Brave New World: The Return to Self-Sufficiency

My wife and I were talking this morning and the subject came up about how in the good ole' days the whole family used to pitch in with the role of homemaking. About thirty to forty years ago home life roles were beginning to change, the woman began to find work outside of the home alongside the man and the two income family was born.

Our household situation is not so uncommon any longer. One of us works at home while the other works outside the home. I, who just happens to be the man in this union, am at home alone all day. I have happily accepted this role as it allows me to experiment with some desires I have had. I love to cook. I love to decorate the home. I wear the title of Homemaker without any fear whatsoever of having my manhood questioned. Isn’t it odd that in this century there are still some people for whom that would present a problem? Anyway, we have accepted the situation as a matter of necessity.

Since the industrial revolution, men began leaving the home for work and women became the main homemakers. Women took up the lions share of cleaning, cooking, etc thus making many of them feel subjugated and soon began seeking “liberation”. Corporations, being quick to fill any gap that promised a profit began offering convenience products and foods which made women’s lives easier. The side effect of this ‘convenience’, led to what we now refer to as the consumer society.

Homes went from units of production… growing food, preserving foods, sewing clothes, bartering within their community… to units of consumption. We became consumers who relied on companies and corporations for most of our needs and high paying jobs to support even more consumption. With consumer debt increasing, many families found that both partners needed to work outside the home.

This drastic alteration to the family unit soon lead to unforeseen problems. Children coming home to an empty house after school were known as ‘latch-key kids’ and unsupervised children soon led to deeper problems.

In light of how our society appears to be losing its direction, along with the steady erosion of good moral values and ethics, it seems the argument can be safely made for the return of good old-fashioned homemaking as our only hope to improve family, community, social justice, and the health of the planet.

During the nations current financial downturn plus the recent local-food movement, the desire for and the need for a more sustainable lifestyle has never been greater. Our ancestors lived that sustainable lifestyle for many years. Re-learning that ability and making it a life-long priority can create the empowerment needed to produce mentally and physically healthier children who will then bring back the moral values we need to get this country back on track.

Our greatest stumbling blocks will come from politicians, particularly those who so faithfully follow capitalistic ideals. The support of corporate profits at the expense of home production will only cripple our attempt to return to the self-sufficient family-based culture we so desperately hunger for. As more families attempt to forgo corporate convenience we are going to face more corporate welfare in order for them to maintain their accustomed incomes.

Tax payer funded assistance programs can be scaled back as more of us accept our ability to feed ourselves and create community-based services such as food co-ops, bartering, home schooling, community based financing (much like credit unions), community based housing, etc.

It may seem like we are about to embark on a ‘brave new world’ but change is the one constant we can all depend on.