Life Without Technology w/ Author Eric Brende

Eric Brende is the author of Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology, which describes his experience of living with the Amish. Marc and Eric discuss the role of technology, the aesthetic of homesteading versus urbanism, and how to approach mechanized life.
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[@trajan5560]

Currently in the process of converting to Catholicism (RCIA inbound) and I am so happy this podcast was recommended to me! Keep up the good work!

[@toddstone3139]

Welcome home!

[@anthonytelles2226]

I really like how he suggested moving to depressed urban areas over buying a farm. As much as I love distributism, at this stage it’s unrealistic to only think of it as an agrarian solution. I also love new urbanism, and people on both the left and right can get on board with building more beautiful, human scale cities. The age of total car-dependency is on its way out, and I do hope we can revitalize home based, craft economies. We’d all be better for it

[@christianmadore7574]

I liked this point too, although I think it's open to some slight correction: massive cities that are geographically alienated from the goods needed for human survival (food, clean water, clean air etc) are not the ideal. Small villages, surrounded and buttressed by strong family farms, are the ideal. For example, I live in Lisbon Falls, Maine, a small town of about 2,500 people. I am in walking distance of many friends, many local businesses, and I'm a short car ride away (or motorcycle ride, as is my wont) from some healthy small farms. So I have village life, complete with the need to cultivate the art of neighborliness, but am surrounded by a strong agricultural area from which i can draw for many of the goods we need for life.

[@maryangelica5319]

I've always understood distributism as less about specifically owning a farm and more about decentralized ownership with respect to any trade or business. You don't need to own acreage if your craft is something non-agricultural. Having your own place tailored to your profession, or a common place like in a cooperative, is enough.

[@anthonytelles2226]

​@@christianmadore7574 Well said; Perhaps people should relocate to smaller towns, since I do agree village life should be the ideal. But urban areas still provide a much larger market for craft goods that may not exist in small towns, with the ability to command a higher price as well. They also offer more amenities and cultural attractions. Of course I still believe creating culture and songs and specific regional identities in small villages would be the ideal as it was in Europe, but wherever we are, we should look for ways to increase economic independence as is discussed here, whether that's through urban gardens or home based businesses.

[@anthonytelles2226]

@@maryangelica5319 That's how I like to think of it as well; I just know Chesterton often spoke about the land and New Polity obviously has their Good Soil series to promote some limited (or even complete like the Dougherty's have achieved) form of farming. I'm sort of hoping they start a Good Trades series lol; covering anything that promotes economic independence and decentralized ownership as you said

[@christianmadore7574]

@@anthonytelles2226 I agree with you regarding some of the benefits cities offer that are not available in a small village. I think that prior to this regime villages were surrounded and supported by strong farms, and so culture was able to be built right there in the village. You could live there. And had food nearby. You didn't have to go anywhere - you could put down roots. Unless you wanted to go to a city and pursue the arts and higher learning. This was a stable arrangement that lasted for centuries, I think. Mechanized transit clearly killed the village. But I think his picture of cities is rather unrealistic. Most cities that you would like to live in are exorbitantly expensive right now. And our supply chains that make these cities habitable are starting to break down. He makes a passing reference to abundant cheap food, but that's an illusion in my view. We're going to pay the price for that. I think if he means that a properly constituted city is best, I agree with him. But I don't think we have those. I need the best shot we have is to find a good small to medium-sized town that has a value-added economy, or at least the capacity of building one. Come to think of it, everyone reading this come move to my town! Now if I only had a podcast to get the word out.....😁

[@carsonianthegreat4672]

He may be a Jayhawk, but this was still a great episode. Every Man A Wildcat!

[@1987Barista]

Finish that book, Eric! Can't wait to read it! I read Better Off over a decade ago, long before the Lord led me into the Catholic Church, and I loved it.

[@brianlester5945]

Eric Brende! I remember finding him through (I think) a post on Godspy by Jon Zmirak in 2005ish. That led me to his Better Off book. It was a trip where he landed at the end basically saying the Amish might be using too much technology! (In terms of keeping horses obligating them to larger than human scale endeavors) Anyway, really looking forward to listening to this. New Polity is awesome.

[@ChristianCathoholic]

More please. I love you.

[@exerciserelax8719]

Very interesting discussion. Lots to think about.

[@gogr2409]

Great episode. First time listener, and new sub.

[@DirtyMyrk]

21:12 My Catholic team and I got to go to Uganda and teach the peasants how to have more children through NFP, lol

[@TheDomVerde]

He has not disentangled from the automobile, in fact may contribute even more to it in the city. The city is 100% dependent on the supply chain. His soap is impossible without input from elsewhere as he no doubt does not grow any of his food or soap ingredients. Marc kicked the soap box when he correctly called out the parasitic nature of this gentlemen's dependence on the bloated city's techno tyrrany.

[@pmpodge]

Great podcast. I live in Ireland and the average doer upper of a house (terraced, in a city) is 150,000 euro. If you have a job of gross 38,000 euro a year, it is impossible to ever own your own home even if you want to do it up. Any advice?

[@mostlydead3261]

there is no life without technology as we are technological by constitution.. the distinction is as per Heidegger between responsive pre-metaphysical technology (pro-ducing in its etymological sense) and modern impositional technology (production as now understood)..

[@ChristianCathoholic]

Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo. Annuit Coeptus. A new beginning. Heidegger was an existentialist Nat Soc narcissist.

[@EddyMulyono]

27:26 Big Ten(tacles): - Big Bank - Big Med(ical) - Big Ed(ucation) - Big Auto(mobile) - ... - Big Ag(riculture)

[@user-nn1cy8fc1z]

Where can you get this man’s soaps? We are from Saint Louis and would love to support him.

[@MStone-qn4bs]

Soulard farmer's market on Saterdays!