Vi-Tocracy
The Other Way –
To a World of Simplicity, with Peace and Security,
Where Faith generates Action;
Producing a ‘Caring and Sharing Society’.
In unity with Nature.
In the security of my snow-bound cabin, I look back, in reverie, over the events of the past century. From this perspective, I perceive that our patient, abused, old planet has gone through a great many momentous, physical and social transformations.
Science and Technology, controlled and managed by inexorable Business practices, have radically changed our Way of Life. The results of some of these changes have tended to give a better way of life to a certain minority. Those who had, had been able to obtain even more. However those who had little often lost that which they had.
The Second World War, which was a second attempt to end all wars, followed the “Great Depression”, which was largely an economic product of the First World War. It was noted that this did give some temporary relief to our economic distress by conscripting many men and women for duty to their country, either indirectly in industry or directly to serve the war machine. With this war, they thought that they had saved our world from destruction and domination by any one super power, by inventing and using that Super Bomb. This, by its very nature, should have outlawed any future war?
But wars did not cease. They merely changed their nature. Just as what happened to the “Magic Broom Stick”, when it was broken, it was still a broomstick fragmented into many pieces! Unfortunately, we did not learn that wars could not be ended by “counter wars”!
This new “salvation for our way of life”, has lead us on a campaign whose ultimate goal could be the possible destruction of our environment along with our social system and then, ultimately the destruction of all of the human species.
It seems that the competitive spirit that was born in humanity’s jungle days had been resurrected and revitalized to serve in rebuilding our economy so as to establish us in a place of pre-eminence among the nations of the world.
Today, all of us are living in this very active “free enterprise, competitive, capitalist society”. This, we have been told is what worldly success is all about.
Industries twinned with businesses have always been encouraged to create a “Demand” and to make “Profit and Production” their goal—the more profit from more production, the better.
It can now be seen that the twentieth century, from the end of that Second World War until the present time, employed this economic philosophy to the advantage of the operators and the speculators.
One might say, in spite of several ups and downs, this past century was quite successful in spawning and developing many innovative technologies. These technologies, when applied to this combination of Industry plus Business, were responsible for the countless, sometimes useless, devices and gadgets made for the consuming, subservient public. This activity over-used many of our precious Natural Resources thereby creating much wasteful garbage, as well as air, soil and water pollution. This pollution is now fast approaching the danger point.
I have seen those faithful horses with buggies, replaced by the faster, sleeker, energy consuming, and pollution-generating automobiles. On the farms, I have seen the single furrow, horse drawn “walking plow”, replaced first by the farm tractor, then by those farm leviathans that do all of the crop preparation in one pass. These, in turn generated many other industries to service and supply them with an increasing number of gadgets, some useful, some necessary, others, questionable. I saw the simple country, party line Telephone spawn in turn, the Radio and the Television, reputed to be necessities for every home. I saw the rail traffic systems expand from the pollution generating, coal fired locomotives to high-speed, sleek electric and diesel-electric trains spanning the continents. I have seen the cumbersome Bi-plane of the Wright Bros grow to the giant “Concord”, as well as the super airliners projected for the future. I have seen the computer, originally designed for Industry and Business develop from huge mechanical devices requiring special rooms to contain them, to hand held devices and, as I hear tell, still smaller ones projected for everyday use in the future. I bear witness to the Silicone-Business-Industrial trilogy, with their goal of having at least one PC (personal computer) in every home, linked in a “World-wide Web” designed for business and commerce as well as for entertainment.
From here, I see these three giants; Technology, Industry and Business, forever racing on headlong, followed closely by Party Politics, to a finish line somewhere– where they know not. They cannot see their goal because of the dazzling light of fleeting “monetary success”.
Not only do they visualize the World as their prey, they now have their eyes focused (however dimly) on the Stars and “Outer Space” as opportunities for human habitation, commerce and exploitation.
Let us pause here while we consider the full meaning of this appetite for unrestricted expansion and profit. What has this philosophy with its associated activity, not only done but is it still doing, at an alarming rate, to our environment and to the social lives of the six billion or so human beings struggling to live here? Speed, everywhere seems to be paramount.
What has this philosophy and activity done to our wild life of which we, whether we like it or not, are an important part? Biological science is trying to explain to us the vital importance of all life forms, active in our environment. At the same time scientists are trying to create new forms of life. We are all in this Life Cycle together, each sustaining the other, often in very mysterious ways. As I have frequently said, “We are each others life support system”. Are we not?
From my perspective, here on my Back Forty, I notice that many of our forests and our wood lots, some of which have taken several centuries to grow, are rapidly being used unsustainably, even to the point of extinction.
Our wetlands, our streams, our lakes and our fresh water rivers are becoming dangerously contaminated and unfit for their intended use of serving many of our living organisms including mankind.
Let us consider these facts, while I search for a drink of fresh, clean water!
Your Neighbor,
Timothy Haystubble (Grass Roots Philosopher)