Used to be World Localization Day, but we managed to localize our economies and lived resiliently ever after
At first it was a minor movement, but minorities ignite revolutions, the rest follow and culture changes. The famous 3.5% rule still holds true to this day. As I recall it, it might have started early in the new millennium, with a few “hippies” experiencing simple yet well-connected lives in local communities, while the techno-optimists were trying to sell us yet another elitist version of a hyper-connected virtual reality. The failed “green” reconstruction after the first mass pandemic of our times laid it bare for us: there were not enough raw materials out there any more for our unquenchable thirst for more stuff. In other words, the fantasy/fallacy of eternal growth hit rock bottom, and decayed rapidly since. The other story -localization-, our reality today, slowly but surely got more adopters. We realized that electric vehicles for the Global North meant more poverty and vulnerability for the Global South. We finally figured out the equation: the holy grail of climate action was climate justice, all along. The root cause of our sinking was inequality, and corporate “democracy” was never going to allow alterations to the status quo. So, from the streets outside the Climate Conferences, to the city suburbs, and the sacred lands of indigenous people, a diverse coalition emerged, and from the bottom on up, from small places, we -small people- self-organized and came back to the old ways, one village at a time, one heart after the other. We remade sense of our world with human-scale economies catering to basic needs locally, and cooperating with our neighbors for the common good. We decided to honor our traditions, look at each other in the eyes again, and filled with joy and humility, celebrate the gift of life.
Yes, we did this, little girl. Together as one people, little boy. And now, you two put out the fire and off to bed. Remember that tomorrow the sun will rise again, and so will we. So will we.
Original text published on One Day in 2050.