The Day of Small Things
Let's conduct a little thought experiment, a speculative look at a possible world. What if all our policies favoured the small at the expense of the weak?
It is not an impossibility. My first serious thoughts on this topic came in 1984, when I came across a hardly-borrowed copy of E F Schumacher's 1973 book, Small is Beautiful. But he wasn't the first to float these ideas past me; that claim goes to a much older text, the prophetic utterances of Zechariah, in the Old Testament. Indeed, "For who hath despised the day of small things?"
It is a thread that runs through much of our recorded history, that small has been more often beautiful than large. We appreciate miniatures more than megaliths, despite the grandeur and awe that come with the latter.
But let's make our thought experiment more explicit. What if, for example, we only manufactured small vehicles, and raised the price of fuel tenfold? What if we taxed air passengers for any weight above 80 kg (including their own body weight)? What if we made it illegal to use antibiotics on livestock, and ordered sick animals to be put down at the farmers' expense? What if we refused insurance to the obese (after all, it is a pre-existing condition that makes mortality rates higher)? In other words, what if we actively enforced an anti-fat-person policy across many fronts, making it expensive to be fat?
It isn't going to happen, for many reasons, not least of which is that the USA is the fattest country on earth. But it is a great idea, because the benefits far outweigh the penalties.
And let's consider the other side of the coin. What if we gave air passengers a rebate for any weight under 60 kg (thus making airfares for children and small adults cheaper)? What if we made public access corridors not higher than 180 cm? What if we actively pursued a 'small people'-friendly and 'big people'-unfriendly policy?
Yeah, yeah, it ain't gonna happen. But what a wonderful world it would be...
It is not an impossibility. My first serious thoughts on this topic came in 1984, when I came across a hardly-borrowed copy of E F Schumacher's 1973 book, Small is Beautiful. But he wasn't the first to float these ideas past me; that claim goes to a much older text, the prophetic utterances of Zechariah, in the Old Testament. Indeed, "For who hath despised the day of small things?"
It is a thread that runs through much of our recorded history, that small has been more often beautiful than large. We appreciate miniatures more than megaliths, despite the grandeur and awe that come with the latter.
But let's make our thought experiment more explicit. What if, for example, we only manufactured small vehicles, and raised the price of fuel tenfold? What if we taxed air passengers for any weight above 80 kg (including their own body weight)? What if we made it illegal to use antibiotics on livestock, and ordered sick animals to be put down at the farmers' expense? What if we refused insurance to the obese (after all, it is a pre-existing condition that makes mortality rates higher)? In other words, what if we actively enforced an anti-fat-person policy across many fronts, making it expensive to be fat?
It isn't going to happen, for many reasons, not least of which is that the USA is the fattest country on earth. But it is a great idea, because the benefits far outweigh the penalties.
And let's consider the other side of the coin. What if we gave air passengers a rebate for any weight under 60 kg (thus making airfares for children and small adults cheaper)? What if we made public access corridors not higher than 180 cm? What if we actively pursued a 'small people'-friendly and 'big people'-unfriendly policy?
Yeah, yeah, it ain't gonna happen. But what a wonderful world it would be...
Labels: Odd Thoughts
etched with acid at 9:13:00 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home