Chapter 12: Production, Distribution, Advertising, Transportation and Community

Life needs to be about the quality of human existence and connection. It does not need to be about consumer goods, gadgets, consumption, corporate profit margins and stock prices. That most definitely does not mean that people should be expected to live an uncomfortable, miserable, deprived life. Capitalism is presented as providing abundance when in practice it creates scarcity. It is a question of priorities and guiding principles.

That acknowledged, the current paradigm for production and distribution of goods and services is wasteful, inefficient, destructive and injurious to the people and the environment. Under Capitalist paradigms, huge companies compete for market share and profits, in the process duplicating efforts while driving up prices. Researchers and developers in competing companies are prohibited from sharing knowledge and collaborating to create the best possible products and services. In the post-Transition paradigms, however, developers will be actively encouraged and incentivized to collaborate.

Under the current model, development and production focus not on quality, customer satisfaction, usability, compatibility, upgradeability or longevity of products and services, but on marketing, selling and predatory business practices. On the contrary, companies go to great lengths to enforce over-consumption through expedients commonly known as “built-in obsolescence.” This includes practices like deliberately manufacturing phones with batteries that cannot be replaced without destroying the device, designing devices to not last long, designing later models to be incompatible with earlier models, bundling goods and services, contracts and frequently redesigning devices while quickly dropping support for last month's models. The purpose of these practices is to force the user to buy expensive replacements more often than they would otherwise wish or need to do. This creates demand that can be maintained endlessly, keeping profits high.

The solution is to eliminate “private” for-profit companies in the production of goods and services like automobiles, electronics, appliances and other goods and services that are not practical to produce on a small scale. Instead, these kinds of items will be produced as public services with the mission of creating a number of models that serve the needs and desires of the People, at the best quality that the state of the art permits. Once the design phase is done, production will proceed with the goal of making sure that all members of the community have their needs met. A small surplus will be maintained to cover breakage and anticipated future need. Once those goals are met, production will scale back to just enough to maintain sufficient supply. The workforce of designers, developers, and other skilled individuals that are prevented under Capitalism from pooling their knowledge will be strongly reinforced and encouraged to combine their knowledge, skill and expertise to produce the best products combining the best features of formerly competing manufacturers. Beneficial innovations that were suppressed under Capitalism to protect profits, will be integrated where logical to do so.

The public will be polled and surveyed to know what they want, need and desire. A small range of models can be produced that satisfy these preferences, with easily user-customizable options such as colors, accessories, styles, and other preferred features.

The necessary research and development will be performed collaboratively among teams tasked with producing the best, easiest to use, most reliable, economical, durable and upgradeable automobiles, washing machines, televisions, Internet service, etc., possible at the current state of the applicable technology. The goal will be to make goods and services serve the needs of users, last a long time and are as efficient, upgradeable and environmentally friendly as possible.

Production and distribution goals will no longer be driven by “market forces” to feed the endlessly escalating profit-driven accelerating cycle of overproduction and overconsumption that we see today. The goal will be to supply all real needs of the people and the community, then scale back to a maintenance level of production to compensate for units lost through accident, defects, international trade, or increased need.

The same will be true for telecommunications and other services and essentially all large-scale industries.

Advertising and marketing are essential and vital in a Capitalist paradigm. Yet they are completely parasitic, superfluous, damaging, useless, wasteful, irritating, and contributory to the sensory overload that drives anxiety as well as prices up. They serve as a vehicle to create a culture that substitutes presentation, packaging, advertising and image for substance, quality and function.

There will be no need for marketing or advertising in the post-Transition paradigms. Even in Capitalist paradigms, it does not contribute any value to the lives of the people nor to the community at large, benefiting only large corporations and advertising agencies while degrading the quality of life for the majority of people.

When things that must be produced on a large scale are produced centrally in democratically-run plants designed to create the maximum quality, durability, ease of use, repair, and upgrading, there is no need for advertising.

Everybody knows there are cars; everybody knows there is toothpaste; everybody knows there is food; everybody knows there are clothes. Once we eliminate the Capitalist paradigm and its dynamics, everybody will still know where to go for their needs. Directories online, by phone, and in print will make it easy to find out where to get things, both in conveniently located distribution centers and orderable by phone or online. New innovations, products and technologies will be announced via public informational messages in all media.

With the elimination of advertising, marketing, and the cycle of forced over-production/over-consumption, production demands and resource depletion will drastically decrease, more and more over time. This is not to say that there cannot be small-scale family level or individual level trade, but there is truly no need for marketing and advertising, nor for a stock market or profit-driven privately owned and run production of vital and commonly used goods and services with no oversight by or accountability to the People.

Distribution of new products and technologies will be through appropriate established locations. New electronics will be distributed through former electronics stores that will be re-cast as distribution centers. New kinds of vehicles will be distributed through automotive or bicycle distribution centers that were formerly dealerships.

In the area of transportation, more emphasis will be placed on developing public transportation which is usable, convenient, comfortable, and practical. When it takes two hours to go by public transportation to a destination that would take 10 or 15 minutes by car, then nobody will want to use public options, especially if they are unpleasant and unreliable.

In addition, we will need to place increased emphasis on bicycle, skate-board, scooter and other human-powered and alternative transportation methods, including horses, donkeys, camels, etc. To make these practical, we will need to develop an extensive network of roads, trails, public restrooms, eateries, rest stops and other support infrastructure to accommodate those relying upon these kinds of vehicles so that they truly serve the needs of real people and make it a viable, safe and attractive alternative. This will also serve to reduce dependence on non-renewable and polluting technologies.

In the post-Transition communities, it will be important to emphasize neighborhood and community-centered production, functionality, work, and distribution as much as is reasonably practicable. It is neither efficient, practical nor reasonable for people to have to commute long distances to do their jobs or find things they commonly need on a regular basis.

In Europe, a lot of agricultural produce is already grown and distributed locally. Emphasis is on local production, not on imports from other areas or countries. This allows for more Community consciousness and productive, positive connection and interaction among its members. This is not to say that there should be a ban on international trade or shipping of products between different climatic zones and the like; however, it will greatly improve the quality of life for all if the emphasis shifts to locally integrated models as much as is practical.

A major problem that accompanies the concentration of human beings into large population centers (cities) and the mammoth population worldwide, is human waste and how to process it. There is no way around it. The current model of channeling millions of tons of human waste through sewage systems to central processing plants is a major challenge. This consumes gargantuan amounts of water and produces massive amounts of waste that must be processed into non-toxic forms. Another specific change that will have a dramatic impact on many aspects of life is the phasing in and deployment of self-composting toilets, especially in residences and small facilities. These commodes convert human waste into high quality fertilizer at the individual home or building level, thus eliminating or vastly reducing the need for larg-scale infrastructure, significantly reducing water consumption, and reducing the risk of toxic contamination of the environment. Coupled with the proliferation of home and neighborhood food gardens, this is a natural source of safe, locally-produced fertilizer. Septic tanks can also be eliminated by phasing in this same technology. Composting of other organic waste can also be encouraged and reinforced to the same ends.

We do well to foster a culture that reinforces and encourages the search for such technologies in every aspect of our daily lives.

When local producers, agriculturalists, collectives, factories, service providers and others interact locally, the inhabitants feel continuity, connection and involvement, which are important and essential for a thriving community.

When virtually everything, every aspect of life, is dispersed and long-distance, the individual feels little or no sense of community or connectedness but rather feels alienated and disempowered, an island in a stormy sea. It is a subtle process that is devastating in its impact over time.

When the norm is to commute a long distance to one's work with people who also drive long distances from distant places, when acquisition and production of clothing, entertainment, and other goods and services is spread far and wide, the individual becomes an island, feeling disconnected, alienated, vulnerable. Neighbors do not know each other. This awareness is already an indelible part of modern urban and suburban folklore.

True community does not exist even when there is proximity, because everybody's life is disconnected from each other. There is little or no cohesion. This results in alienation, disempowerment, depression, isolation, lack of community, a sense of futility and ultimately lack of motivation or any sense of belonging. An alienated population also experiences difficulty forming strong mutually-beneficial bonds. Defensiveness and hyper-vigilance make people reluctant to fully trust and open up to one another and work together. This reality further dissipates the potential for concerted wide-spread action to force a change of paradigm. People eventually forget how to unite, even for mutual benefit.

This situation is harmful to the individual and to the community. It prevents a person from making their best contribution to the community, and from experiencing empowerment and a sense of purpose. Such a social dynamic virtually guarantees that the individual and society will be at odds.

We are by nature a social species, optimized to survive through working and living together in mutual support. When that is fragmented and largely missing, we experience a kind of disorientation and alienation that subtly drains and disempowers us, leaving us lacking in ways that are so deeply hard-wired in our nature that we are usually unable to even identify the sensations or their cause. In Capitalist paradigms, of course, this sense of lack, of something missing, is a perfect “hook” for advertisers to exploit by presenting their wares as the way to fill that void.

When the individual is an active, connected participant in a community where their individuality is engaged and valued in mutually supportive ways with others as peer co-stakeholders, they tend to become naturally empowered, involved, motivated, and fulfilled. They can fearlessly make their best contribution from the very best in them, and feel good doing it.

It is true that some things do need to be coordinated, produced and distributed on a larger scale. But even this can be accomplished in ways that further rather than diminish the sense of connectedness, community, involvement, and shared efforts for mutual shared benefit.

Readers are also advised to peruse the Green Book by Muammar Qadaffi. This is not intended as an endorsement of Qadaffi or his methods; but even in the event that his actions were completely out of keeping with all the concepts presented in that book, it contains some very insightful observations and concepts. There are some (though not all) ideas in there that are worthy of serious scrutiny, such as an emphasis on participatory arts and sports over a separate class of idolized elite professional athletes and artists. This avoids suppression of equally talented performers and athletes who are never seen or heard because they did not make it into the elite.