Manufacturing: An Evil?

"We operate out of the ethic of inefficiency."
~Keith Wasserman at Good Works

"I'm not talking about going back in time. I'm talking about going back in character."
~Wendell Berry, in a debate with former Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz

"How do good men become part of the regime
They don't believe in resistance"
~Josh Garrels, "Resistance"


I got to thinking today as I was hand washing hundreds of carrots after another guy and I picked them out of the field. As I dunked each one individually and fought the caked mud off, it occurred to me that I don't think there is or ever will be a better way to do this. Even if I increased the scale, God forbid. The truth is, we tend toward machines to do our work much of the time, but I'm not so sure we don't deprive ourselves of a connection both to the carrot and the future eater when we give the work over to something without a brain or a pulse. It is only human hands--oriented by the human heart--that can adequately care enough about that carrot and whoever eventually eats it.

As I continued to dunk carrots, I was reminded of a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine. We were talking about teaching, which I sometimes do when I am not washing carrots. I had indicated that I was having a hard time feeling really connected and present in my teaching. With a syllabus created for me, the curriculum already chosen, and students I don't know, it all felt so mechanical. Having done some teaching himself, he said it sounded like I was trying to manufacture the teaching, which is a common mistake. One cannot be moved by either content or students when he (or she) is manufacturing a course. When we manufacture things--or when we consume what has been manufactured--it is all too easy to remain completely emotionally detached from it. It becomes about punching in and out of a proverbial clock.

Perhaps a definition is needed, as surely the semantics do matter. What do I mean by manufacturing? Put simply, I mean the mass production of anything in a place that is far from the consumer and by a process that the consumer does not know. I will concede that manufacturing is the fastest and most efficient alternative we know of. But this process often abuses the earth, the worker, and the consumer who ends up with a shitty product. Not to mention: products that are made with care are almost always better. Who would not rather hang a painted picture from a talented friend than a picture they bought at Walmart? What town does not have a summer drive-in that beats any fast food restaurant in the town? Would anyone out there really claim that Top 40 artists were better than independent ones that last?

Sadly, in our current society, most things are manufactured: chairs, songs, food, religion, even governance and education. This has not always been the case, of course; hence, the Berry epigraph to this post. But this isn't about nostalgia for some imaginary past; this is about working and making and buying and selling with products and people we know. Products when made and prepared with care and bought from people we care about take on a much greater meaning than do manufactured products from some massive store with workers who do not get paid enough. While an alternative to this status quo would be far from easy, it is not out of reach, despite what the progressive economic apologists trumpet.

If manufacturing really is, as I suspect, a great evil, then a response is required out of me. To be clear, as so many people who are smarter than I am have already said, I do not think it is possible to ever fully "escape" the bad system that is in place. I cannot evade my own implication in the injustice. But what I can do--as Berry has noted--is limit my involvement and present, as much as is possible, an alternative with the way that I live. Buy locally, grow my own food, compost, reuse products, limit my energy usage, ride a bike or walk whenever possible, etc. That is only a starter list, of course. Pointing out the injustice is--without bitter resentment or demonizing--is another good place to start.

Which brings me to an important disclaimer. I do not think everyone who benefits from the evil of manufacturing or who participates is evil beyond redemption. I have already noted that I am a participant and at times a benefactor. I understand that sometimes a person's situation dictates that he or she cannot buy local produce (it's availability and cost are not always very accessible). Maybe someone works two minimum wage jobs to support his or her children and does not have time to grow their own food. Maybe someone else cannot afford the pricey purchase of a hybrid vehicle. These and others are all legitimate barriers to entry to a local and more ethical economy. But there is nothing that can fully block a person from this awareness or beginning this "resistance" (thanks, Josh Garrels). I am still dreaming the possibilities in my own life, as I slowly but surely take steps in this direction.

Make no mistake: this requires a painful shift in both my mindsets and my actions. Some of my ambition must die. As I consume less, I will have to work harder. I have to live slower, accomplish less, at least in some sort of corporate sense. The Slow Food Movement has understood this for 25 years. The Amish, a lot longer.

But there is also much to gain with this shift. We will likely find our finances in better shape. We will eat better food and talk to each other more. And as we reclaim the space in our homes, we will find more space to do the things we love. As we work in and around our own homes, physical activity will take care of itself. And rest will also become acceptable again. I suppose really we will be getting our lives (and souls) back.