The Mondragon model is an excellent one. It was actually established based on the basic principles of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which evolved from the early cooperative communitarian/socialist and mutualist theorists and organizers who have been proposing and campaigning and yes fighting back (against Institutionalized Violence and Oppression) for centuries.
In its more recent history, Mondragon has strayed somewhat from some of its ideals due to its need to integrate into a larger Capitalist economy, which eschews externalities (social and environmental values, goals, and concerns). However, it's conception, early success, and its peaceful and productive response to historical antagonisms are instructive and exemplary.
I concur with Ivan that the active promotion of artisanry would be an important part of all economic development initiatives and folks following the Mondragon Operating Guidelines of Person Centered, Cooperation, Continual Improvement, and Community Commitment would help ascertain that such would occur.
Reading the article and assessing the economic realities brings to mind issues of economic paralysis associated with the inflated costs of doing business (the inflated costs of real and capital assets) and the difficulties associated with replicating the Mondragon success in today's very different economic environment.
One of the keys to the community wide success of Mondragon was was the Community Commitment Principle which states that among the mission of the Organization is "to create jobs and create community wealth (equity) are the irrevocable requirement of our community vocation". They did this by earmarking a percentage of revenues from successful workers' cooperatives to the start-up of new workers' cooperatives.
So where and how do we find and create the successful workers cooperatives willing to share in a like manner?
I'm not sure that rail is more efficient than bus. If I am wrong, in my uncertainty, please edify.
Back East, in the USA and northern further eastern reaches, they certainly have enough, if not too much, in the way of rail.
One reason, that I prefer bus to rail is that it seems that it would be easier to make them much quieter. Please correct me, if I am wrong.
In Boston area, for example, the electric? (inefficient use of fuel) and direct power trains can be noisy as HELL, although relatively quiet at low speeds. All this bunk about bullet trains is both incognizant of that and of the terrible risk both in and outside the trains.
My suggestion for Boston, for example is to convert some, if not many, if not all, of the train lines to walking, bicycling, electric? (or at least quiet and relatively slow moving vehicles for the infirm) paths.
Commuter trains must take the human environment into consideration.
Here in Eugene, Oregon, as in most "points" "West", my reply to the AMTRAK corridors, is the same with the additional query, do you all really need to travel those corridors and if so, how often? Again, the issue of a quieter bus comes to mind.
The issue in sprawl communities is best stated relative to the walkability issue (i.e. the non-existence of village centers that would serve muliple beneficial purposes including having the availability of necessities and reasonable wants within walking distance for (almost ( I qualify because there will probably need to be rural exceptions, not to the village center concept, but to the walkability goal)) all.
Of course, new urbanism has been a mantra for some time now, but has been a failure. The reason for the failure has been primarily because it has left the allocation of resources up to the blatantly irrational so-called "free market" system.
Enough for now.
I invite and encourage all to respond, even if it is just in the affirmative (because it is really important and time is of the essence that we go beyond just planning and into the implementation).
In Peace, Friendwalking, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Commodities Dealers vs. Community Cooperatives Concerning Oil and Other Resources
(The premise of the article to which I responded was that Commodity Dealers were driving the price of oil way too high)
Half true.
Commodity dealers are hard sucking parasites and their effect on the cost of home heating oil and gas (and electricity) could be fatal to many this winter and/or increasingly very soon.
Community buying/producer cooperatives direct trading should replace the existing exploitative and parasitic economic relationships for fossil fuels, agricultural, products, and other "commodities". Citizens' Energy Cooperative, which buys its home heating oil from Venezuela, may be a good, though small and isolated, example of how an alternative economic system could be structured.
It is my considered opinion that we are in an era of post-peak oil. Oil is a stock resource; therefore the long-term scarcity justifies high prices. Also, the demand side management and the environmental costs (including climate change) would justify much higher taxes (at least on gasoline) and caps on its use.
We must make the commitment of reducing automobile use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years, by rebuilding neighborhoods/villages and reallocating goods and services to those neighborhoods/villages so that almost all can get what they need and reasonably want within walking distance of their homes, and so that a maximum amount of people can work at home and/or within walking distance of their homes.
Such would be a major boom to the building trades and with the proper education and training rectify the terrible structural unemployment situation that now exists in the United States.
I disagree with Hugo's strategy here. The use of the Institutionalized Violence of the Military is counter to Fidel Castro's proclamation that we are all policeman.
A military man, like a national flag is a symbol of oppression and divisiveness.
To counteract the USA funding of the Columbian military (and arming of plain clothesed Columbians?) Hugo should supply his plainclothesd citizen allies with weapons, if necessary.
I think that if citizens whether armed or unarmed were meeting and working together with each other over common and mutual interests, it would be much more productive than employing military resources and personnel.
I am Libertarian Socialist, and/but would not welcome a Military presence whether it be Socialist or Capitalist in my neighborhood/village, community, region.
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR, USA
Hi Susan,
It is a pleasure to converse with thee.
The primary source of nitrogen fertilizer is from the air, synthesized by burning, preferably natural gas because it is the petrochemical that burns the cleanest.
I had a seasonal job once delivering fertilizer to mostly dairy farms in Western New England. The alternative source of nitrogen was blood meal (yes, from slaughter houses). Now, we both know about legumes and their nitrogen fixing capabilities and crop rotation, but I'm wondering how that would be applied to organic gardening and extended organic gardening (that is what I call true organic farming). I don't know. Many years ago (about thirty give or take a few), I subscribed to Rodale's Organic Gardening and Farming Magazine (among many others) and had in my posession their Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. I used to know more about such things back then or at least had an excellent reference material at my fingertips.
Corvallis, eh? The Aggie School. Let's put them to work. They have a very healthy "Urban Farm" at the U of O, here in Eugene. But honestly, it is a garden, not a farm.
An interesting story about Corvallis. I almost went to school there for a second Bachelor's degree in Construction Engineering and Management (my first Bachelor's degree was in Environmental Studies. Part of my family comes from the building trades.). But, when I studied the curriculum at OSU, I recognized that it was strictly geared toward "heavy construction" (i.e. roads, bridges, dams, power plants, institutional buildings, large scale development, etc). My interest was along the lines of "light construction" (i.e. passive solar design and construction, retrofitting, carpentry, greenhouses, adapting common community space, solar water heating, etc.). I decided not go, there were other reasons, but that was the primary one.
Instead, I studied Planning and Economics and eventually got a MBA. How many socialists can say the latter?
It would be nice to put Corvallis, Eugene, UC Davis, and the like (AND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION), regional and inter-regional cooperation as favored contrasted with State, to work in helping the transition to a true organic agriculture, rather than an absurd, inhumane, inequitable, and unhealthy agribusiness of today.
Same for the building trades and related industriousness, and our transition to a fundamental demand side management plan with respect to natural resources, particularly fossil fuels, of course coupled with the concerns of inclusion. equity, humanity, quality of life, and yes, peace, elusive peace.
What think?
Mike Morin
Eugene
