Shows such as “Upstairs Downstairs”, and “Downton Abbey” are very popular
among some. The idyllic setting of the English estate exudes images of heaven.
Life is good, at times even for those in servitude. Does not every human being
have their place?
Imagine the elderly matriarch directing the young servants in the proper
place setting for an upcoming meal; explaining etiquette and what will be
expected of them.
Now let us reimagine. Rather than speaking to servants, this wise old
matriarch is speaking to her grandchildren and great grand children. Further,
when she was of their age she was being instructed in the same manner to carry
out the same duties.
Every child under their matriarchs tutelage has the same opportunity to
inherit or build a similar legacy to their forbearer.
The system is changed from one of disparity, master servant, to a value
centric system. The Matriarch is in the position to bestow values, and the
children are in a position to receive or inherit value; moral values, productive
societal norms, among others and even material value.
In this dynamic the matriarch conveys value, or you could say love, and the
children respond with a natural receiving nature and exuding beauty to the
matriarch. All the while the children grow in their own abilities to love. A
hierarchy of age and experience, rather than an arbitrary social standing is
created. You could call it a natural or true system of hierarchy.
The idyllic estate model entails a closeness to nature, a stewardship over
the land, which may take many forms. A working agricultural endeavor, providing
that closeness to nature, God, the cycles of the seasons, life and death,
existence itself, is just one template. Land dedicated to forestry, hunting, or
to creating beauty for all to share in the form of gardens is another. All add
value to the greater good and convey similar virtues.
People seeking values, a new system that is sustainable and self reliant, are
pursuing small scale organic, natural, farms and homesteads across the world,
particularly the first world. Market gardens, permaculture orchards, pastured
chickens and eggs, grass fed and grass finished beef, silvoculture; the list
goes on.
Many of those propagating such systems do not believe communal farming can
ever work well. Some recognize in such attempts that those run by people of a
shared religious faith do better than those of more humanist tendencies. The
missing common denominator is ‘universally shared values’ which I believe exists
in a family/tribal structure, yes, much more than amongst believers of a shared
faith..
Under the control of an extended family I see, a concept of anti-fragility
growing amongst contemporary thinkers and value seekers, being established. That
is not simply a sustainable system of life, but one that is not fragile, can
grow stronger under adversity. Only under an extended family can the vast
variety in food production necessary to handle adverse conditions, such as
natural disaster or societal breakdown, be achieved.
All farmers of this new, but really old, kind of agriculture limit their
scope due to not simply the limits of their personal manpower, but also the
limits of fulfillment one can experience in creating an extensive operation
through employees; employees that may or may not share the same passions as the
employer and may have disconnected interests as to the future of the
endeavor.
To the employed it is not a question of heritage but simply income, with
hopefully a somewhat shared idealism thrown in. Definitely an employee is not
family. You can call them family, but it never is the same.
Besides ‘mutually shared values’, which a good family naturally entails, one
of three tenants of my faith required for the creation of an ideal world, two
other elements are necessary. ‘Interdependence’ and ‘mutual prosperity.’ In such
a social structure of extended family, recognizing their reliance on the land,
these develop naturally. They are lessons that can also be extending to the
greater society as children grow and mature to take up their own positions in
society.
But not everyone can be a farmer if mankind is to express the full potential
of his God given nature. While such an estate can accommodate people of varying
talents and skill, and give loving support to the elderly or less fortunate,
other pursuits are best fostered amongst a population concentration.
Larger communities, rather than small, far excel in support for the highest
standards of learning and the arts. How is one to form an orchestra of the
highest caliber on such a family estate no matter how extended that family may
be? How would sport clubs be supported, or institutions of the highest learning,
but by a large concentration of people of similar disposition?
What about manufacture and industry?
The facilities in a classic estate model are generally grand and could
accommodate a variety of manufacturing or production models. With computers, CNC
machines and 3D printers, limits no longer exist to the creativity of man within
such a dynamic and supportive system of extended family.
Larger manufacturing endeavors could be supported by a factory town. I
believe small towns will be much more desirable living environments than our
current urban centers in the near future. More complex and advanced projects,
dependent upon complex supply chains would benefit from an urban, or better said
metropolitan environment.
Does the high percentage of people currently living in cities live in a state
of sustainability and resilience? I do not believe so, and today’s system is
certainly not anti-fragile. It is far too dependent on easily disrupted
distribution systems that if broken would lead to urban societal collapse.
I believe personally no more than one third of the world’s population can
exist in an urban environment in an ideal world. And those cities would need to
be more resilient than they currently are. I will be expounding on this and
other points in the future.
In this pursuit of the ideal of, ‘interdependence, mutually prosperity and
universally shared values’ I believe the social structure necessary to achieve
this goal is absolutely clear, without doubt. It is the extended family. Any
honest and objective observation of history, of societies of goodness, will
reveal the importance of strong family structures.
What other constructs best serve the goal of ‘interdependence, mutual
prosperity and universally shared values?’ What is the ideal built environment?
What institutions and sustainable practices will create productivity, anti-
fragility, health in body and mind and allow mankind to strive for the highest
endeavors, to reach the stars?
These will be the issues this blog will be addressing. I hope any and all
interested parties will share freely, that we may pursue these goals together,
learning from each other for best possible solutions.
Thank you for reading.
