Manufacturing Care

The short answer is... definitely not, but maybe?

Okay, hear me out. Maybe true love and care can't be manufactured — not in the deepest sense — but what if people's time and capital that back and power the production of our goods and services were directed in service of the Earth, rather than just ourselves?

What if earned and excess capital was redirected toward planting trees, building water desalination plants, or researching materials that can replace petroleum-based products? And what if the participants with a net negative carbon footprint were the ones rewarded? Or better yet, what if the participants decided where the capital should go — and were rewarded collectively for their merits? Or even rewarded for not consuming. And perhaps the value of the service could be designed to extend beyond just humans, effectively hedging our society so life can persist in the event of failure.

Ideally, we would foster environments that perpetuate life — which means getting off the screens and becoming attentive to the present moment. Using technology to facilitate this may seem counterintuitive, but at this scale, it’s necessary. We either isolate and live in a bubble waiting for mass consumption to exterminate us, or we participate and try to do something. We need to support life, not be forced onto life support.

Perfection doesn’t exist, and life will find a way with or without us. But while we are here, we can try to participate. If we can bake care into our systems — so that we’re supported at every level — we give ourselves more chances to live. Mistakes are inevitable. So let’s be kinder to ourselves, and to the life around us, when they happen.