Monday, December 22, 2008
the Future of Society
In our readings we hear two different opinions on how society is changing and what we should do about it. One idea is that we need to abandon the global economy and focus on the local (agrarian) , while the other embraces what we have become and that we need to go with it (industrial). Both parties see their ideas as progress, and both feel that the others views will only hurt us. Out of these two roads of ideology, which one would you prefer to see us go down?
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I personally find myself attracted towards agrarianism. Local craftsman seem to put such an emphasis on quality. Globalization often undermines quality and puts more of an emphasis on profit. Two summers ago I did some work for a guy in Dubach that owns a blueberry farm. He would hire workers to hand pick the blueberries rather than run a harvesting machine through the fields. He believed that the quality of his blueberries were more important than the profit he made. Ever aspect that went into running the farm was done with the concern for quality. It’s sad to think that globalization is slowly canceling local craftsman like this. Traditions, techniques, and quality which have been passed down for generations will be lost.
ReplyDeleteSometimes however, progress in society allows for more conveniences in our lives we have a market that can come back that will cater to the nonessentials that all of us want. One example are coffee brands. Until recently if you walked down the coffee isle in a store you only would see a couple of types of coffee from major companies like Folgers. Now though if you walk down the same isle you see numerous coffees from many parts of the world that appeal to just a small demographic. this occurs because of demand, people have more free time now with more disposable income which comes from a post-industrial society, fully embrasing the industrial ideals allows for these choices where a consumer can decide on the crafted, seeing it as celebration of the creation of a person, or can go for the economical which will allow the consumer to spend more on other interests. Also if the western world goes to industrialized farmer Joe and his veagen wife can move to Bhutan.
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