Recurring Dreams

As long as mankind lives in cities, there will be those who dream of giving up and moving to the country. I was a Mother Earth News reader in the late 70's and earlier 80's; and though I dreamed the dream, in the end I stayed with the city. The suburbs to be precise, but still a life tied to our capitalist system for the needs of survival. There was Thoreau, and there was Tolstoy; but for me it was Nearing. Perhaps you've heard the name as a sponsor on PBS: This show made possible by a grant from The Helen and Scott Nearing Foundation.

The Nearings moved to an abandoned farm in Vermont during the Depression, and wrote "Living the Good Life" about their homestead adventure. Later, they moved to an abandoned farm in Maine and wrote "Continuing the Good Life" - the story of their homestead along the coast. Both are must reads for anyone who dreams of abandoning the city. I've read them both many times.

I've also read a biography of Scott Nearing's life. Mostly, it covers the period before his adventures in the country. I won't go into details, but the social issues he fought to change in the early 1900's are the same social issues we face today. It's been nearly 100 years since the US entered "the war to end all wars", and we're still struggling with wage slavery, inequitable distribution of goods, racism, equal rights for women, international wars, and imperialist exploitation of developing countries. One area of progress on the nagging problems of his activist days was legislation ending the abusive child labor practices of that time ... at least in the USA. Unfortunately, plenty of new social problems can be added to the list. Perhaps population growth, environmental degradation, and energy? I'm sure you have your own suggestions.

Nearing decided to live a quiet life in the country absent from a system he felt exploited his fellow citizens. He produced what he needed with his own hands, and bartered or sold maple syrup to get the things he couldn't produce himself. It was a simple life. He claimed to work 4 hours a day on bread labor, 4 hours a day on self improvement, and used the balance of his time for social activities. He said he never felt better in his life, and he became a "back to the land icon" in his day. It still sounds good to me.