The anti self-sufficiency conspiracy

Given that we live on a highly populated planet, and that we are constantly told that we are running out of natural resources you would think that anything that reduced our individual impact on the planet would be applauded, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, if you follow the media you will see that anyone who takes an interest in living sustainably in any sense is considered at best to be a misguided soul, or at worst some kind of fanatical extremist right wing gun nut. Bear in mind that this seems to apply to everything from growing your own food, to generating your own energy to educating your own children, right across the self reliance and self-sufficiency spectrum. It even seems to extend to people who prepare fresh meals everyday, and shy away from prepared meals and junk food. Even when you consider organisations that explore alternative energy technologies, like the Centre for Alternative Technology in West Wales in the UK, organisations that should be at the heart of a supported movement to bring us away from our reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power towards personal reliance on generating our own power through renewable energy.

So, what is behind this strange way of thinking that seems to go against common sense? What is it that makes the media and politicians seek to deride those who seek to look after themselves and their families? Well, lets look at the way that modern society operates. We are under constant surveillance in the Western World, watched by CCTV cameras, our phone calls, texts and e-mails monitored, our internet use recorded, our use of transport, what we buy and therefore what we eat, where we shop, what TV we watch, everything is recorded and observed. This is something that is only getting more extreme with the proposed introduction of ID cards, and why is this the case? The answer is simple, if we are observed, tracked, monitored then we can be controlled. We have no real freedom because anything can be legislated against. Don't believe that? Well, look at the FEMA camps developed in the states, look at the UK government white papers on civil unrest responses, look at the increase in police powers and the integration of military units into civilian defence operations. What other reason can you come up with the explain these, and other government plans?

The consequence of all this is that anyone who seeks to disconnect from this surveillance in any way is automatically subject to suspicion from the controlling powers, but why is there also suspicion from those around us, from those we perhaps consider friends or colleagues? Well, this comes down to the other way that our society is controlled. Look back at the media. Look at the way high profile mass murder cases are reported. Look at Michael Ryan in the UK, Anders Breivik in Norway and multiple cases in the US. Over and over again these cases are linked to survivalists even what that link is tenuous at best. Then consider that the media generates income through advertising, by persuading us to be consumers. If we stop consuming so much where will that revenue come from? Worse still, if we disconnect from societal norms we are far less likely to read newspapers and watch TV so we are less subject to the pressure to consume and also less subject to the media efforts to control our behaviour.

When you begin to analyse the reasons behind the attitude towards self sufficiency you begin to see that the government and media is scared of those who choose to move beyond the mainstream. They don't understand us, and don't like the fact that we choose to reject the consumption patterns and plans that they have for us, and they will do whatever they can to dissuade others from joining us, and to bring us back into the corporate fold. Going self-sufficient is hard enough, with little support or funding, but it is made far harder by pressure placed on us every day to remain engaged in the World that the government and corporations want us to live in.