I’ve decided the best thing I can do is vote with my wallet (i.e. as a consumer) and vote with my time (i.e. as a producer).
Consume commodities that are regenerative and products that are durable. Whenever possible, buy local to keep cash flows (wealth transfer) local.
Invest your time in contributing to products that encourage other people to do the same.
Yvon Chouniard said (I’m completely paraphrasing) something like “in the 21st century, the most powerful vehicle for transforming the world is the American corporation. Whether or not it should be, it is. If you think the world should be different, step 1 is starting a business”.
As a producer (engineer, for me), the best thing I can do is build tools to help people wean themselves off of Capital.
Autarkies are impoverished, societies that trade freely are wealthy. Your economic
impulses are deeply misguided. If everyone only bought local the world would be much poorer. It’s better (consumer choice, comparative advantage) to buy from the world and to let the world buy from you. The money doesn’t disappear when you spend it outside your locality, it flows both ways.
I’m sorry, but by whose definition are “they” “impoverished”? And what constitutes “autarky” and “local”? I’m not advocating to abolish global trade or whatever, if you think I was gesturing in that direction.
Buying (food, especially) locally means supporting a robust food chain that’s less dependent on refrigeration, global shipping, and a geographic arbitrage on agricultural labor. It’s better for the environment and connects you to your community and sense of place and seasons.
It means I can know what went into the food, in terms of soil, labor, and pesticides — something that I have no knowledge of at the grocery store.
A pound of apples, meat, or whatever from 1-2 counties away is more financially expensive, but if you can afford it there’s many non-financial benefits.
I’d rather purchase from a CSA than a national grocer, because that money mostly goes back into my local community.
You’re right the money doesn’t disappear when you spend it outside your locality, but it comes back in ways that are increasingly exploitative and/or depressing (chain stores offering no meaningful careers or opportunities for ownership, rent-seeking financialization, warehouses that bring noise pollution and packaging waste, etc.).
Again, if you can afford it, IDK why you wouldn’t prefer to spend the marginal dollar locally (i.e. private / family-owned businesses in a few counties’ radius).
It’s consumer choice and comparative advantage that actually lead people like me to shop locally...
I’ve decided the best thing I can do is vote with my wallet (i.e. as a consumer) and vote with my time (i.e. as a producer).
Consume commodities that are regenerative and products that are durable. Whenever possible, buy local to keep cash flows (wealth transfer) local.
Invest your time in contributing to products that encourage other people to do the same.
Yvon Chouniard said (I’m completely paraphrasing) something like “in the 21st century, the most powerful vehicle for transforming the world is the American corporation. Whether or not it should be, it is. If you think the world should be different, step 1 is starting a business”.
As a producer (engineer, for me), the best thing I can do is build tools to help people wean themselves off of Capital.