Local vs Global

In this post I take a look at the comparison of local economies versus global economies.

The reason I'm writing this post is that I believe there has to be a shift away from global economies and a transition towards local, diverse and resilient economies of scale.

Why is this you may ask? Well, we live in a context where it no longer makes sense to pursue large, fractional, global economies. This is due to peak oil (the age of cheap oil is over) and climate change. In the past apples that have been grown in the UK have been shipped to South Africa for waxing, only to be shipped back to the UK or USA to be sold to the consumer. This is no longer affordable, sustainable or environmentally friendly.  

The transition to local economies means less dependence on fossil fuels to drive the whole production process. What else does it mean? Here are a few insights.

• Greater focus on community, working together, cooperation, giving and sharing
• A connection consciousness; local communities understand how we are connected not only to each other but to eco-systems for our well being too.
• Shorten the distance; this means no longer exporting or importing goods that can be made locally. This actually means there's greater opportunity for skills and business development on the micro scale.
• Local farms can diversify their produce. As used to happen in the traditional farming systems, one could produce up to 10 times more food per unit of land. 
• The interest is in productivity as well as ecological sustainability.

How does this differ from our current systems?

• Standardization drives the production process so that as many types of a single product can be driven to market
• Mono-cultures have been aligned with cheap energy exploitation in order to drive the growth or profit motif
• Large-scale, same products and machine orientated production processes ensure that large corporations like Monsanto swallow the local producer whole. 
• Huge amounts of waste are produced by the global system on a daily basis. 
• The global system of industrial growth does little to ensure any vital elements of bio-diversity are sustained or built upon. 

Although a shift away from fossil fuels means that the global system is deconstructed, I believe that new local, more resilient economies actually give us the opportunity to re-align with what's important to us - namely; community, connection, peace, happiness, meaning and well being.