For centuries, much of human culture has been about expansion – expanding our territory, our populations, our access to resources, our communication, our economy, our influence. One might argue that the 20th century was the epitome of bigger and better expansionism: two “world” wars among many international conflicts, extreme improvements in transportation (air travel, automobiles everywhere, better boats, trains and public transportation), and the ability to communicate instantaneously and broadly (enhancements to or invention of: radio, telephone, electronic amplification, television, various telecommunication networks, television).
The 20th century ideals of expansion were wildly successful – the world is more connected than ever before; resources, communications and people can and do regularly cross the globe. Our world has become interdependent, such that the well-being of a country like Greece can drastically affect other economies across the world, and vice versa. And vast numbers of people, not just the super-rich, can purchase and use items manufactured and transported from afar, using fuel and craftsmanship from around the world. Advertisements, the threads of the 20th century economy, literally blanket the world, on billboards and vehicles, sports stadiums and events, flickering across every manner of electronic device, including those small items some of us carry with us everywhere as if they were our lifelines.
World domination is not just for fictional supervillains, but is embedded in the mission statements of various corporations (e.g., a can of brand X fructose-sweetened cola-nut beverage in every hand). Economic measures expect endless growth. However, in the 21st century, we are running into limits: there isn’t always more of the same to be gotten. There’s not always more money, there’s not always more trees, more fish in the sea, more rare earth metals, more clean water, more clean air, more arable land. And, sorry to tell you power brokers, but 7 billion+ people do NOT all want the same things. You cannot create a movie or advertisement or political campaign that appeals to “everyone” and further consolidates power at the top, shoving more and more people into the bottom of your pyramid.
The 21st century is not that kind of world.
In the previous century, business moguls, politicians and other power brokers got used to the one-to-many implementation of ideas, utilizing mass production for entertainments, appliances, weaponry, agriculture, energy and cultural unification. But there is no unity without a healthy and significant diversity. The world is sick, covered with oil slicks and children labor for our chocolate. Our energy infrastructure is extensive, but frail – any significant storm can take out trees and power, while business as usual is helping to magnify the quantity and strength of such storms.
Most of us do not want to live in a giant machine of unbridled consumption, constantly burning fuels, polluting the air, earth and water, creating mountains of waste and spurring violence against the humans who protest the poisoning of their homes or countries which dare to withhold resources (or even to raise the minimum wage). Sure, we want gadgets and a healthy economy, but not heedless of the consequences. In the information age, the adverse side effects cannot be hidden – we know. And we know we can be smarter about this – we want something more personal and sustainable. We’re running out of space and out of tolerance for this kind of thoughtless expansion.
The future is contraction.
The earth demands it. We don’t need world-wide supply lines of energy for our most basic needs, we have the technology to harness renewable energy at home and to use the energy more efficiently. We don’t need mono-culture factory farming of just a handful of crops more than we need our rainforests – we need the natural diversity of plants. We don’t need animal flesh and secretions for every human whim – the planet cannot afford that kind of inefficiency with 7 billion human beings.
The world seems smaller because there are more of us in the same space. We can no longer pretend that the few represent the many, when there are so very, very many of us. We’ve got to have compromise and tolerance – no “one” type of person can be considered “everyman” – there is no such thing. We have to account for the complexity of the modern world and the extreme variance of human individuals. Diversity is no longer optional.
We need customization. We need many small businesses and myriad options to choose from, not some false dichotomy of monolithic brands (e.g., Coke vs. Pepsi) or “2” political parties. We don’t live in a “there are two kinds of people” world. There aren’t just single people and married heterosexuals; there aren’t just blacks and whites; there aren’t just rich and poor. Women are not a “minority” nor a “market segment” with everything in common. The need for healthcare may be universal, but our health needs are individual – reactions to medicines and nutritional requirements vary widely.
We exist in the confluence of various spectrums.
The time is coming to contract, to bring it smaller and closer to home. Our personal electronics know it, but our societal id still screams that more bigger is better. Time to get that infantile urge in check and be reasonable: use less energy, waste less, aim for local and sustainable, drive less, walk more, eat nature- and human-friendly plant-based foods, compost, recycle, work from or close to home, live in communities, share ideas long distance but start insourcing, reduce war/violence, coexist.
There’s no more frontier. This is our home.
Let’s try living in it.
