Security
As inequities within and between nations increase, new threats to security are emerging.
Security in its broadest sense is a trust that Fundamental Needs are being met in a community free from fear and violence. When basic needs for food, shelter, meaningful work, or cultural identity go unmet, people become insecure and, ultimately, desperate. A Conservation Economy increases everyone’s sense of well-being, while also addressing these root causes of violence and alienation.
In a conservation economy, strategies for building Household Economies and Local Assets spread wealth much more broadly throughout society. Long-term enhancement of Social Equity is the most reliable way to guarantee security. Short-term expenditures on additional prisons, conventional “security” measures like guards and surveillance cameras, and home alarm systems actually exacerbate the problems they are designed to solve and divert resources away from addressing their root causes.
Security also depends on a sense of affiliation to a broader Community. This affiliation can be provided by participation in Civic Society, through a Sense of Place, or any of the myriad ways that human beings form strong bonds with each other and the landscapes they depend on. A Conservation Economy honors these bonds of family, friendship, culture, and land.
Finally, security also depends on a reliable stream of Ecosystem Services, including Soil Fertility, climatic stability, and fresh water. As these services deteriorate, severe social dislocation can occur. Conflicts over natural resources are increasing in frequency and intensity all the way from the watershed to the international scale, and pose significant threats to security.
Security can only be maintained by addressing the root causes of violence. This requires that fundamental needs be met, community capital be increased, and ecosystem services be stabilized.