The Temptation of an Island
The temptation of an island is the utopia of autonomy, alone or in a small group.
In the event of a major crisis, it is certain that the island will provide some security to its inhabitants. But this security will be short-lived.
First of all, autonomy is always partial; even today, with easy access to knowledge, it is not simple (and costly!) to achieve a minimal level of food and energy self-sufficiency. And then, clothes, construction materials, tools are needed... Not to mention the possibility of years of drought or the inevitable lack of medical care.
Then, this island will quickly become the object of everyone's attention, threatened by people who are more or less prepared. The island must therefore provide strong defenses, weapons, security drills...
In the event of a major crisis, the island's inhabitants will live in fear and their resources will decrease as society collapses. They may be the last to disappear, but under what conditions will they have survived?
The island can therefore be a lifestyle choice, expressing a rejection of progress and a desire to live closer to nature; in that sense, it is a perfectly coherent choice. But it is not a response to the risks our civilization faces, nor a choice for the future.
This would amount to denying centuries of progress made possible by technological progress and productivity gains. It also expresses a pessimism (understandable but useless!) about the system's ability to transform itself, to evolve towards a more democratic and sustainable functioning.
And this is the only true possible way out of the crisis: using technology to establish a more democratic society and an abundance-based economy.
The temptation of an island is the withdrawal into oneself in a world that is frightening; it is a survival reflex that will be temporarily effective in certain situations (and undoubtedly enriching!), but it is not a model of society for the future.
Our evolution, on the contrary, involves more interconnections and inter-dependencies, which will allow for continued productivity gains that will provide the human civilization with the abundance of quality goods, energy, and food it needs.
And this is the challenge of Software Democracy: to ensure that this model of society is directed by the population and is at the service of the population!