Does Globalisation need an antidote? For many people it clearly does not – globalisation is promoted by business and by most governments as the process by which everyone can get what they want at a price they can afford. As far as one can judge, the majority of the world accepts this claim at face value, and if people have any problem with it at all, it is generally that they are worried about not having enough money to buy as many of the things offered by globalisation as they would like.
Not Having as Much Money as One Needs
This difficulty hints at one of the core problems arising from the new global economy: the disempowerment of individuals, families, and local communities. On the one hand, prices for products and services that have become essential to modern life are fixed by people that one is never likely to meet, and over whom one has no control, whilst, on the other hand, the ways and means by which one can acquire the money which one needs are also not under one’s direct control. This means that one can find oneself working harder than one wants, being forced to neglect responsibilities that one would like to fulfil, and doing things with which one does not really agree, to get a salary that may not be sufficient to keep one out of debt.
No One Being Able to Take Responsibility
This leads to another problem associated with globalisation: lack of responsibility. Most people accept that we now have a problem with climate change, environmental damage, plastic in the ocean, poor air quality, poor food quality, poor education, poor care of the elderly and the vulnerable, poor government, etc., but very few of us feel individually responsible for the current state of affairs. We probably accept that the job that we do for a living has a negative impact on the environment, and that we are forced to let down people who we are supposed to be caring for, and, if we are honest, we probably have to admit that this makes us feel both guilty and anxious. Even so, we imagine that the blame lies elsewhere, probably with the people in charge, whilst the people in charge claim that they are doing the best job that they can in the circumstances. The result is that no one is taking responsibility for the current state of affairs.
A Sense of Something Being Seriously Wrong
So if you are feeling financially stressed, guilty, and worried about the environment, then the globalised economy is not working for you. Hoe farming can represent the first step of the road to a solution. It involves working the land with hand tools, and therefore involves minimal expense, does not involve the use of fossil fuels or machines, and has a purely positive effect upon the environment.
It allows you to meet at least some of your basic needs without any recourse to the global economy – alleviating to a certain extent the sense of guilt and insecurity with which we are afflicted.
Buy the book: An Introduction to Twenty-First Century Hoe Farming – an antidote to the global economy. Second Edition 2022