) implies social instability.. centralized resource distribution allows greater control of resources but at the same time catastrophic failure looms.. the system takes on too much risk .. to attempt to answer ur Q about timeframe: many of us sense some problematic times in the next say 25 years.. the more existing authority clings to their power, the more problematic.. ^^ i can only guess a time-fame based on this struggle toward true democracy.. if we wait too long to disburse, i fear extreme social unrest and upheaval the likes of which Biblical Apocalypse only compares :( if we attempt a more orderly transition globally, ^^ well.. i'm more optimistic in that scenario :) but i cannot guarantee we're ready for that - civilization wise ;)