Sep 19 2009
How far should Distributists go in being Self Sufficient?
One of the things I like to do is go to the bookstore to see if there are any interesting books I can add to my to-buy list (sometime I will check the book’s price on-line to see if it is cheaper. If it is not or is a specific book I am looking for, I will buy it right then and there).
Right now, I am looking for ideas to aid in the development of a Distributist society. One of the themes that run through both Distributism and the Catholic Land movements is that self-sufficiency. In Distributism, it is the ability of the person or family to earn a living that is not based solely on the state or working for a corporation. In the Catholic Land movement, it is providing the basic needs of the family from the land as much as possible.
This got me to thinking that most of us do not even have even the basic skills, or even the knowledge, to provide even the most basic of needs from the land. This gets me back to the topic of bookstores. One of the genres of books I have been looking at is how to raise various crops and animals. However, it has not stopped there. I have also found books on how to produce almost everything one needs to survive off the land. This include almost everything including how to generate you own energy and fuels.
Where I am going with this is simple, since Distributism and the Catholic Land movement put a premium on self-sufficiency, I am wondering how far should one go in this self-sufficiency. The answer is all the way, but not in the sense that you may thing. Yes, we should individually become self-sufficient as much as possible, but community self-sufficiency should be more of the ultimate goal. That is, the community must have the ability to be self-sustainable as much as possible without any outside help.
I believe that a community that is based on Distributist principles can, and must, develop all the skills possible to as self-contained as possible. This skill-set must include everything from food production, to energy generation (heck, I even saw one book that showed how to make your own methane) , to health care, to education.
However, this does, and must not, mean that the community be separate from the world. Far from it. We must continue within the world to be an example on how to live. Our Lord said:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 5: 14-16)
We must be that light not only to our community, but also to the world that is sorely needing of that light.
