Virtual Communities Mustn't Be Confused With Real Communities
Posted on Aug 12th, 2007
by 
k
k
Richard Hill's Common-place Book, c. 1530, gave this advice to market traders:
"When ye proffer the pigge open the poke." In modern times, many people have mistaken this for "buyer beware", but what it actually says is "seller have ethics".
Still, if the seller doesn't oblige, then caveat emptor! Have you tried checking out companies selling online by clicking on their links and finding the sources for the materials in their products? Go ahead, give it a try and then tell me you know that's a pig and not a cat. A responsible company involved in sustainable development will resource as many of its materials as possible from sustainable and local suppliers, while the rest will just tell you that you're wonderful simply because you're at their place.
But what place? The deeper problem stems from buying from a placeless market because that choice creates an incentive to believe that real community is dispensable. Online communities are mutual admiration societies, intellectual monocultures, not real communities. Fact is, real communities are local: they have a physical location. And they generally include people you don't necessary like or admire but that do essential things, like keeping thieves from cutting down the trees on main street, killing rats - addressing the local concerns of people through local oversight. Diversity is necessary to resiliency and meaningful growth, and local power is necessary to protect resources because all resources are local somewhere. Does your online purchase support that sort of thing or does it help others to avoid the cost of participating in such indispensible stewardship? More importanly, do you know, or are you part of the problem by default?
Go ahead, enjoy the company of like minds, but if you want to be part of the solution then do more: Get involved in sustainability where you live now. The harder it is, the more it's worth. Here's how to create a sustainable community that's stronger than the global marketplace and so capable of resisting irresponsible exploitation: www.sunmoney.org
Tempus Fugit
"When ye proffer the pigge open the poke." In modern times, many people have mistaken this for "buyer beware", but what it actually says is "seller have ethics".
Still, if the seller doesn't oblige, then caveat emptor! Have you tried checking out companies selling online by clicking on their links and finding the sources for the materials in their products? Go ahead, give it a try and then tell me you know that's a pig and not a cat. A responsible company involved in sustainable development will resource as many of its materials as possible from sustainable and local suppliers, while the rest will just tell you that you're wonderful simply because you're at their place.
But what place? The deeper problem stems from buying from a placeless market because that choice creates an incentive to believe that real community is dispensable. Online communities are mutual admiration societies, intellectual monocultures, not real communities. Fact is, real communities are local: they have a physical location. And they generally include people you don't necessary like or admire but that do essential things, like keeping thieves from cutting down the trees on main street, killing rats - addressing the local concerns of people through local oversight. Diversity is necessary to resiliency and meaningful growth, and local power is necessary to protect resources because all resources are local somewhere. Does your online purchase support that sort of thing or does it help others to avoid the cost of participating in such indispensible stewardship? More importanly, do you know, or are you part of the problem by default?
Go ahead, enjoy the company of like minds, but if you want to be part of the solution then do more: Get involved in sustainability where you live now. The harder it is, the more it's worth. Here's how to create a sustainable community that's stronger than the global marketplace and so capable of resisting irresponsible exploitation: www.sunmoney.org
Tempus Fugit
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