Community Requires Shared Beliefs?

Bill Ellis comments: ” I don’t think we necessarily have to have shared beliefs to have community. My community of close friends working on many project together includes Christian Fundamentalists, Jews, Catholics, Atheists, Buddhists,  and people from many other beliefs and values. Yet we have worked together to build a library, build a health center, clean up a river, and many other projects. I might not like any of them to dictate any project or to raise my children but we get along well.  And things get done.”

Arthur Noll answers: “People of different beliefs are apt to get along as long as there is plenty of food, water, other resources.  When these resources get scarce,  and the group made up of different fundamental belief systems is stressed, one person is not likely to agree with another about how to solve the problems.  Their belief systems give different answers to how to solve the problems.  The community fractures.  We have seen this happen many times around the world.  An earthquake doesn’t happen unless the stress builds up.  Then a fault line will let go.  Build up stress in a community, and it will fracture along different belief systems.  If people chose to build their lives in fault zones, they have to expect to deal with earthquakes.  A society that pays no attention to rules about energy efficiency and sustainability will inevitably come to points of severe stress, and the community will fracture.  I predict that your community will dissolve unless you all can come to fundamental agreements about the realities of the universe, and stop ignoring factors of energy efficiency and sustainability.  It takes energy to sustain a library building, to save information.  When things get tight, what is most valuable?  Why are you choosing to save this set of information over that?  Different belief systems will have different opinions about the value of different information. When space is considered cheap, it is no problem to save stuff you really don’t care about.  If space becomes expensive, there will be arguments. There are tremendous sustainability questions about how health care is done at the present time.  How much medical care to give, to who?  In an atmosphere of plenty, it is easy to be generous.  When things get tight, fundamental belief systems will get tight as well, about who gets how much.

“The fossil fuel production in back of the abundance of the present society is peaking and will be headed down in a few years.  Wake up and smell the earthquakes coming.  Different belief systems are fault lines.  Build on a fault line and you face destruction of whatever you build.”

Bill Ellis responds: “Arthur, IMHO you stress materialism too much. There are other more basic needs.  The most basic human need is “belonging” being respected by your peers, caring and being cared for, loving and being loved.  Few mother will eat their children even if the are starving.  Most people will give their lives for others.  The Firemen in WTC did not ask what someone believed. In most cases of severe stress people pull together instead of pulling apart.  e.g New York city today.

“This is a good time to see if your theory or mine works.  I’m betting that the stress to the global system of the WTC bombing will, in the long run, bring people together to solve their problems.  Neither the religious fundamentalism of bin Laden, nor the corporate market fundamentalism of American policies will end up ruling the world.  Civil globalism will rise as all people face the consequences of continued terrorism or continued corporatism.  The end will be a WinWinWorld based on cooperation and community.  The basic need of “belonging” will override other belief systems.  We will all surrender a little materialism for a world of justice, equity, and peace.