Here’s a basic (no frills) reason for why we should build resilient communities. Do you have another simple reason? If so, please share it.
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It should be clear, as we watch the gyrations and excesses of global markets, that no organization/state/group has any meaningful control over its direction. The same is true for almost every other aspect of globalization, from the environment to transnational crime to energy flows.
In short, we’ve lost control and our collective future is in the hands of a morally neutral technology system that is operating in ways that we don’t fully understand (nor will we). The best defense against this emerging situation is not to call for new Manhattan projects or global treaties or Marshall plans, which won’t work since we can neither marshal the resources necessary nor collectively agree on anything other than the most basic rules of connectivity, it is to slowly introduce organic stability into out global system. The concept I’ve latched onto as a solution is what I call the resilient community.
This conceptual model creates a set of new services that allow the smallest viable subset of social systems, the community (however you define it), to enjoy the fruits of globalization without being completely vulnerable to its excesses — unfortunately, there will be many. These services are configured to provide the ability to survive an extended disconnection from the global grid in the following areas (an incomplete list):
- Energy.
- Food.
- Water.
- Products.
- Security (both active and passive).
- Communications.
- Transportation.
By increasing local production, resilient communities have the ability to preserve wealth and a quality of life despite severe system shocks (from government failures to market melt downs).
