When the western Europeans came to north America to conolize and settle, they started trading with the native Americans. Not only did they trade goods, but they also adopted some cultural ways from the other. When you live in close proximity to another group of people, it is hard not to adopt some of their ways. It’s natural and biological. Your mirror neurons make you copy what you see.
As the Native Americans adopted more things from the Western Europeans, the Western Europeans destroyed the country. And in doing so they destroyed the Native Americans ability to do things as they always had for generations. They destroyed their ability to provide for themselves. And when they knew the native Americans were not able to provide for themselves, as they had for generations, the Western Europeans upped the prices of the goods they traded with the Native Americans.
Yes, the native Americans now had guns. But they were dependent on the western Europeans to get more bullets. And as time went on there were countless other goods that the Native Americans needed from the Western Europeans. It was no longer trading for fun. But it was trading for survival. And the Western Europeans upped the prices greatly because they knew the Native Americans couldn’t survive without the goods.
Then in the Calorolinas, where the Western Europeans had tobacco plantations, the British did the same thing to the colonizers. At first the prices for tobacco were very high and allowed for great profits. But as the colonizer grew more depend on England to purchase their crops, they started to decrease the price they would pay. Which meant the Western European tobacco plantations who used to make great money, were now barely getting by. And it meant that the farmers who just produced what they needed and a little extra to sell or trade were the ones with the real riches. Because they were self sufficient and could take care of themselves. The farmers who focused on sustainability where the colonizers that were not able to be marginalized as greatly. They weren’t at the whim of a foreigner to dictate the quality of their lives.
Foreign trade is amazing and we benefit greatly from it. However, when we rely too heavily on it, we allow a foreign body to dictate the quality of our lives. Just as the Western European colonizers took advantage of the Native Americans, England took advantage of the western European colonizers. Foreign trade can add to our lives. But when we rely on foreign trade for the quality of our daily lives we get taken advantage of. This is the pattern of our modern times. We get too comfortable with foreign trade and become reliant upon it. And it is used to destroy and disable us. People can only take advantage of us if we need something from them.
You know how Trump is all about terrifs on imports? What he is trying to do is to create a strong local economy. This way we have more control over getting our needs met and no one can strong arm us and take advantage. When trade is based on a local economy we have more say and control. We should want to control how we meet our own needs. When a country doesn’t have control over how it meets it’s own needs, they get taken advantage of. This has occurred throughout history in the modern world. Trade is meant to supplement life, not to sustain life.
So what do we all need to do in order to gain more control over our own lives? We need to be more independent and focused on local trade. Money is not the sustainable solution. Self sufficiency is the sustainable solution.
Recently my dog Haywood died. He had health insurance and I had the money to get him medical treatment. But no one would treat me fairly because I was dependent. This was my weakness. And my family used it to destroy me. Money will not fix all of your problems or get you everything you need. Money is a great tool. But self sufficiency is the best weapon for your survival. My whole life I knew I couldn’t trust doctors so I did everything I could to learn about the human body and health. If I had relied on doctors for my well being, I would have died just like my dog. When you rely on someone, even if you pay them, it leaves you vulnerable.
Self sufficiency is the best option for us all. We dont have to be great at everything. But we need to be great at getting as many of our basic needs met independently as possible. That is the only way for us all to become free from the financial domination my family takes part in. We need to meet our own needs locally and independently whenever possible. It protects us and fights against corruption.