Outside Observation #3: Bloomington Farmer’s Market

I recently attended the Farmers market in downtown Bloomington for the first time and was really astounded by how much I enjoyed being there.  The combination of real food for sale, community intermingling, music, and being outside was really refreshing.  I liked the market so much that I went back several times and even developed the habit of buying ingredients that I used to actually cook.

Visiting the market made me think about how great it would be if all food markets could exist in a similar fashion.  The pleasant feeling that I get from being at the farmers market could not be any different from the feeling that I get when I walk through the fluorescent aisles of Kroger or Marsh. 

When I’m in Chicago visiting my old neighborhood, my girlfriend will frequently drag me to her closest Whole Foods where she likes to study and do other work.  Upon my first visit, I was surprised to see that the company has adopted a strategy of providing community space.  Equally surprising to me was that the space is typically busy.  The local store contains café’s, bars, large community tables, and other public spaces, which are all typically filled (Although not in this staged picture...)

While I can’t say that I entirely agree with the “organic” movement which seems to be intertwined with the Whole Foods chain, I have to admit that the company does a great job of providing a middle ground between the Krogers of the world and Bloomington’s Farmers Market.  When I first saw it, I could not believe that people were actually hanging out at a bar inside Whole Foods.  Such is the draw of community and the power of building social capital.  Maybe this is the strange beginning of a march towards local sustainability?

Outside Observation #2: Occupy Bloomington Movement

The recent passages in Roseland regarding local governance tie in perfectly with the Occupy Bloomington movement which has sprung to life in recent weeks.  It seems to me that this organization, along with similar organizations that now exist across the country, embodies the “inclusive” decision making process which Roseland advocates as a method for increasing social capital within a community.  In fact, as I drove past the camp site of the movement this afternoon, I noticed a sign which read, “All opinions are welcome.”

Yet, in addition to being an example of an organization which might serve to increase community social capital, I also think the Occupy Bloomington movement is an interesting case study which illustrates the challenges involved with creating a local movement.  I believe that one important challenge involved with creating a movement would be to create a mission statement which encapsulates why the movement exists.  Below is the content within the “ What We Want ” section of the Occupy Bloomington website:

“A better world.  One not ruled by materialism, but by communalism.  Where the goal is not to acquire stuff, but to build community.  Where the pressure isn’t to consume, but to minimize consumption.  Where we don’t have to work ourselves to the bone just to get by, but can pursue our intellectual curiosities at will.  Is this world possible?  Maybe not.  But I’d rather try to build it than continue to suffer in the one we have.  It’s time for something new.”

I was slightly underwhelmed by this statement.  While I appreciated the motivation to create a better world, that motivation alone does not seem helpful to me without a recommendation on how to achieve it.  In addition, this passage has a not so subtle hint of laziness.  Most people would like to pursue their intellectual curiosities without working hard, but unfortunately, the world economy is competitive, and the latter requires the former.  This does not seem like a novel concept to me.

Occupy Bloomington is not alone in its lack of a clear mission.  The first Occupy movement which originated on Wall Street has an “ About Us ” section on its website which is similarly vague and does not advocate for any specific change.  After reading  Ryan Conway's most recent blog  regarding the Occupy movement, I was surprised to discover that these organizations are intentionally remaining goal-less. The members of these movements believe that their organizations can be effective without having a goal.  Moreover, many of these organizations believe that making specific demands “reduces the movement" and “takes the heart out of it.”

To an extent, I agree with this opinion.  Advocating for, say, a change in the laws which govern bank deposit insurance does not sound as emotionally charged as a demand for world peace.  However, I believe that without creating a clear mission, the movement will not absorb enough adopters to create meaningful change.  As is illustrated by the oft-referenced “Human Perspectives” chart, the majority of individuals (including myself) are focused on short term, family-centric problems.  These individuals may desire world peace, but their focus on the everyday tasks of life, as well as more short term, realistic goals, prohibits them from spending time pursuing utopian causes.  A goal-less organization will not appeal to these individuals, and in some cases, will clash with these individuals.

A good example of such a clash occurred last week, during an Occupy Bloomington event at the Kelley School of Business.  At least one protestor at the event accused JP Morgan Chase Bank of being among, “…the major financial institutions that caused the 2008 financial collapse with its criminally greedy, fraudulent lending practices.”  Protestors then blocked the entrance to a JP Morgan Chase recruitment event which was targeted towards Kelley undergraduate students.  This protest, while perhaps well-intentioned, was not well-received by Kelley students.  Many students voiced concerns that it would be themselves, and not JP Morgan Chase, who would be most negatively affected by the protests.

In my view, this is a clash of short-term focused individuals against long-term focused individuals.  Students, as a whole, are a demographic which the Occupy movement would do well to absorb.  However, because the organization is focused on vague, long term goals, the protest actually served to alienate students, who were focused on the more pragmatic, short term goal of finding a job.  If the Occupy movement really wants to change the world, I believe they need to figure out how they want to do so without alienating the majority of individuals who are concerned with the here and now.

Outside Observation 1: Gold Rush Alaska

During thanksgiving break, as I was flipping through the channels one evening, I discovered a TV show with which I had been unfamiliar.  The show is called “Gold Rush Alaska” and it follows a group of Oregonians who have made the trip to Alaska in order to spend the summer mining for gold.  As I watched the show, I became more and more horrified. 

As the cameras move to and from each of the characters’ respective mining sites, the viewer watches as bulldozers tear apart miles upon miles of beautiful, untouched, Alaskan wilderness.  While at this point in the show, most of the characters still have found no gold, at one point there is a small discovery.  As the camera zooms in on the excited miner, there are extremely tiny specs of gold visible in his pan.  The miner declares that the find is at least one ounce of gold and thus worth roughly $1800.

The show has become a hit and Alaskan state officials have become worried about the message that is being sent to the three million viewers that are tuning in each week (http://www.oregonlive.com).  In addition to the seemingly unregulated destruction of virgin forests, the show has aired the killing of a black bear, the diversion of natural streams, and scenes of miners driving heavy machinery across rivers which some concerned environmentalists have claimed to be salmon spawning habitats.

From my point of view, the show embodies many of the flaws in our economic system which we have discussed in class. There can be no question that the environmental services destroyed by the mining by far exceed the value of one ounce of precious metal.  Even worse, gold has no inherent productive value, only subjective monetary value.  Finally, all of these perverted efforts at value creation will be counted as an increase in Gross Domestic Product.