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KUFM Commentary - September 2009 --------------------------------------------------------- A Real Wealth Economy My first car was a used 1989 red BMW 325, 4-door, with all the trappings: power locks, windows and sunroof. I was on top of the world in this car. This was success! Never mind that my parents had paid the $5,000 the car cost, and had ominously told me, that I would be responsible for all the costs thereafter. Without my having to say a single word, this car shouted that I was going places. Unfortunately, repairs on the BMW cost me a fortune. In less than two years I spent a few thousand dollars just to keep it going. I paid for it by waitressing full time while I finished my Bachelor's degree. I wasn't able to participate in many university activities. I didn't play sports or socialize much; I just didn't have the time. I was too busy making money to pour into my BMW. In 1998 Minnesota experienced torrential rain and flash flooding. My car was submerged in 3 ft of water, and it never ran again. A couple of Ethiopian men, part of a new wave of immigrants newly arrived in Minneapolis, took it off my hands for $200. When I asked them what they would do with it they told me they would fix it up themselves and sell it for around $4,000. I was flabbergasted. These men assured me that they had grown up keeping old cars running, that in fact every self-respecting Ethiopian man knew how to do it. Three years later I was living in Nosiarina, a community in Madagascar with a population of about 2,000 people. I was serving two years in the Peace Corps, working in maternal and child healthcare. Everyone in my community was a farmer. Some were teachers, and some had shops, two were doctors, but everyone was a farmer. Everyone knew how to build shelters for their families. All the men in the community knew how to fix cars and keep even really old, beat-up cars running. Everyone knew how to grow enough food and prepare the harvest to support their families and the community. There was only one electric generator in town, owned by a 'hotely' or restaurant owner. People conducted their daily activities in the natural light. The sun set around 6 PM, and at this time of the evening people walked up and down the road, relaxing and visiting with friends. Some entrepreneurial types sold snacks like "beef brochettes" and fried breadfruit with mango-pepper sauce. While some paid the vendors for these evening snacks, others didn't. When I asked why some people didn't have to pay, a vendor replied that they either had helped her or her family in some way, whether it was to take care of her children while she farmed, fix a door on her house, or exchange roasted coffee beans. Although there was a national monetary system in place, an informal bartering system also existed. And because the community was small enough that every person knew each other, it was easy to keep a tally going for this informal system of give-and-take. I often reflect on my life in Madagascar. I was deeply connected with my community. Because of the slower pace of work, I had time to learn how to fix things and make them work, rather than throwing them out and buying new things to replace them. I also felt safe, cared for, and known while living there. Leading social economist David C. Korten recently published a book called Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth. In one chapter, subtitled, "What People Really Want," he writes that scientists using advanced imaging technology to study brain function found that, "the act of cooperation and generosity triggers the brain's pleasure center to release the same hormone that's released when we eat chocolate or engage in good sex." He ascribes our cultural misperception of equating money with wealth to each of the major failures of our economic system. This includes the decline of community life, the boom-and-bust cycles, the decimation of the middle class, the "wanton destruction of nature," and "families forced to choose between paying the rent, putting food on the table and caring for their children." He calls this misperception "phantom wealth." Conceptually what we are talking about is the need to transition to a "values-based" economic operating system, "designed to support social and environmental balance and the creation of real, living wealth." Real indicators that show this transition is already taking place are the small scale farms starting up here in Montana that serve their immediate local communities and legislation put forward this past session to help homeowners install renewable energy implements. Communities are responding by investing in community supported agriculture (CSA) shares. A strong local economy with business enterprises serving at a "human scale" and owned by community members and invested in by responsible local investors will restore our economic and social balance. This is an economy based on "real wealth," the human, social, natural, and even physical capital - on which our well-being depends. Perhaps adopting this structure means having less individual material wealth. Maybe that means there will be less reason to reach for endless material gain. But maybe that isn't such a bad thing. I'm Jessica D. Peterson, Organizational Consultant serving Montana, for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO is a grassroots membership organization that's been building communities by linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions for 35 years. To join the conversation call us in Helena at (406) 443-7272.
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