Principles

In “Consciously Creating Positive Social Change,” the concluding chapter of Principles for a Self-Directed Society, I propose a novel concept which I am quite proud of and which I thought was completely original. Certainly I had never before heard anyone discuss a concept that was similar to mine. The idea is to build a planned community as a single megastructure in pyramidal form, with industrial functions in the interior base, business offices and shops in the central interior, and residential communities all around the outside. I pictured a tree-lined, terraced community powered by solar panels and wind turbines, with greenhouses surrounding the structure’s base. The purpose is to be as nearly self-sufficient and ecologically sustainable as possible. Clearly trade with the outside world is indispensable; no single small community could conceivably manufacture all the high-technology items it would require in today’s society, and attempting to do so would not be a practical use of time and resources. However, a well-planned community of this type could go a long way towards self-sufficiency, and would minimize its members’ ecological impact and carbon footprint. I was very proud of this idea, although I was concerned that the engineering challenges and fabulous costs that would be associated with a massive construction project of this type would relegate my idea to the annals of science fiction for the time being. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this idea is not new after all!
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