The documentary Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh (John Page, Chris Breemen, Helena Norberg-Hodge & Eric Walton, 1993) provides an excellent introduction to the local, human scale traditions in Ladakh, and how local communities have been affected by the industrialised notion of “progress”.
The observation that consumer culture as portrayed in advertisements and Western media appeals primarily to insecure teenagers is apt. I am tempted to qualify the observation from my autistic perspective: consumer culture is designed to target neuronormative teenagers, i.e. those for whom fitting in with their peer group comes naturally. If teenage boys were the first adopters of Western values in Ladakh, I wonder whether this may simply reflect that teenage girls had perhaps been given less opportunity to spend time in the city, and had therefore been less exposed to Western influence. From personal experience in multiple Western cultures I would suggest that autistic teenagers, irrespective of gender identity, are less susceptible to the addiction to consumer culture – simply because autistic teenagers don’t see the point of the competitive social games that consumerism depends on.
What I find delightful is the way in which the traditional culture in Ladakh is based entirely on trusted relationships at human scale instead of abstract group identities. The focus on trusted relationships mirrors the way in which autistic people collaborate and develop autistic culture – if given the opportunity. In the traditional culture in Ladakh, where every person is appreciated for their unique strengths and weaknesses, it would seem very unlikely for autistic people to be pathologised. In such a culture, autistic people would likely be appreciated for their ability to focus, their unique knowledge, and their ability to assist with solving unusual problems.
It is also fascinating and terribly sad to see a concrete example of how a Western-style education system systematically extinguishes precious knowledge about the local environment and about locally sustainable ways of living, all within a single generation. I see a direct connection between hypernormative Western education systems and the increasing levels of pathologisation of autists and other neurodivergent people in Western societies. I was lucky at school. I aced most of the academic parts, because I am not dyslexic and because I enjoyed abstract mathematics. But I learned so much more outside school in autodidactic mode, from books and from experimenting with various tools and materials. Neuronormative children who rely much more on social learning readily absorb the cultural diet they are fed, and if that diet is limited to the monoculture of industrialised consumer society, the effects are devastating.
The documentary reminds me a lot about what I saw as a small child in the early 1970s in Nigeria: pollution, slums, crime, and exponential population growth in Lagos, in stark contrast to traditional villages further afield, which were largely self-sufficient and very different from the Western way of life. In Nigeria “economic growth” and “progress” were fuelled by the interests of Big Oil. I also remember the way in which Western adults at the time talked about what they saw as “uneducated” people, and the way in which Western countries delivered “development aid” and “best practices” – establishing large cattle farms, drilling deeper water wells, etc. When it all failed, it was much easier to blame the locals than to admit to cultural bias, corporate greed, and lack of appreciation of local knowledge and wisdom.
The follow-up documentary from Local Futures, The Economics of Happiness (Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick and John Page, 2011) is about the toxic role of globalization. It was made shortly after the Global Financial Crisis, and is still valid today.
This documentary emphasises and illustrates the critical role of communities and trusted relationships at human scale. What makes it stand out is the holistic perspective on how collective well being and livelihoods have been affected by globalisation in the industrial era, and the many concrete examples of the direct effects of globalisation from local perspectives around the planet. In contrast, otherwise very good documentaries often have a narrow focus on a specific industry, or on climate change, or on ecological destruction.
Together I think both documentaries constitute a powerful tool for educating the world about the critical importance and the immense value of life at human scale, and about all the knowledge, wisdom and happiness we are losing by myopically focusing on the industrialised notion of economic growth, which still dominates the global economy.
We must not be fooled by simplistic multiple-bottom line approaches. As Daniel L. Everett points out, human cultures across the board are often remarkably similar in their values, but they tend to differ significantly in the relative ranking of what is perceived as valuable – and these differences in relative priorities lead to very different dynamics.
Only in a W.E.I.R.D. [Western, Educated, Industrialsed, Rich, Democratic] globalised world is money always the bottom line at the bottom of all bottom lines, where return on investment is not measured in trusted and mutually enjoyable relationships, but in purely monetary terms.
A discussion between Daniel Christian Wahl and Helena Norberg-Hodge on decentralising social power (21 June 2020) connects the themes of globalisation and (re)localisation to our present situation in 2021.
Both Daniel Christian Wahl and Helena Norberg-Hodge recognise that education and activism need to occur alongside work within local communities at human scale. To overcome the paradigmatic inertia that paralyses our industrialised monoculture, we need to fully expose the cultural and ideological bias of W.E.I.R.D. hypernormality, including all the unspoken social norms (the W.E.I.R.D. axioms) that are not encoded in any legislation but that are applied unquestioned on a daily basis.
It is quite concerning to see the neoliberal ideological bias perpetuated here in New Zealand, even 12 months into a global pandemic. Rising house prices are aggravating severe levels of inequality and are causing some level of debate, but politicians continue to shy away from taking measures that could reverse the trend. In Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty for example, the rental market is drying up, and the traditional local community is incrementally being destroyed by market forces. Healthy communities and human relationships have become externalities in the financialised economic game.
In my book The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale I offer thinking tools that may assist us to unW.E.I.R.D. some of the perverse institutions of Western culture and to develop new institutions that are attuned to human scale. The book highlights the invaluable role that marginalised minorities and neurodivergent people have always played in human cultural evolution, in particular in times of crisis.
For our journey into the future we need appropriate tools for addressing challenges and needs over different time horizons. Below is an overview of regional, local, and online community-oriented work that I am involved in. Please get in touch in case you would like to contribute to any of these communities or if you have questions regarding any of these resources.
Regional peer groups and short-range tools for survival
Local and regional communities and mid-range tools for healthier lives
- Creative Collaboration
- Trans Tasman Knowledge Exchange for the healthcare sector
- UnConference on Interdisciplinary Innovation and Collaboration
Online communities and long-range tools for multi-generational cultural evolution
- The NeurodiVenture operating model for worker cooperatives
- The Design Justice Network
- Autistic Collaboration
- Neuroclastic
- Democratizing Work
This post originally appeared on Jorn Bettin’s blog
Photo: Elaine Casap, on Unsplash.
Of all the excellent posts I’ve read on this site, this one struck an especially personal chord for me. I’ve suspected for decades that I fall somewhere on the autism spectrum but have resisted identifying myself that way mainly for one reason: all discussion of autism I’ve ever encountered has focused exclusively on the condition, and on the people who have the condition, as being abnormal/pathological. I’ve never heard anyone give the “other side of the story” of autism, which is that the society in which we live—modern, western civilization—is itself pathological and not at all normal. Lots of people know all about autism; and lots of people (including on this site) know all about the pathology of modernity; but I never heard anyone bring these two things together and specifically place autism in the context of the pathology of modernity. For me, putting autism in this context drastically changes its meaning—in a good way. Refusing to identify myself as autistic has been an act of resistance—a refusal to go along with the lie that modernity is normal enough to correctly assess the abnormality of autism (or of anything or anyone else, for that matter). But after reading this article, I’m willing and even pleased to identify as autistic or neurodivergent. Thank you for this, Jorn.
Beyond its personal meaning for me, this article is full of important ideas. I’ll add my comment on just one: I agree with you, Jorn, that the ability of autistic people to stand outside the blinding beliefs/values/norms/games of our society is hugely needed right now. While I jealously admire neurotypical peoples’ instinctual ability to form cohesive groups and to flow smoothly with society (y’all make it look so dang easy!), I also see that those of us with almost none of this ability—and who therefore don’t get so easily sucked into modernity, but can see its fundamental flaws from an outsider’s point of view—may have a key role to play in charting a new course away from our collective suicidal insanity.
(The only part I can’t figure out is how to get other people to listen; or can we somehow learn to speak so others can hear?? I guess indigenous peoples around the world have been asking themselves the same thing for a long, long time now…)
Many thanks for your positive comments and observations. It is great to see that the article reposted on Local Futures resonates with you. I don’t see this as a coincidence in any way. Over the last ten years I have noticed that articles and workshops (such as https://ciic.s23m.com/about/) that take a critical perspective to one or more aspects of the dominant Western ideology consistently attract autistic people much more than others.
Since I started articulating autistic perspectives on Western culture in articles on https://autcollab.org and https://neuroclastic.com/, I regularly receive comments and emails from people who are traumatised by our “civilisation” and who relate to the lived experiences that are discussed within the autistic community.
I would like to welcome you to the autistic community! In contrast to the stereotypes peddled by the autism industrial complex, you will find that many autistic people are amongst the most compassionate and collaborative people – because they are much less compelled to mirror the life destroying hyper-competitive social norms of Western culture.
Most autists lack the ability or willingness to self-promote that is expected within hyper-competitive W.E.I.R.D. societies. In a world dominated by hype and technological “solutions”, this indeed makes it difficult for autistic voices to be heard, and yes, indigenous peoples have been facing the same challenges since the dawn of “civilisation”.
I personally find it much easier to promote the unique capabilities of collaborative networks of autistic people (https://autcollab.org/community/neurodiventures/). My own limited capabilities are the product of a supportive social environment and collaboration at human scale. The collective capabilities of human scale companies allow us to survive and thrive.
I think you are really on to something important and needed in your whole approach to autism as a beneficial expression of human diversity. I’m also glad for you that you found/created a supportive community that enables you to participate in and re-shape this modern way of life that blindly dismisses so much of what is life-giving. I’ll explore the links you’ve included. Who knows, there may yet be a place in this world for a non-conforming “weird-o” like me.
Thank you.
Sometimes I think I’m insane for thinking somewhat like you and sink into the list of dysfunctional labels I’ve been awarded – labels I know are based on shallow interpretations that bear little resemblance to my motivations and beliefs. These labels are issued with declarations of certitude and finality. I waver between disbelief and sometimes sad acceptance. My persistent queries and attempted assertions are often met with hostility and sometimes despair.
I struggle to find ways out of that hole as the pathways are like dead-ends and I’ve yet to construct one of my own that doesn’t lead to a cave, but I am always inspired to read articles and opinions like yours offering hope for better worlds with a neurodivergent focus. I wish I had more energy to contribute.
Like the person above, I will continue exploring your links.
I am just seeing your comment today. You are welcome to join the Autistic Collaboration community https://autcollab.org/community/divergent-minds/.
In the meantime we have set up a dedicated website to educate the wider public about the neurodiversity paradigm and autistic culture, and to debunk toxic myths and misleading stereotypes https://autismaotearoa.org/.
I have compiled what I’d consider an essential reading list for understanding the collective potential of human imagination, and how this potential can either be dampened or amplified depending on the cultural norms we internalise https://neuroclastic.com/understanding-human-collective-behaviour/. Imagine what would become possible if the outlined scope would form the backbone of the curriculum in communal education / exploration systems that prepare our children for nurturing and maintaining ecologies of care. The bigger challenge ahead lies in paving the path – finding ways of healing all the traumatised “adults” who have been stripped of their imagination.