VD: Within the chapter ‘Localism’, you give percentages of how goods needs to be distributed: 60 percent locally, 25 percent nationally, and 15 percent globally. How did you establish these percentages? What impact would adhering to those percentages make?
SK: The proportion I’m talking about is just a suggestion. It just isn’t a hard and fast figure. What I mean by localism is that what could be produced locally needs to be consumed locally. We want to scale back the variety of miles goods travel. Previously we’ve got at all times had trade in tea or spices or silk. But goods and foods of on a regular basis use were provided locally. We didn’t need to make use of a lot fossil fuel to move things for on a regular basis use. If this principle is kept in mind and we design our trade policies accordingly the odds will kind of work out by themselves. Localism just isn’t about narrow-mindedness. We must always think globally but shop locally. We must always learn concerning the literature, culture, philosophy and humanities of other countries. But our economic footprint on planet Earth needs to be lighter. Then we won’t face big problems like climate catastrophe.
VD: Are you able to go into more detail about what Oikonomia (meaning ‘household management’ in Latin, and the foundation word for economy) is and the way it could possibly be a force for good and result in a Love Economy?
SK: In my understanding Oikonomia is the premise for regenerative economics. The entire of this beautiful planet is our home. Birds within the sky and deer within the forest are members of our planetary home. All members of our Earth home needs to be respected. Humans are essential but so are forests, rivers and animals. As we uphold human rights, we should always also respect the rights of Nature. That’s what I call Oikonomia.
VD: You say that two million people is the utmost for the way large a city needs to be. Why is that?
SK: Cities are for people. They needs to be convivial places to live. For the time being our cities are stuffed with cars, roads and railways. We’ve lost a way of neighbourhoods and communities. My dream city is one by which I can walk to shops, schools, surgeries, libraries and restaurants. I need to live in a city where I even have friends in order that there is no such thing as a social isolation – a city where there’s a way of belonging. Urban design must be based on the thought of ‘small is gorgeous’. Subsequently a city of two million is my ideal city. But in fact, this figure is approximate. I don’t have any dogmatic views. My point is, how can we plan our cities where commerce is compatible with compassion and human dignity? A city needs to be a community slightly than an urban jungle.
VD: You describe work as ‘poetry’. How can one find an occupation that’s poetry?
SK: The word ‘poetry’ comes from Greek etymology. It simply means to make;: make with imagination, skills, creativity and love, slightly than simply copying another person’s recipes or formulas. Any occupation could be poetic if it is finished with these ingredients. An attractive garden is poetic, any work of original design or craft is poetic, imaginative food preparation is poetic, constructing a good looking house is poetic, and so forth and so forth. Poetry just isn’t just imaginative words on a page, poetry is far more than that. Words on a page are poetic once they come from imagination and love. Love and poetry are twins.
VD: Your description of walking is so joyful! Are you able to speak about your experience walking many miles for the primary time without protective footwear?
SK: I began walking bare foot after I was 4 years old. My mother and I’d walk from our home to our farm, which was three miles away. After we walked we experienced Nature. We watched birds, observed animals and felt the heat of the soil beneath our feet. Then I walked bare foot as a Jain monk for nine years. So, I didn’t wear shoes until I used to be 18 years old. I walked 8,000 miles from India to Moscow, Paris to London. Then from Latest York to Washington after which from Tokyo to Hiroshima. Often bare-foot. Once I walk without shoes, I feel connected with Earth. I feel grounded. My feet are stronger and the skin of my feet is more resilient. I can recommend walking without shoes.
VD: Are you able to define what elegant simplicity means to you? How can someone balance life between elegance and ease?
SK: Simplicity shouldn’t be related to ugliness or deprivation. Beauty, aesthetics, comfort and elegance are food for the soul. We talked about poetry. Elegance brings poetry to life. Our industrial civilisation based on mass production has turned out to be an unpleasant civilisation. Waste is ugly. Pollution is ugly. Extravagance is ugly. Having many material possessions is ugly. I prefer culture over civilisation. Culture is to cultivate beauty, elegance and modesty. That’s elegant simplicity. Simplicity by itself doesn’t communicate my ideal of life. When simplicity can also be elegant, there’s wholeness in our lives and in our world.
This Writer
Vivien Dinh began her profession in traditional non-profits and has recently transitioned into publishing as a marketing and publicity skilled currently working at Parallax Press, a non-profit began by Thich Nhat Hanh. In her spare time she enjoys mountain climbing, taking good care of her many plants, and her dog Lucy.
Satish Kumar is the founding father of the Resurgence Trust, the publisher of The Ecologist online, and editor emeritus of the Resurgence & Ecologist magazine.
The SMALL IS THE FUTURE event is happening on Saturday, 17 June 2023 on the Paintworks, Bristol. Speakers include Satish Kumar, Dr Ann Pettifor, Charlie Hertzog Young, Professor Herbert Girardet and Gareth Dale. Buy tickets here.
