Archive for the ‘Signs of the Apocalypse’ Category
bananas and canaries are both yellow
It is only in the past few years that the media has caught up to the idea that globalization is not an issue to support or oppose, but it is instead a truth to accept or deny. The conversation has shifted from protectionism/internationalism debate to one about how best to manage the inevitable changes that we are incurring. Society is changing on many fronts, not only toward a global economy, but also in the physical makeup of cities. Even the corporate news outlets are picking up on urbanization.
With this in mind, I found Dan Koeppel’s piece on bananas a fitting illustration of the times to come. As the market for bananas represents a shockingly backward artifice, so too does the current arrangement of the global economy, in which everyday necessities produced thousands of miles away are more accessible than comparable things produced within walking distance. This is changing in a painful way. Another parallel to be drawn is the susceptibility of bananas due to homogeneity. The same can be pointed to the state of affairs in the global economy, which has hinged so heavily on the consumption of the US. Now it would be easy to view this as a bleak forecast, especially considering the fate of the Gros Michel banana, but, as we’ve come to accept globalization, we will also accept regionalism as an agent of greater diversity. In fact, while we worry about the price of bananas and other perishables from abroad, we could just as easily see these price hikes as a much-needed counterbalance to the woes of the globalizing economy.
Regionalization, by which self-sustaining economies exist within national and global structures, is not an abstract solution never to be realized, but instead something of imminence. Unfortunately, some places are much better equipped for this than others, due largely to the intellectual capital they’ve accrued and the adaptability of their respective populations. Bill Bishop’s discussion on bloggingheads offers some insight, as he outlines the growing disparity between cities and regions in this clip. Of course, this seems to be obvious when you look at the direction of the economy for the past 30 years. We are far beyond believing that the US can return to being a leading exporter of low-tech goods and produce. To the contrary, we’ve been steadily heading the opposite direction. We get more of our goods and food from overseas, while the industrial base withers at home. Some cities are still feeling the sting of this, lacking the social mobility and political wherewithal to adjust. Other places have moved quickly to embrace the global economy, almost to a fault. Now, as the weaknesses of an over-connected system become apparent, we are ebbing some and seeking to strengthen local economies, though certainly by different means than in the past. Successful cities in the future will export knowledge and technology while self-sustaining in terms of low-tech goods and food. These places will shift away from buying trinkets and mass-farmed produce from overseas as energy costs make unfettered international trade less lucrative. Because of these truths, the quality of life in regionally-nourished, but globally active cities will continue to improve. In cities still dealing with industrial withdrawal, the question will not only regard whether they can accept globalization, but whether enough regional coherence can be achieved to cultivate and attract the intellectual capital to be a global partner.
Like so many things, the fate of cities rests in the organization and passion of its citizenry. Fortunately, the mayors of major cities are more aware of the pressing need for new infrastructure than is the federal government. As we emerge from recession in the coming years and, hopefully, attempt strengthen regional economies, nothing will prove so important as the maintenance and development of our transportation infrastructure. Of course, the push for more government investment in transportation becomes increasingly palpable as oil prices inflate and ridership balloons for metros across the US.
Who’d have thought bananas would be such an apt window into emerging economic realities? Mr. Koeppel’s book, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World, is officially on my list.
