As an American living in Scotland, it’s been such a relief to see that there are English-speaking places where social good is put ahead of profit over and over again: all Scottish colleges are free, free universal healthcare, and the legal right to walk and even camp overnight anywhere, including all over privately owned land.
All just because it’s good for people.
It’s far from perfect, but it’s helped deprogram me from ruthlessly consumerist ways of being. Being ill for a long time and becoming fairly poor also helped that process because when you can’t buy solutions, you focus on the root causes.
In fact, I once asked a Scot why they’re so progressive (vs our next door neighbours in England) and he said, “Because we haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be poor.”
I really appreciate your writing this because sometimes I feel alone in thinking about this stuff...
You're definitely not alone! Really appreciating the way you're connecting class, illness, and other regional perspectives – I joke that this often just feels like "the water we're swimming in," which makes it hard to see other ways of being. BUT THEY EXIST!
What a beautiful essay-- it’s just how I feel on the subject too. Until high school, I was homeschooled. The change was insane. I went from having to scrounge up a curriculum and teach myself why my mistakes were wrong to this system that was structurally intended to teach me. There’s a lot that can be said about public schooling, how it supports students, what it expects of them, and what its fundamental motivations are. But the feeling of gaining a teacher is something I’ll do my very best to never forget. Community is beautiful, and absolutely everyone deserves a thriving one.
Really lovely post. Thank you for sharing! I'm going to try these thought experiments next time I feel the urge to start a business (which is like every other week lol).
Wanted to come back and say I listened to the Hurry Slowly podcast episode you recommended and it blew me away. I hope we can move more toward community-oriented thinking (and solve extreme wealth/ poverty at the same time!).
I love this so much and I also loved your last essay about commodifying community. Give me all the little free libraries of hot dog buns please. Everything always comes back to libraries for me too! I used to work at one and am truly sad every day that I don’t now. They’re a great third space, and they’re also mutual aid and resources and access and opportunity and simply enjoyment. I’m also very into this idea of scaling small instead of feeling pressure to expand. My friend and I started a salon last year and it’s about six of us now. Sometimes I feel pressure to find more people who wanna chat about intellectual stuff and in my wildest moments, consider what it would be like if we had something more organized and created groups all over the country. But there’s something lovely about it being just us. Anyone is welcome of course, but we’re already meeting a need where the six of us had lack before. And it feels so good to connect deeply and intellectually like that. It’s community, and not commodity, and that is more than enough.
As an American living in Scotland, it’s been such a relief to see that there are English-speaking places where social good is put ahead of profit over and over again: all Scottish colleges are free, free universal healthcare, and the legal right to walk and even camp overnight anywhere, including all over privately owned land.
All just because it’s good for people.
It’s far from perfect, but it’s helped deprogram me from ruthlessly consumerist ways of being. Being ill for a long time and becoming fairly poor also helped that process because when you can’t buy solutions, you focus on the root causes.
In fact, I once asked a Scot why they’re so progressive (vs our next door neighbours in England) and he said, “Because we haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be poor.”
I really appreciate your writing this because sometimes I feel alone in thinking about this stuff...
You're definitely not alone! Really appreciating the way you're connecting class, illness, and other regional perspectives – I joke that this often just feels like "the water we're swimming in," which makes it hard to see other ways of being. BUT THEY EXIST!
What a beautiful essay-- it’s just how I feel on the subject too. Until high school, I was homeschooled. The change was insane. I went from having to scrounge up a curriculum and teach myself why my mistakes were wrong to this system that was structurally intended to teach me. There’s a lot that can be said about public schooling, how it supports students, what it expects of them, and what its fundamental motivations are. But the feeling of gaining a teacher is something I’ll do my very best to never forget. Community is beautiful, and absolutely everyone deserves a thriving one.
I snorted a little snort at the little free chili dog library! 😹 Thank you- I love this.
It's kindof bonkers that these don't just...exist! Either that or hot dog buns sold in single packs ;)
Really lovely post. Thank you for sharing! I'm going to try these thought experiments next time I feel the urge to start a business (which is like every other week lol).
I feel you!! It's genuinely so hard NOT to when the only way we find something valuable is if it makes side income.
Wanted to come back and say I listened to the Hurry Slowly podcast episode you recommended and it blew me away. I hope we can move more toward community-oriented thinking (and solve extreme wealth/ poverty at the same time!).
Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you liked it!
I’m obsessed with this!
I love this so much and I also loved your last essay about commodifying community. Give me all the little free libraries of hot dog buns please. Everything always comes back to libraries for me too! I used to work at one and am truly sad every day that I don’t now. They’re a great third space, and they’re also mutual aid and resources and access and opportunity and simply enjoyment. I’m also very into this idea of scaling small instead of feeling pressure to expand. My friend and I started a salon last year and it’s about six of us now. Sometimes I feel pressure to find more people who wanna chat about intellectual stuff and in my wildest moments, consider what it would be like if we had something more organized and created groups all over the country. But there’s something lovely about it being just us. Anyone is welcome of course, but we’re already meeting a need where the six of us had lack before. And it feels so good to connect deeply and intellectually like that. It’s community, and not commodity, and that is more than enough.