The ambition of a sustainable community is to establish local economic networks that are socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically feasible. Within such a communal economy, resources are not used up faster than nature can replenish them and various organisms reap their benefits. A sustainable economy is one that can support itself, along with lives through its ethics and morals. Shared assets are not sacrificed for any short term, unsustainable profits. The people and the land work together as a whole, not fighting against one another for success.
The pursuit of sustainable economics has expanded from the work of a handful of people to a mainstream inquiry. This is a good thing to witness because achieving a sustainable economic system wholeheartedly requires participation from all sectors of a community. People come together under counsel to first determine their community’s needs and responsibilities, then analyze their options and implement the most practical and affordable methods of improvement. This function is different from one of an industrial corporation. An industrial corporation seeks more monetary profit and will stop at almost nothing to achieve such goals. On the contrary, a sustainable economy is a looping, intermingling system that keeps its energy within a closed circle.
As with any complex system, there are many interworking efforts that lead to the development of sustainable local economies. Industrial companies deliberately design products to wear and break down so that buyers need to come back for replacements. That is clearly the opposite of sustainable; it is an effort to fill land with unusable trash, and to create even more to fill the void left by trash. The powerhouse of industry is one step away from a sustainable economy. To improve our economy, we need to start at home. Industries hold their dynamism over large populations; they rely on the masses to keep them in business. The most sustainable choice we can make every day is to buy locally. If can keep our resources flowing locally, we will eliminate insolent influence.
We don’t have to stand alone to become economically sustainable. Working with instead of against our government is always an option. It only takes one person to institute a petition for subsidizations of local farmers rather than industrial crops. There is already an initiative available for Washingtonians to sign that would allow people to vote for the labeling of genetically modified foods. If enough signatures are gathered this year, this proposition will end up on next year’s voting ballot. Anyone interested in gaining their right to know what is in their food can contact Liz Dehmlow, a student at Bellevue College by emailing existentialtiger@gmail.com.
A very important aspect of sustainable economics is local finance. Business and government leaders, non-profit organizations and citizens who act together in a localized community work to keep their monetary power local help. To keep an economic system sustainable, all resources must be kept within closed bounds. We live in a world where resources equal power. An ideal economic system would keep technology and food production as close to its final destination as possible.
A sustainable economic system is a fiscal system that revolves around elements used within a certain range for a presumably infinitive amount of times. The more local an economic community is, the more “closed” it is considered. The ultimate successful community would not accept imported goods, and has the ability to provide food, shelter, clothing and other vital necessities to all of its inhabitants.