The politics of Slow
Tomas asks an important question. Should Slow Planet be "explicitly political?" For many of us, slowing down starts in a very personal way. I realized that I needed to put on the brakes when I felt myself tempted to buy a book of one-minute bedtime stories (yes, they really do exist: Snow White in 60 seconds) in order to speed up the evening ritual with my son. But if you follow the Slow philosophy to its logical conclusion, then the personal is not enough. Building a Slow world implies rethinking our collective approach to everything ? how we run our schools and companies; how we travel, practice medicine, raise children and build cities; how we make our food and care for the environment; how we manufacture and transport products. No man is an island and so the best way to slow down is to slow down together. And that means the Slow revolution must have a political dimension.
But what form should that take? Has the time come to launch an official Slow political party? My feeling is No ? or at least not yet. The Slow philosophy transcends the old Left/Right divide because it makes sense right across the political spectrum, but jumping too soon into conventional politics could polarize the debate and scare off people who would otherwise come together under the Slow flag. A Slow Party could also be dismissed as one-dimensional ? a problem faced everywhere by the Green Party. What's more, there is still a long way to go in the debate over how to translate the Slow creed into hard policy. Maybe the best way forward for now is to persuade existing political parties to embrace Slow ideas. Actually, that is already happening. One example: Britain's Conservative Party (that's right, the party of Margaret Thatcher) made admiring use of the Slow philosophy in its recent Quality of Life report. What do you think? Are there "explicitly political" steps that Slow Planet should be taking right now?
There already are Slow political parties, for example, the Parti pour la Décroissance and, of course, the Work Less Party in Canada. Part of the challenge for such parties is changing what is currently deemed acceptable discourse in politics, which is to say: the sound bite. Slow is dialogue. Slow is not having a ready-made answer for every issue that comes up.
But I agree that politics is only one dimension of what we do and believe. The traditional parties are certifiably one-sided. They all advocate tirelessly for "More! Now!" It is the supreme irony that breaking out of that mold does indeed evoke the accusation of being obsessed with a single-issue.
I would like to cite an unexpected source in support of your reluctance about "jumping too soon into conventional politics": Karl Marx. In a 1843 letter to his colleague, Arnold Ruge, Marx confided that he was "not in favor of our hoisting a dogmatic banner." Nevertheless:
"Nothing prevents us... from lining our criticism with a criticism of politics, from taking sides in politics, i.e., from entering into real struggles and identifying ourselves with them. This does not mean that we shall confront the world with new doctrinaire principles and proclaim: 'Here is the truth, on your knees before it!' It means that we shall develop for the world new principles from the existing principles of the world. We shall not say: 'Abandon your struggles, they are mere folly; let us provide you with true campaign-slogans.' Instead, we shall simply show the world why it is struggling, and consciousness of this is a thing it must acquire whether it wishes or not."
Below are some metaphors that can help understand Overwhelm more deeply. In all cases they ask you to slow down and reflect. They are paired with one possible insight into which Sanity Buster might be the cause. When you find your metaphor, you may more easily identify an antidote. [caveat: these are only one possible progression] I have a longer list I?m working on (work-in-progress) and if anyone is interested. You can contact me through www.mysanelife.com.
Metaphors: If you are feeling like ? Your Sanity Buster may be?and you may need to?
?The well has run dry?? Exhaustion?replenish or renew
?Navigating without a compass?? Isolation?seek advice or direction
?Beating your head against the wall,? ? Disconnection?find new words or an alternative approach
?Walking a tightrope,? ? Fear or Worry?secure a safety net
?Treading water,? ? Under-Stimulation?pick an activity or goal and get moving
?King Midas? ? Consumption without satisfaction?clarify values and reassess priorities
?Juggling too many balls,? ? plain and simple, Overwhelm?plain and simple, Simplify
Money is an unavoidable issue. Unless there are good figures to show that slower also means profits, we could as well settle for the seat in parliament and wait for people to realize that this is a good idea...
William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart invented a new way of designing things. Ecological, sustainable and most importantly - economical. They knew that a company like Ford won´t invest 2 billion dollars on a new, environmentally clean production/manufacturing line unless they know for a fact that there will be significant savings and profits. Wether we want it or not, huge corporations live on growth and their not going to have a sudden strike of conscience and empathy.
I don´t mean to sound cynical. I know that slow is the answer to huge global problems and should be taken seriously. I just don´t think that being a part of an obsolete political institution is the most effective way to a mean. I doubt that being explicitly political could be beneficial to Slow planet in any way. In worse case the opposite.
William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle, Remaking the Way We Make Things.
However, I do believe that the Slow movement will grow and evolve naturally from the personal level.
As Ghandi so eloquently said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
By embodying the principles of Slow in our own personal lives and engaging with the world around us in a mindful and meaningful way, we will truly affect all aspects of our society from political to economic. The groundswell will become a tidal wave and the lemming-like rush to the brink of oblivion will be averted. Hope springs eternal!
Warmest Regards,
Evelyn Charters
Maple,ON Canada
We need to bring our "slow values" to most things we do, share it with others, and show people how interesting it can be to slow down. No opression, no pressure, just let them see the beauty of slow.
It should grow naturally, spread safely.
I usualy try to engage people into reading Carl's book!