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NO PASSING ZONE: Can America Slowwwww Dowwwn During Lean Times?
For as long as I can remember, industrial and economic efficiency was synonymous with speed.
Fast food, fast cash, Disney FastPass, Instant Savings, Instant Rebate, Quick Oats?, Minute Rice?
Frankly, the list of products, programs, and micro-economic principles is endless. But what happens to the system once the line of reasoning that provided its infrastructure fails?
What I mean to say is exactly what The NY Times AND The Wall Street Journal examined recently: AMERICA, IT’S TIME TO SLOWWWWWWWW DOWWWWWNNN!
“Emphasis On Growth Is Called Misguided” (NY Times)
“Among the possible casualties of the Great Recession are the gauges that economists have traditionally relied upon to assess societal well-being. So many jobs have disappeared so quickly and so much life savings has been surrendered that some argue the economic indicators themselves have been exposed as inadequate.
In a provocative new study, a pair of Nobel prize-winning economists, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, urge the adoption of new assessment tools that incorporate a broader concern for human welfare than just economic growth. By their reckoning, much of the contemporary economic disaster owes to the misbegotten assumption that policy makers simply had to focus on nurturing growth, trusting that this would maximize prosperity for all”
“Forget Conventional 401(k)s; Think Goat Cheese and Fennel” (WSJ)
“Woody Tasch wants to rewrite the gospel of financial growth.
A former venture capitalist, Mr. Tasch now travels the country warning that money moves too fast. Billions zip through global markets each day, bundled into financial packages so complex that it is hard to know what you own.
His antidote: A fundamental shift in our attitude toward investing. Taking a page from the Slow Food movement, which calls on consumers to take the time to savor home-cooked meals, Mr. Tasch dubbed his philosophy Slow Money.
The crux of the movement is persuading investors to put some of their assets into businesses they can see, smell and even taste — to measure growth not by the flashing numbers on a stock ticker, but by the slow ripening of a tomato.”
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This new economic ideology is in line with Art In The Age’s beliefs, as well. A return to pride in what one can make at home, with one’s hands, and/or with one’s neighbors. A new rubric for measuring capital in terms of cultural connections and actual, physical work. “A Glorious Return” to a time when fostering strong local economies was the key to a robust a national economic climate. A somewhat startling proposition for investors. But then again, we must remember the old adage:
Iif something doesn’t work, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you THINK about it.
The view from my office window. Stopping to smell the mountain air. Ahhhhhhh!
In a nutshell:
Investing in small scale local enterprise is the key to more measurable and tangible long-term payoffs.
Success = local businesses.
Success = Investors directly connected to a regional terroir
Some other relevant examples of slow consumption and slow investment…
- “Go Slow Cafe” – part of the Pioneers of Change exhibit on Governor’s Island, NYC
Photo: Raphael Brion
Written by robin on 10/15/2009 in Activism | Blog | History | Philosophy | Politics | Theory/Criticism
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