20. Localism or Globalism?

Small-scale eco-communities can’t really solve the world’s problems. In our reality of shared global social and ecological systems, we also need a shared global democracy so we can really live in justice, equality and sustainability.

Episode Transcript

(00:08):
A lot of people who care about social and environmental issues, and about social justice,
often feel rather scared about the idea of world federation or world government.
These ideas  somehow seem too big, too out-of-our-control, too bureaucratic.
They tend to prefer small-scale solutions, like living in small communities or eco-villages,

(00:29):
where they can basically cut themselves off from the world and all its problems and injustices.
In their small communities they can create a microcosm of social and environmental justice,
discussing issues in small assemblies, living simply and growing their own food.
In short, they prefer localism over globalism.
But is this really a solution? It might lead to a nice life for these individuals,

(00:55):
in their eco-villages, but does it really help the cause of global justice?
Is it really a remedy for the world’s problems?
If you think about it, then it’s obvious that it’s not.
It’s just a way to try to cut off from the world and essentially put your head in the sand.
‘But at least we don’t contribute to any of the world’s problems or injustices’,

(01:16):
many of these localists say, ‘we just lead a good life and don’t harm any others or cause any pollution’.
But is that actually true?If you still use a computer, or a mobile phone,
then you’re certainly contributing to pollution and injustice
because in order to produce the cobalt that is necessary to make these phones and computers
child workers work for long hours in dangerous conditions in mines in Africa and elsewhere.

(01:41):
And of course, these mines produce a huge amount of environmental pollution.
And if you are wearing clothes, then most likely they were made in sweatshops in Africa or Asia,
again by poorly treated workers, working long hours in poor and dangerous conditions for extremely low pay.
And if you are using electricity, it was most probably generated from oil or coal,

(02:02):
contributing to environmental pollution and to climate change.
And so on, and so on, and so on.
If you really wanted to be sure that you weren’t contributing to the world’s problems and injustices,
then you would have to say goodbye to your computer, goodbye to your mobile phone,
goodbye to pretty much all modern tech and gadgets, from ovens to fridges to telephones and air conditioners and so on.

(02:27):
And if you wanted to use electricity, then you’d have to generate it yourself,
through solar panels or wind turbines, that you’d also have to have made yourself, from locally-available materials.
You’d have to make your own clothes,and you'd also have to grow your own cotton to make them with.
And so on and so on.
In essence,  you would have to live a life rather similar to the traditional communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America,

(02:53):
living in some kind of mud or wooden hut,
and spending all your days working the land to produce enough food to eat.
Now I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with such a life.
I’m actually an anthropologist and I’ve spent several years living in a mud hut in a village in rural Africa.
And in many respects it’s a very good life.
But I don’t think that it is the life that most localists imagine for themselves.

(03:18):
I think most of them imagine some kind of idyllic small-scale utopia where they live with other like-minded souls,
perhaps they grow their own food, but nonetheless they live with all modern comforts and gadgets, they use computers,
and mobile phones, they wear clothes, some of them at least, they use electricity,  and so on.
And they believe that somehow in this way they are stilldoing good for the world,

(03:41):
or at the very least, not contributing to its problems and injustices.
But this just is not the case.
So, if you want all of these things, and there’s absolutelynothing wrong with that,
then you have to accept that you are still part of the world system, even if you live in a small-scale eco-community.
And therefore, what you’re actually doing there is creating a nice life for yourselves,

(04:04):
and simply ignoring the suffering and injustice
that is caused around the world to make your nice life possible.
If you actually care about other people in the world, and about poverty and injustice,
about human rights, and about environmental pollution and climate change, then you have to realise
that the only way to do something about those problems is to work to change the world system.

(04:31):
These problems simply cannot be solved at the local level.
They can only be solved at the global level.
And that’s why we argue that if you care about social and environmental justice,
then you need to be a globalist.
Working for global change might not be as fun as living in a small-scale experimental community.
It’s a bit abstract. It doesn’t give you the immediate kick of satisfaction of helping someone face-to-face,

(04:55):
or of achieving a goal straight away. It will probably take quite a long time.
But changing the global system is the only way that we are evergoing to rid the world of poverty and injustice.
And its probably the only way that we  have a chance of saving the world from massive climate change and environmental destruction.
If you truly want to solve these issues, then you need to work towards a democratic and just world system,

(05:20):
one in which all the world’s people have a say in how the world system is designed,
and then create global courts and institutions to enforce these democratically-make decisions.
It may seem far off, but if we all work together then it can be much closer than we ever imagined.
So, are you a localist or a globalist?