Today I had the pleasure of discussing ideas about the village with Kathy and Donna. They both asked some wonderful questions and shared some of their thoughts and experiences. I hope to recapture some of the clarity that I gained from that conversation here and further explicate the vision.
I was asked if I could boil it down to a couple of things. I was surprised to discover that almost everything else seems to come from subsidiarity and inter-reliance, along with self-sufficiency. The other principles I wrote about further show how those things function.
I also realized that I haven't written here about "satellite housing". Basically, the idea is to have a central building containing a large kitchen, workspace, a library, etc. It's a waste to have a full kitchen for everyone, excess of so many things that aren't used all the time, or that are, but would be much more efficient if people concentrated the effort. And having things in a shared space keeps people closer. There could also be dorms in the central building for people who can't be at the village full-time or for guests.
However, I also realize that people need some private space. So people could have very small dwellings throughout the area... and I mean small.
I have been informed by Shad that I'm not terribly coherent at the moment. Therefore I shall continue about satellite housing later.
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Hey Saera,
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering whether you've read Walden Two, by B.F. Skinner. Among many other things, he has some interesting ideas about how to share space. You might already be familiar with him as the behaviorism guy- Twin Oaks based a lot of their principles on his ideas. Some of it I find a little disturbing, and it's dated because it was written in the 50's I think, but there's useful ideas in there.
Also, I thought your definition of egalitarianism in the last post was very interesting. That word is often taken to mean that no person should have more in terms of money or possessions or liberties or even responsibilities than any other person. I've always disagreed with this idea, because some people just have different needs, and of course different abilities. It creates at least as much unfairness when you try to treat everybody exactly precisely fairly.
But the way you defined it is more flexible, which I think is much more practical. Still, it sounds a little like that line straight out of our American Dream, in which opportunity for equality means that some kids have to work two jobs to be able to go to school.
No doubt about it, equality is a sticky subject. Thanks for making me think about it.
I haven't read Walden Two yet, although I finally stumbled across it in a used bookstore in Vermont in January, so it's sitting somewhere in my house with the other things I need to study. Maybe I should make a post outlining my thoughts on equality/egalitarianism. Anyway, the idea is that eventually going to school will work entirely differently anyway, so people could focus on school the way they really need to be able to. Anyway, I've written some more on satellite housing which will be published here very soon. As always, thank you for reading. I'm dying for you to get back to the states, but also appreciating everything you're doing and learning. :D
ReplyDeleteHmmm I kind of like the satellite housing idea, would definitely add to the efficiency of certain objects like kitchen appliances etc. But wouldn't living so close cause people to drive each other nuts after awhile?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the satellite housing idea. I don't think it has to drive anyone crazy... that's why people will have personal space and plenty of room outside, for one thing. Oh, I guess I didn't write about that so much. Guess I should elaborate on that... Thanks for your comment Hyrum!
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