#Seed015: Step-by-Step Guide to Opting-Out
A beginner’s guide to disconnecting ourselves from the global monoculture
“The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter.” - Bill Mollison
It seems that I am increasingly having conversations with folks about opting out from the global monoculture. I may be in an echo chamber but I sense that there is a certain discontent (or perhaps a cynicism) with the way things are going. Since the world shut down in 2020, our world has almost become a caricature of itself. We just need to spend a few minutes reading the news to hear about the latest political scandal. I am reminded of Amusing Ourselves to Death by the great Neil Postman. Over thirty years ago, he wrote:
“When news is packaged as entertainment, that is the inevitable result. And in saying that the television news show entertains but does not inform, I am saying something far more serious than that we are being deprived of authentic information. I am saying we are losing our sense of what it means to be well informed.”
Being “well informed” in our time simply means being consumed by the latest fear or conforming to the latest trend. There is a growing momentum of people across the world who are recognizing that this cannot last. Over-consumption, unlimited economic growth, and globalization cannot last. We need to design for an alternative. We need to opt-out.
In this piece, I want to share a step-by-step guide to opting out from the global monoculture. By opting out, I don’t mean turning against our society, but rather working towards building healthy and flourishing communities for our children, our elders, and ourselves. I am drawing inspiration from Ben Falk’s Assessing Resiliency: Aptitude Quiz found at the back of his extremely valuable book The Resilient Farm and Homestead.
Re-skill
“The capitalist mode of production systematically destroys all-around skills where they exist, and brings into being skills and occupations that corresponds to its needs. Technical capacities are henceforth distributed on a strict ‘need to know’ basis. The generalized distribution of knowledge of the productive process among all its participants becomes, from this point on, not merely ‘unnecessary’, but a positive barrier to the functioning of the capitalist mode of production” - Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital (1974)
Since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, work has become increasingly specialized. As the economy continues to grow, we are further encourage to outsource our labour to the extent that we are less likely to cook our own food or to do our own groceries. New needs are created to justify growth and create jobs out of thin air. Unfortunately, at massive scales, we are simply increasing the wealth gap to such a degree that poverty becomes hidden from our sight and our minds. This piece from The Onion sums it up. I believe that a re-skilling strategy could include the following actions:
Starting a tool library
Helping build or renovate a local community hub
Organizing repair cafés
Establishing a time-based currency (or timebanking)
Stay healthy
Consumer culture gives us two contradictory messages: buy processed food and diet. Both are two sides of the same coin. We must buy into a highly processed diet, changing our bodies, and altering our mind, to only then buy yet another diet fad. Opting out means eating nourishing foods in the company of friends and family, exercising daily, and cooking the food we grow with our own hands. Here are some examples on how this can be done:
Starting a community kitchen
Joining a community garden
Exercise regularly in community
Eating nourishing foods
Build friendships
Opting out is not something you do alone. Self-sufficiency doesn’t mean we forsake our families or our communities. Rather, to truly opt-out, we need to cultivate a sense of interdependency. The whole is stronger than its parts. In my experience, I’ve managed to build and sustain my friendships in the following ways:
Joining and participating in a congregation (Why You Should Go to Church (Even If You’re Not Sure of Your Beliefs
Starting a book club or reading circle
Organizing regular potlucks
Scheduling time for ritual and carnival
Love the land
I really like the term topophilia (lit. love of place). I find it unfortunate that the major cities of the world all look the same. Whether you are in Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Paris, or Signapore, the culture is always the same. The cosmopolitan city is disconnected from the land, and its resident is in a perpetual state of limbo, never growing roots. Opting-out requires us to build and establish roots in one place. In this way, we care for the land, our home, which will be inherited by our children. Fortunately for us, achieving topophilia is quite simple:
Organizing a community clean-up
Coordinating a group hike
Taking care of livestock
Building a compost pile
These are some initial notes on opting out from the global monoculture. They are by no means exhaustive, however, the common point is that we can’t opt out alone. It is a grave error to think that we can be self-reliant without family and community. This is why each point here cultivates interdependence instead of radical independence.
Drawing Inspiration
Every week, I share books, podcasts, films, and other resources that will support your journey as a community facilitator and builder.
Videos
Opting out can take many forms. Over the last couple of weeks, I had the opportunity to take a Permaculture Design Course with Rhamis Kent at Zaytuna College. In the course, we looked at many examples of applied permaculture. One of them was a project in California called Village Homes. I invite you to watch this video.