I know that the concept of, and concern about, economic growth is not new. But it seems to me – and I do acknowledge the fact that I’m no expert economist – that it’s become so much more important than it used to be. And the reason for that, or so it further seems to me, is that the relatively simple lives we used to lead, even when I was a child, have become so much more complicated and driven by the twin forces of material acquisition mania and lifestyle obsession.
And so I’m naturally intrigued to wonder what would happen if some great cataclysm having its genesis in natural catastrophe, economic meltdown, a devastating world war, or whatever, were to decimate the human population of the planet and force us back to the days of living in small, self-sufficient communities. Our food would be simple and provided by nature’s ever-renewable bounty. The sun and an expansive arboreal resource would keep us warm. We would make our own entertainment, or pay the travelling troupes a bag of potatoes and vegetables in exchange for their services. Such communication as we needed to engage with would be effected by word of mouth and the coded language of percussive devices. And our health needs would be freely provided by those well versed in natural remedies.
No technology. No gyms. No polluting transport. No billion dollar insurance businesses. No corporate world. No status symbols save the head adornment worn by the person chosen to facilitate the processes and make the decisions.
I wonder where I would fit in with all this. Maybe I could be a travelling storyteller with a taste for cakes and ale.
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