jeff wrote:
> cultural definition:
> Sum total of beliefs, values, institutions, rules, techniques,
> and artifacts that characterize human population.
Eric replied:
Just my first reaction, but with such a broad net such as "culture", it
seems obvious that all problems would lead back to it. Do we have any
control outside of culture?
Yes, saying culture is at the root of all problems may not be
a useful point of view.
I took your list of steps for building a sustainable society
and rated them using my empowerment test. They rated higher
than most lists i've seen. The test goes like this:
Group each activity under the category it fits best.
1. Damage control. Things like: saving a river, animal,
forest, or stop a polluter.
2. Cultural change using cultural institutions. This
would be laws and institutions to push change.
3. Cultural change by adopting a different cultural
belief system. This is "being" and "thinking"
differently. Often these activities are easy
for individuals but not possible for the culture
itself.
About 70 percent of the steps in the "building a sustainable
society" list fit under #2 and involved steps the culture
takes to fix itself. None of the steps fit under damage
control and the remaining steps were in the third area.
This is probably a good balance and helps show that damage
control does not build anything or solve a problem. It
just gives us time to address the problem.
The area i'm most interested in is #3. This process of
"being" the solution is difficult to describe and connect
to philosophy. It is what most of my rambling
rants about culture are trying to unravel.
----------
Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
