i_cant_decide's Book Journey

I think people find it uncomfortable to give because we have been traumatized by capitalism. We see exploitation all around us and know that rather than sparking a spirit of generosity, our giving may leave us without. There’s a rational fear of giving too much because we’ve seen what happens to people who don’t have.

I can imagine that it’d be hard for people outside of the USA to understand the dire state that we’re in. Many poor people live in urban areas where gardening isn’t feasible. There’s almost zero green space, foraging is illegal, and much of the gardening/farming know-how has been lost, in favor of seeking employment that’ll provide benefits and wages.

Add onto this that the Europeans who have come here have a history of trying to wipe out anyone who doesn’t think like them, and we have a foundation that cannot sustain a gift economy (at present). There are too many HATED “inferior” groups/peoples for something like this to have a chance of getting off the ground. There’s also all of these ideas about what’s “deserved” and “earned.” There are people who believe if you don’t work, you should starve to death.

Transitioning to a gift economy would mean addressing racism, classism, and sexism for starters, but the US government and US society would rather implode than do any of that.

I’ve hard that part of the reason they do this is liability (or maybe legality). Giving it away comes with risks of being sued. You also have to have permits sometimes to give things away. The food has to be collected and handled a certain way for food safety, so it ends up being too much hassle and risk of getting sued, so throwing it away is more appealing.

I also imagine there’s some thinking of why would anyone buy bread if they can just wait until closing to get it for free. Making money in capitalist systems encourages you to act in ways that are inhumane. You can’t make money otherwise.

This reminds me of something Octavia E. Butler wrote in her essay A Few Rules for Predicting the Future:

“…there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.’”

I think the same is true here. No one person is going to have the answer to how to get out of the state we’re in, and sometimes when people propose solutions, we can latch onto them without giving them adequate consideration. I believe not having actionable steps forces people to really engage with the ideas and think of how to apply them in their lives, which is what’s needed. We don’t have a gift economy because we have poor values and views of each other not because it’s hard and/ we don’t know how. Indigenous Americans had these systems going. They were killed for it (and the land they cared for).

Additionally, the modern world has trained us to value action. If there’s a problem, we’re off to the races to come up with solutions and get to work. The problem is that there’s value in non-action and sometimes non-action is the thing that’s needed. If you’re able to, continue to embrace and think about the discomfort you feel. It’s an important part of shifting into a different way of thinking and being.

Kudos for your post. Hopefully, you got something from the rest of the book.

I’ve been wondering if being grateful for the earth is compatible with the concept of personal property.

It just kind of hit me how we extended the hatred of the female to the plant world. To avoid dealing with fruits and flowers, we’d rather sneeze our lives away. 🥲

One thing that might alleviate some of the anger with previous generations:

Many of them were killed for trying to operate in this way, and the ones that weren’t were often thrown in jail or pushed off of the land. It’s not that they chose overconsumption and individualism. They were beaten and slaughtered into it. (Not everyone, some people chose this life because they see others as inferior and don’t want to share.)

It’s funny because people treat the rational economic man like a historical figure instead of the theory that it is. Capitalists don’t always behave rationally. They too destroy lands and natural resources, but those in power don’t complain when they do. It’s very bizarre.

They do all of this and then lament the declining birth rates. Care work is critical to human survival but is crapped on and devalued. Really, we just don’t seem to appreciate anything other than money (at the macro level), and it’s unfortunate because it makes life grueling when it doesn’t have to be.

The first sentence of this really stuck out to me because I immediately thought of the fireflies (aka lightning bugs). They used to be a huge part of summer, and now I never see them. I can’t remember the last time I saw one. It’s a bit scary.

Her statement wasn’t a future/what if thing. The land is too quiet. Species are dying off now. I think we think of climate change/climate crisis as this far off thing, but it’s happening. It’s not that we will kill the planet, it’s that we are killing it currently.

It’s funny how we’re supposed to be reasonable and logical but our excuse is often “but the plants/animals are doing it!” As if we’re 5 years old.