Transition Culture

I’m curious to know why she calls herself “Stoneleigh”? (& why “Ilargi”?)

What is your view on my observation that your presentations give rise to individualistic financial panic rather than to a positive collective response?

I sense that underneath the big society concept lies some sort of acknowledgement of (and response to) the impending credit contraction. In which case the core strategists in the new British government have realised that globalisation and the free hand accorded to banks and trans-national corporations has been a malign policy, although they cannot (yet) admit it.

Do you share that feeling? Do you think it’s possible for a government to make a unilateral response to the financial crisis you predict, in order to effect some sort of managed descent?

I agree with your general message, but responding appropriately with respect to the timing of any major societal change is difficult.

Governments and nations seem to be remarkably resilient,and able to resist significant change for much longer than we might imagine; North Korea and Zimbabwe for example. Does it not seem quite likely that business as usual in most countries could go on for several decades?

Humanity may suffer from a super plague or some other catastrophe long before it is radically affected by the obvious financial and energy problems.

You are rightly critical of government’s response to the bursting of the credit bubble. How would you advise the UK government to respond to the situation as it stands today.

I’d be interested to hear what she thinks of Feasta’s idea of a ‘Liquidity Network’.

Ah, ok.

I’d be interested to hear what she thinks of Feasta’s idea of a ‘Liquidity Network’.

In an economically constrained world we are going to be forced to learn to live with a lot less of everything including GHG producing, resource peaking, fossil fuels.

What do you say to the life long environmentalist that starts to think why don’t i just have a blow out (fly around the world etc) as economic collapse will reduce carbon faster than any treaty and blunt our ability to conusme dwindelling oil mucher quicker than any wel lintended transitional community initiative making peak oil irrelivent. Job done, might as well enjoy the last of the party.

Many of the readers of this blog will be familiar with the views of Chris Martenson and his ‘Crash Course’.
I’d like Stoneleigh to outline the main areas of agreement and disagreement between their respective views of our path toward economic collapse. (Martenson seems to emphasise the devaluation of national currencies through inflation while Stoneleigh seems to emphasise collapse of the banking system).
There is also one point of detail about which I’m confused. When I was studying economics at school, although it was nearly 40 years ago, I’m sure that inflation was defined as ‘rising prices’ and therefore deflation was ‘falling prices’. However I think Stoneleigh describes a possible outcome in which she says there will be both inflation and deflation at the same time (sorry – can’t give a reference). This is obviously not possible according to my definitions. Is this because Stoneleigh’s ‘deflation’ is actually defined as a fall in the real amount of purchasing power due to the financial system not creating credit (money) as fast as prices are rising?

The ‘How to Build a Lifeboat’ post in Automatic Earth , (Stoneleigh’s blog) seems to me to be quite individualistic rather in the tradition of US homesteaders. It also appears to assume some personal wealth, and access to land.
What would be a community/national response ideally be, or is a broader community response unrealistic in her opinion. Is a fleet of ‘lifeboats’ what we need?

Michael,

I assume she is called Stoneleigh because she attended Warwick Business School which is based in Stoneleigh, just outside Coventry.

Andy

Michael,

Ilargi is the daughter of Mother Earth.

Andy

What are the potentials for establishing new alternative currencies to maintain essential transactions in a globalised world as current exchange system crumbles?

Thanks Actifedje. Stoneleigh has correctly predicted the “pull to the centre” as capitalism realises its inevitable demise – a dash for the cash. And this may be seen here in the UK? The sinister take on coalition branding of big society is perhaps their vision of localisation is simply the pull writ large. Extend and pretend. If, as she believes is imminent, a fast systemic collapse occurs then the previous question is urgent! (and focuses on resilience)