Vermont Environmental Consortium

And

BRATTLEBORO REFORMER

August 21, 2007
McKibbens' Deep Economy Stresses Community, Localism
by
Daniel Hecht

Bill McKibben is a familiar figure in Vermont: Author of 10 books, a Guggenheim fellow, he’s a resident of Ripton and a frequent presenter at area conferences. Deep Economy is his most recent book and an essential read if you’re interested in trends in environmentalism. In it, he challenges the prevailing economic paradigm and describes a movement that has been quietly growing at the local level worldwide, one that’s increasingly evident in Vermont.

The last century was marked by a contest between American-style capitalism and state-centric communism. McKibben suggests that another economic theory is emerging to redress some of the shortcomings of both.

This community-based economics is characterized by a concern for shared social benefits in preference to the concentration of individual wealth; an emphasis on smaller-scale, local economic development rather than large-scale, global corporatism; and the recognition that environmental impacts must be considered in every kind of economic activity.

Our economy is based on the premise of perpetual growth that assures everyone of ever-increasing personal wealth, and for 200 years it has indeed provided considerable material improvement to many millions of people.

But McKibben cites three failings of the paradigm.

First, it’s not sustainable. This endless-growth pyramid scheme has seemed viable, McKibben says, only because in 1712 we became able to exploit the planet’s colossal stores of coal and oil energy. The invention of the steam engine that year allowed us to mine, log, construct, transport goods, etc. on a historically unprecedented scale.

But there isn’t an endless supply of fossil energy. Furthermore, the planet can’t stand more greenhouse gas emissions or greater consumption of already-depleted resources such as fish, arable land, and water.

Second, it has resulted in social ills. Somewhere along the line, growth capitalism decoupled from human values, and providing common benefits – good for the community – became at best a peripheral objective. McKibben cites dozens of examples in which big business and pursuit of growth have produced lower quality of life and less equality and security, not more. Self-sufficient farming economies have been replaced by industrialized agriculture, resulting in an exodus of farmers to horrific urban slums and factory jobs paying starvation wages.

Third, here in America, it’s no longer making us happy. More is no longer better. Statistical evidence, analyzed by social psychologists, shows that, yes, when you’re hungry or cold, more food or shelter does make you happier; but when you’ve already got enough, more stuff doesn’t. And if you’re achieving more by working longer hours, under greater pressure, with less time for family and neighbors, more often makes you unhappy.

The new community economics may well remedy all three failings.

Among its characteristics are business ethics in which profit, community good, and environmental sustainability are all valued objectives. That’s an area where Vermont is strong: Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility has over 800 members, vastly more per capita than any other state.

Another aspect is localism, such as the local food movement that’s been taking off like a bottle rocket in recent months. Buying local food supports area farmers, keeps money in the state economy, and “gets the miles out” -- uses less petroleum to transport food to our tables.

The burgeoning farmers’ market movement, McKibben says, conveys those benefits and also encourages face-to-face contact with your neighbors. Which makes you healthier as well as happier: Such contact reduces the incidence of heart attacks and depression and increases disease resistance.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is another local marketing model, in which people commit to buying a percentage of a nearby farm’s products. This assures income stability for farmers, provides consumers with the freshest food, gets the miles out, and helps folks meet their neighbors.

Then there’s renewable energy, which is to some extent inherently local. Transport of biomass and transmission of electricity greatly reduce net energy value, so energy from biomass, wind, sunshine, or falling water is best used where it’s produced. Community-supported energy is another innovative concept being actively explored by several Vermont organizations. Some energy sources, such as dams or forests, are already community-owned, and municipalities are good at raising development funds. Community/business partnerships keep the profit motive intact, yet make sure that the enterprise serves the common good. Such partnerships may not generate the huge, concentrated profits of centralized corporate energy, but they’ll still create investment incentives along with good, sustainable jobs.

Perhaps most important, local energy production also provides a secure supply. This desire for self-reliance and basic assurances is a big motive in Vermont’s local economic initiatives, preferable to depending on a global supply infrastructure that’s looking a bit shaky to many.

McKibben doesn’t claim to know the movement’s final form. And he doesn’t suggest an abrupt change of course; rather, “a patient rebalancing of the scales.”

Clearly, here in Vermont, the scales are already starting to shift. It’s another opportunity for leadership, a promising trend that should be included in our planning for future economic development.

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Daniel Hecht is a novelist and executive director of Vermont Environmental Consortium. For more information on any Green Grapevine topic, contact vec@norwich.edu.

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