Small Spaces etc. - Life is short

As American as Apple Pie

A people’s history of the commons in the U.S.

Although new to us, the commons is actually a very old idea that has continually influenced human progress. It remains a central organizing principle of indigenous peoples, peasant communities and advanced industrial nations. Social democracy, as practiced in Europe and other places, embodies a basic commons principle—that no one should be denied basic needs like food, housing, health care, day care, education, transportation, job training, paid vacation, a comfortable old age and a measure of dignity in their lives.

American society has been grounded in commons since the beginning. “Nature’s gifts are the common property of the human race,” declared Thomas Paine. The Land Ordinance of 1785, drafted by a committee of the Continental Congress that included Thomas Jefferson, established a cooperative model for settlement of the West (and removal of Indian nations) by setting aside one square-mile section of every township as common property to be used to support a public school.

New Deal legislation, crowned by the Social Security Act, as well as the GI Bill drew upon a sense of the commons—the belief that we’re all in this together—to ease economic disadvantage and elevate millions of families into the middle class. In many cases, however, these benefits were denied to African Americans, a situation Ira Katznelson chronicles in his book When Affirmative Action Was White. Repairing the long- standing injustice done to African Americans, American Indians, Latinos and other excluded groups remains one of the central missions of commons activism today.

Although rarely articulated as a distinct philosophy, the ideals of the commons provided inspiration for key advancements throughout our history—some by government programs and others by citizen initiatives, ranging from public health improvements to the labor and women’s movements. All these success stories refute frequent claims that individualism alone accounts for America’s progress.

—JAY WALLJASPER
Photo from flickr.com under a Creative Commons license

Editor: Another chapter in Celebrating the Commons: People Stories and Ideas for the New Year from Commons Magazine being presented each Sunday at EYNU.

Number of the Day = 300

The richest 300 people on earth have the same wealth as the poorest 3 billion. This is no accident - those in power write the rules. Together, we have the power to change those rules.

The extreme truth about how wealth is divided globally. Inspired by the amazing "Wealth Inequality in America" video.

Small Spaces etc. - Casa Kids, furniture for smaller bodies

Better utilization of space is the underlying theme of a smaller footprint in our homes and lifestyles. We've also made the obvious connection of economic value in reducing square footage of homes and apartments.

Today we feature an Argentinian designer, Alberto Gil, who has designed for kids for the last 20 years.

Casa Kids by Roberto Gil from Roberto Gil on Vimeo.

Here's how Casa Kids describes the project:

Roberto has manipulated the relatively small space to create an environment where the two sisters who share it can enjoy private and common space in equal measure, imparting a powerful sense of autonomy for each sister. They both enjoy a private area for sleep and study, as well as their own nooks and niches, scaled specifically to their smaller frames and shorter vantage points. Providing the sisters with a sense of privacy and belonging, while still allowing them to come together in the central area that’s created by the symmetrical staircases that surround it, is the chief accomplishment of this design.

In addition to effectively creating two rooms within a room, the design is a powerhouse in terms of storage. Roberto has built deep
drawers into each bed, in addition to the drawers that double as stairs within the identical staircases. The room also features endless shelving and a three-tier closet that stands more than nine feet high. The U-shaped staircases offer increased safety as children climb up and down, as well as make it easy for parents to access their children’s beds when it’s time for laundry, bedtime stories or cozying up next to sleepy faces.

Roberto has dubbed the design an example of
“Children’s Architecture” because of the way it mimics large-scale architecture on kid-size terms.

via Apartment Therapy

Accidental Racism = Lie

 

There is no such thing as "accidental" racism. On an individual level, a White person may unintentionally say or do something racist, because they are cloaked in the ignorance of unexamined privilege. But that doesn't make it accidental. That is the result of an entire culture carefully built around structural racism that privileges Whiteness and viciously defends White people's ability to coast through life never having to become familiar with any perspectives or lived experiences but their own. That is no goddamn accident. 

It is also the result of individual White people choosing to lazily bask in the luxury of their racial privilege, despite the fact there are all kinds of opportunities to question the white supremacist narratives with which we are all socialized. The luxury to know those narratives are bullshit is not one that it shared by people of color, and it is a choice to start the lifelong journey toward understanding (and not trading on) one's White privilege, or to sit in the comfortable easy chair of unexamined privilege. That, too, is no goddamn accident. It is a choice.

whoooooops, I'm a racist

A “Tragedy of the Commons” or Not a Tragedy?

Elinor Ostrom’s global research showed that commons work for everyone when they are properly managed

Everyday more and more people are realizing that many of the most important things in life belong to all of us. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that in this era of market absolutism, the commons itself is under threat like never before.

In some cases, what belongs to all of us is being privatized—stolen, really—for the benefit of a few. Since the 1980s, owners of radio and TV stations have had almost no responsibilities to the public interest in return for the fortunes they make on our public airwaves—a free ride now being sought by web providers who want to shred net neutrality rules that ensure everyone equal access to the Internet.

In other cases, the commons is simply neglected or nibbled away until it becomes less valuable to everyone—reinforcing the market mantra that you cannot depend on anything you don’t own yourself. Although this never made sense to Americans left behind by the economy, many middle-class people came to accept that logic over the past 30 years. Who cares that Social Security appears shaky and the recreation center at the park is falling down, when you can stash your cash in a 401K and buy into a private health club?

That’s all changed with the economic distress of the last five years. Suddenly what we share—parks, libraries, transit, public schools, a social safety net, a sense of community cooperation—has become increasingly important. Yet, ironically, at a time when demand for public and civic services is rising, sharp reductions in tax revenues and charitable giving mean they are being cut back or eliminated altogether.

It’s crazy that library hours are being slashed at a time when increasing numbers of people can’t afford private Internet service or new books. It’s ridiculous that transit fares are rising and routes being cut at a time when it’s harder than ever for some people to afford cars or gas, and when it’s clear that auto emissions are affecting the world’s climate. It’s criminal that programs helping the poor, both in government and the nonprofit sector, are struggling to find money when so many more people now depend on them.

This amounts to full-scale retreat from the greater good, which we can call “a tragedy of the commons.” Of course that’s the opposite of how this phrase is generally understood—that the commons itself is the tragedy, not its destruction or theft.

This negative view dates back to 1968 when wildlife biologist Garrett Hardin published “The Tragedy of the Commons,” a hugely influential essay in Science magazine where he speculated that collective ownership of resources was a major factor in environmental destruction. He described a hypothetical common pasture and argued that because no one owned it outright, no one has an incentive to take care of it, meaning that everyone will graze as many cattle as possible there until the land turns barren and worthless.

Zealous free market advocates seized on Hardin’s parable as proof that any system other than rigid private property leads to ruin. It took the work of the late political scientist Elinor Ostrom—co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Economics, the first woman so honored—to finally debunk the belief that commons inevitably lead to tragedy.

Ostrom’s field work in Kenya, Switzerland, Guatemala, Nepal, Turkey and Los Angeles shows that real people in real communities generally create rules and systems to protect the precious resources they share. These can be enforced by government regulation, local customs or other means to make sure that common property and livelihoods are protected. Other examples include the rules New England lobstermen developed through the years to prevent overfishing or irrigation systems in New Mexico that have been successfully and fairly governed by community groups for four centuries.

Garrett Hardin eventually admitted that what he was talking about were unmanaged commons, not all forms of commons.

In situations when there is no governance of what belongs to all, the tragedy Hardin describes still goes on. We see this today in the collapse of ocean fish stocks, and the increase in greenhouse gases, which are disrupting our climate. This is because selfish national interests have stymied any international agreements to protect our global commons.

—JAY WALLJASPER
Photo of Elinor Ostrom courtesy of Augsburg College.

Editor: Another chapter in Celebrating the Commons: People Stories and Ideas for the New Year from Commons Magazine being presented each Sunday at EYNU.

According to Mary: Developer

Shame on Senate

H/T Ad agency: Grey, NYC via Mock, Paper, Scissors

Asthisrelatesto-subject-verb Muir

Insubstantial is hardly a common description for Mark Muir.  But watching Councilman Muir over the last three months of council meetings I have one response - yawn. His contributions to council discussions show a decided lack of . . . well anything.  As it relates to . . . subject . . . verb - week after week.  Punctuated by strings of jargon, acronyms and buzz words, his mouth moves but it sounds like the teacher's voice from the Peanuts cartoon.

At the last council meeting Deputy Mayor Shaffer's made a motion for the small task of double checking the wording on the council-crafted rebuttal to the Voter Initiative argument. She named him for a subcommittee and he seemed really uncomfortable and unwilling to take on any real responsibility.

This is one person's perspective, however; with ATRT-subject-verb Muir receiving a pension 14 times larger than this person's social security retirement income, I'm baffled at this failure upwards he represents.  More galling is his constant - hypocritical - demands to justify money spent by the city.

Just an observation that he seems to just be taking up space.  That is all.

Past blog post during campaign. 

Small Spaces etc. - Art & Architecture - Hospitality Revenue - Eco Education

Connecting some of Encinitas passions (and economy options) of art, environment, education, gardens, sustainability, tourism, hospitality, beach and community character; there is a reoccurring idea that visits every time I hear about Pacific View site. That is the idea of having accommodations for trying out eco living options; that is, how to live lightly on the land.  It seems a good fit with education and ecology with a built in revenue generating plan.

But, this caterpillar shaped pod by Nomadic Resorts design team seemed to link the art world with its beautiful natural aesthetic.  As the Treehugger post where I found this concept suggests, it is idealistic and escapist, but that can spell attractive for a tourist experience sought by some with lots of money but little experience with simple green living.  The appeal would be a small but very expensive hospitality venue overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the heart of a beach community's active art community.  Here are some of the details to describe the pods, called "the Looper", from the designers' website:

The Looper is a luxury pod inspired by the form of a caterpillar. The orthogonal structure uses a small volume of structural material to enclose a large internal volume in translucent fabric. The recycleable membrane flysheet lasts for decades, withstands the harshest environmental conditions, emits no volatile organic compounds and glows like a firefly at night.

LIGHTNESS

Each pre-fabricated product is designed for disassembly so that the units can be taken to pieces, packed into containers and shipped to a different location as and when required, Resorts and camps can change places to provide new, exciting experiences in destinations where conventional construction would be impossible.

LUXERY COMFORTS

The Looper is a 40m2 [430 sf] air conditioned resort villa that harvests rainwater, produces and stores solar energy and treats its own waste water.

The unit includes a fully functioning en-suite bathroom with solar hot water, a generously proportioned changing room, an air-conditioned sleeping area, a desk area and an outdoor living deck the roof of which can be opened and closed at the flick of a switch.

SPACE

The pod is perfectly proportioned for a luxurious break…the internal dimensions
are 10m long, 4m wide with a 3 m ceiling height [33 x 13 x10] and generous space for circulation. In addition the pod provides excellent privacy, acoustic insulation and it is protected against unwanted guests (such as mosquitoes)

CHILL 

The hammock chill-out area has a dual purpose…in the day it is a great place to sunbathe, read a book, watch the wildlife or sip a beer but at night the retractable roof can be pulled down, the LCD projector ignited and the area is transformed into a cozy cinema experience where you enjoy your favorite film with a glass of wine.

Okay, that last bit was pretty corny. But, regardless of this exact product which - full disclaimer that EYNU has no financial arrangement - is sourced in Europe, is meant for inspiration. Of course the concept is filled with local code hurdles beyond the biggest obstacle for all of us in Encinitas - who will own the land and how will it be financed?

The ability to dismantle and move these structures means sharing the site over a calendar year may require intense tourist focus at some points, children's exposure at another and overlapping use like art and garden use throughout the year.

This concept invites discussion of a diverse list of community interests coming together, along with the city of Encinitas to envision disparate yet linked interests and values. The self-sufficient living pods, luxery edition, are a way of keeping the numbers and footprints very small, but revenues large. And, very rich tourist will have a good story to tell.

Best of all, this is one small space offers a means of shifting away from consumption of stuff to investing in the offering of unique life experiences and valuable life learning that once practiced no one and nothing can take from another.

April 15, 2013

"A petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government."

Bill Moyers Essay: The United States of Inequality from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Transcript available at billmoyers.com

7 Reasons Why We Believe Land Is an Essential Commons

Even when privately owned, it must be stewarded for future generations

Here at On the Commons, we believe land is an essential commons. What follows is a list of beliefs that support that idea.

1. Land is not a commodity; human beings did not create it. Land is a gift given by the universe to us all.
2. In order for a restorative economy to emerge and for local economies to flourish, we must gradually transform our thinking and behavior toward land.
3. Viewed through the lens of the commons, all communities have a fundamental and equitable claim to our common inheritance of natural and created abundance, and they must also play a critical role in the stewardship of those resources.
4. When we buy and sell land we are really buying and selling certain rights of use to the land, rather than the land itself. And these rights are always balanced by responsibilities. Therefore, having the right to a certain piece of land should always come with an obligation to practice social, economic and environmental stewardship.
5. Land is a form of commons—something we all share the same as we do air, water, scientific knowledge, and the Internet. People can use these commons for their own livelihood, but cannot diminish them for future generations. When the interests of the earth and the community are prioritized, private property can be treated as a commons.
6. Food underlies every aspect of human activity and economy. It is, quite literally, the source of our health, sustenance and sustain- ability as a species. (See The Food Commons: Building a National Network of Localized Food Systems)
7. We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity. People are re-awakening to the fact that food is not only the basis of our health but it is also at the basis of traditions, customs and culture that bind us together as a family and community. (See The Food Commons: Building a National Network of Localized Food Systems)

—ON THE COMMONS TEAM
Photo Pacific View from Patch

Editor: Another chapter in Celebrating the Commons: People Stories and Ideas for the New Year from Commons Magazine being presented each Sunday at EYNU.

According to Mary: Nimby

Escape Artists

Mr. Fish

Kissinger quote March 10, 1975 in Turkey, talking to his Turkish counterpart:

"The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer."

Exxon

A week after Exxon's Pegasus pipeline spilled in Arkansas, the EPA has released photos.

There aren't proper words for the stunning arrogance of our oil overlords' behavior as they destroy the planet and drown us in toixic oil from pipelines, drilling sites and tankers. If this isn't openly mocking human rights, I don't know what is.

“It is evident that ExxonMobil is committed to excellence in safety, security, health and environmental performance,” said Froetscher. “The Council is honored to recognize ExxonMobil with the Green Cross for Safety medal. This organization is a wonderful example of the role corporations can play in preventing injuries and saving lives.” … 

That was the National Safety Council Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kent McElhattan and Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO, presented the Green Cross for Safety medal to Mr. Tillerson.

Yes, it is a true fact. Last week a group controlled by executives from ExxonMobil and similarly dangerous corporations bestowed upon ExxonMobil an award recognizing its stellar emphasis on safety. The nonprofit National Safety Council — whose board of directors includes ExxonMobil Safety VP Jeffrey Woodbury and former ExxonMobil exec Michael Henderek — awarded ExxonMobil the Green Cross for Safety medal.

From the ’NSCs press release:

“It is an honor to receive this medal on behalf of the men and women of ExxonMobil,” said Rex W. Tillerson, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer. “We hold this award in high esteem because it recognizes the deep commitment of our company and our people to a culture of safety.”

Via Grist

Democracy Now full story on Exxon's tarsands pipeline disaster in Arkansas.

Small Spaces etc. - A Person's A Person No Matter How Small

 La Jolla has been on my shit list this year because Mitt Romney's abode and yesterday's news of Drone central abides there.  But, lest I forget, La Jolla was the home of Dr. Seuss who brought us many tales with simple truths.  As I struggle to be an advocate, an ally for the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the invisible, the small . . . . "Horton Hears a Who" comes to mind.

We are here, we are here, we are here - music to the ears.

This is not what we voted for, President Obama.

Help: Tell President Obama not to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.

7 Chilling Facts About Retirement in America That Should Make Obama Tremble Before Cutting Social Security and Medicare

Rather than dice this major development (in the Administration agenda for some years now) into excerpts, please take a look at one of many articles today. Besides, I just don't want to write today. I feel sick in body and soul at most every headline these days, with the exception of the mayor's standing ovation for the state of the city. Thank you for that Encinitas community supporters and Mayor Barth.

We are the Heart of the Drone Zone

Just because the military was a primary engine for the North Coast doesn't mean there are no alternatives.

Code Pink takes resistance to drone industry.

Putting the Commons Into Action

A Social Charter for the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes, of course, are already a commons—something shared by many and owned by none. But can a commons truly be a commons if not recognized in law, public policy and the minds of the public at large? This was a central inquiry at the Great Lakes Commons Gathering, held at the University of Notre Dame last fall, which sparked exploration about how to activate people in various arenas to work for the recognition of the lakes as living commons.

One form of governance for the Great Lakes could be the creation of a social charter.

Social charters are a tool commoners have long used to protect themselves from destruction or enclosure of their commons. When people in 13th Century England found their commons lands under threat by the monarch, they drafted the Charter of the Forest alongside the Magna Carta to protect what belonged to all. In South Africa, the South African Freedom Charter ratified by the Congress of the People in 1955 articulated a just vision for the country and unified resistance to the oppression and exploitation of apartheid.

A social charter process will do two vital things toward the establishment of a Great Lakes Commons. First, it will help activate commoners to see they have a rightful, in fact critical role in establishing the vision and principles that can reshape governance of the Great Lakes. Secondly, by engaging people about what those principles ought to be, it will invite a sense of responsibility and stewardship in what happens to the water.

Today, the average person thinks little about their relationship to the waters or their responsibility for them. And yet there is a deep love of the Lakes that evident among the people of the region, but rarely is tapped politically or socially. That’s why we are embarking on a social charter creation process to renew, rediscover and reinvent a stewardship relationship and culture around the Lakes. Beyond the importance of the charter itself, the audacity and clarity of calls for a social charter will break through the status quo and galvanize people around a new possibility.

All of us realize that we need to deepen and expand our knowledge of each other if we are to forge a life sustaining future for our Great Lakes. But it is not easy to connect given the history between the region’s people—Native and settler, urban and rural, descendants of African, European and First Nations peoples. When a commons has been lost, taken or forgotten, our first task is reweaving the web of relationships and understandings. In our days together at Great Lakes Commons gathering we worked to build, recover and recreate the knowledge and connections that will enable us to act together—it marked the beginning of a truer spirit of “we” for the Great Lakes commons that extends hope for the path forward.

—ON THE COMMONS TEAM

Editor: Another chapter in Celebrating the Commons: People Stories and Ideas for the New Year from Commons Magazine being presented each Sunday at EYNU.

Free Press - Media Reform - Live Streaming

Ongoing Friday afternoon live streaming of the Media Conference in Denver.

Update: All weekend this will be an important place to stop by and listen - watch.


Additional links:

Democracy Now

Free Press Television

Surprisingly, there is much being said about local media. It isn't just about national media.

According to Mary: General Frankenplan Update

Via Mary's Facebook:

"This whole "Housing Element" shake down that the state of California is mandating to cities, makes me sick. OK, show of hands...who can afford an "affordable home" that is listed at "market value"? Even if it's HALF of the average current market value here in Encinitas, you'd still be paying approx. $400k, and property tax of $4k yearly-forever. Gov. Jerry Brown got rid of Redevelopment, now it's time to get rid of this nonsense."

Editor: And I'd echo one of Mary's friends who says in response to another's comment that there is no beauty in density, "There's no beauty in an exclusionary community either." This is clearly a complex issue.

Small Spaces etc. - Small Minded

because the unexamined life is not worth living . . .

From independent Science writer Paul Wallis an Op Ed last summer: 

"If you’ve ever been inflicted with a really selfish person, seen the pettiness and the immaturity, “small minded” is one of the more natural, if much too polite, descriptions. It seems selfish people actually do have a smaller part of the brain.

A recent study has shown that the part of the brain related to altruism reacts very differently when comparing altruistic and genuinely selfish people. The real altruist’s brain only starts reacting to expense at very high levels, where the selfish brain goes nuts well before those levels."

Science Daily: 

To investigate whether differences in altruistic behavior have neurobiological causes, volunteers were to divide money between themselves and an anonymous other person. The participants always had the option of sacrificing a certain portion of the money for the benefit of the other person. Such a sacrifice can be deemed altruistic because it helps someone else at one's own expense. The researchers found major differences in this respect: Some participants were almost never willing to sacrifice money to benefit others while others behaved very altruistically. 

More gray matter
The aim of the study, however, was to find out why there are such differences. Previous studies had shown that a certain region of the brain -- the place where the parietal and temporal lobes meet -- is linked to the ability to put oneself in someone else's shoes in order to understand their thoughts and feelings. 

Altruism is probably closely related to this ability. Consequently, the researchers suspected that individual differences in this part of the brain might be linked to differences in altruistic behavior. And, according to Yosuke Morishima, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich, they were right: "People who behaved more altruistically also had a higher proportion of gray matter at the junction between the parietal and temporal lobes."

One of the goals for the Small Spaces etc. series was to raise awareness about the tiny house movement specifically as an alternative housing type for affordability options within Encinitas.  More generally it was to demonstrate to those who see housing like their own as the only "normal" option for the community.  The ability to empathize and appreciate outcomes other than yes/no, up/down, black/white, rich/poor, me/you self involvement is lost on many community people - on camera and in print. It is disheartening.

This study cited in the op ed here was an attempt to understand what differentiates these behaviors.  It is vital in building community, investing in the commons and promoting resilience to be able to serve all the people. This actually includes those who don't live in a single family residence. It also includes those who desire more density for safety, value, comradery, convenience as well as those who have to leave town due to financial or employment downturns.  This affects the young, the middle-aged, some with families and the elderly. This affects those who thought they were secure in a well paying job with all the health insurance they thought they might need.

The chart illustrates a bit of local background information to help clarify why this is important.

A key finding regarding housing affordability in San Diego County published by Equinox Center Regional Dashboard showed Encinitas had the stingiest number with tiny Del Mar the only community with fewer affordable options.

With all of the speeches about how none of the General Plan Update drafts, reports, studies and strategies really give "real" affordable options, there is a stunning lack of words devoted to "real" solutions.  Only the city council have offered some ideas.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS A REAL PROBLEM!

BTW - Equinox Center is moving out of Encinitas within the week.  "Greener" Pastures? Great organization we can still access via the internet.

But to return to the op ed on the brain study regarding the gray matter between the parietal and temporal lobes . . .

This part of the brain apparently reacts to values in relation to self-interest. [ . . . ] Extrapolate for a moment, and you can see some rather familiar behavioural and relationship issues. Altruistic and selfish people can find each other incomprehensible. Ask some people to help the poor or the starving, and you might as well be speaking another language. Truly altruistic people, on the other hand, seem to see nothing even mildly worrying about going into a war zone to do aid work. 

Small minded? Yes, but with some obvious qualifiers. Risk and reward are also survival strategies, and this social culture doesn’t exactly encourage altruism. Quite the opposite, in fact, it encourages selfishness. 

Another study found that it was possible to measure altruism/selfishness quite effectively, and it actually supports the Zurich study:

Science Daily, again: 

Individuals who excel at understanding others' intents and beliefs are more altruistic than those who struggle at this task. The ability to understand others' perspectives has previously been associated with activity in a brain region known as the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Based on these past findings, Fehr and his team reasoned that the size and activation of the TPJ would relate to individual differences in altruism. 

In the new study, subjects underwent a brain imaging scan and played a game in which they had to decide how to split money between themselves and anonymous partners. Subjects who made more generous decisions had a larger TPJ in the right hemisphere of the brain compared with subjects who made stingy decisions.

The study showed a rising level of risk with decisions to give $10, $100, $1000 or $10,000 causing people quite naturally to turn away from sharing as the amounts got higher, no surprise there. What is dramatic is that the selfish proved stingy at the first $10.  The altruistic might not have the $1,000 but would be willing to help raise that kind of money.

Writer Wallis explains the point of this is core research into how the brain works, like the research on left brain/right brain studies and others.  His own interest is more specific. And EYNU is interested for similar reasons that lie beyond even our local political climate.  The miserable behavior nationwide is a real concern and it generates a great deal of frustrated anger.  My own suspicion is that this rage against corporate news stories of national poster boys for selfish behavior seeps into our community conversations.

What interests me is that we apparently have two different brain morphologies, with totally different reactions, quite unalike. There’s been a lot of talk lately about “polarization”. What seems to be happening is that the default reactions of people’s brains are geared to behaviours, and those behaviours, on the social level, are mutually exclusive.

Real altruists, like army combat medics, aid workers, and a range of other quite selfless people, coexist on the same planet, very incompatibly, with corporate sycophants, stooges, and utterly selfish people. You’d have to bolt down the altruists to prevent them risking their lives, and you have to point a gun at selfish people for them to even think about spending a cent on a charity.

Are there different types of human? One kind self-obsessed, the other almost saintlike? Historically, the answer is yes. Fearless altruists have been documented for thousands of years, as have the ultra-greedy and ultra-selfish. 

Each does what they think is natural. They understand their motives and never question them. The altruists are admirable by any standards, but can be reckless and utterly uncomprehending of dangers and quite intolerant of the fears and reservations of others. They can be naïve, and assume everyone else shares their values. Their very high social value is that they actively support the survival of others.

The selfish can be utterly contemptible, despicable, and downright criminal. There’s not much to like about the selfish people, but it has to be admitted that they always find ways of surviving themselves, however disgusting. [ . . . ]

“Social” intelligence?

Society, too, is faced with a reality- Selfishness based cultures and societies historically have a very high failure rate. They’re anti-social societies. My personal usage description of selfish people is “brain blind”. They simply do not/will not see the advantages of a society which isn’t in a state of constant conflict with itself. They don’t see why it’s better to share costs, for example, rather than forcing people to pay higher prices for services. 

Reading a study which indicates that they’re also physically deficient does explain quite a bit. What the brain can’t or won’t process does show the logic very effectively. Selfish people aren’t stupid about their own interests, far from it, but they’re absolute idiots objectively in any social sense. Altruists can be infuriating, and some of them refuse to address either practicalities or the sensitivities of others. [ . . . ]

As a great advocate for Small, this is one area where Big is better. If we can recruit more altruistic people into our community's civic life, educate more young people to humanist perspectives and support the mayor, council members, city staff and activists who possess flexible, inclusive thinking  - we have a reason to care.

Small Spaces etc. - 040113

Here It Is (The Small House Portlandia Video) from Dawn Jones on Vimeo.