New Merchants for New Markets

We spend quite a bit of life buying or selling. Assuming we’re not subsistence farmers, we sell our time and labour to meet our material needs and, if we’re lucky, have some left over to squander on fun non-essentials. It may seem insignificant, but what and where we buy has an impact on the physical world and on society. There seems to be an increasing awareness of the need for environmental sustainability and more sensible and equitable economics going forward, but we can be suspicious of change and slow to adapt.

How much do we control the market and how much do we let the market control us? It is a mistake to think of a Market, a nefarious and grim inhumanity lurking behind simple human avarice or multi-national corporations. The market is us, but we lack a full awareness of our potential to influence overall trends. Instead of demanding alternatives, we usually choose from available options. We should ask how we want to use natural resources for what we make and sell ourselves.

The market and the merchant serves as the overarching theme for this series. The market is a gathering place for people with some looking to sell, some looking to buy and some looking to look. In the past, the market was also a public space where not only money and goods changed hands, but also a place where ideas were exchanged between neighbours, fellow citizens and, perhaps, merchants from far-off lands.

I foresee a growing resurgence of the traditional food markets in cities and towns dominated by not-so-super-markets, as well as new markets of goods and ideas geared towards thoughtful and purposeful design, manufacturing and agricultural practices. Of particular interest to me is how this change will take place as I am inclined to think it goes beyond having everything labeled “made in Canada” or “organic.”

I do not mean we should revert to an antiquated lifestyle, forgoing electricity or automation. As ever, now is the best time for innovation and new solutions to old problems. The future need not be a place of depravation for we can make life more enjoyable and comfortable if we allow ourselves to do so. We need to take an approach that works with, not against, nature and our habits.

I have an Aristotelian outlook on these things; willful action and pursuit of healthy goals in the spirit of excellence is our most fulfilling activity. I find many people feel defeated when they think of systemic problems in the world. Too often, it ends with a helpless shrug and inaction. We can expect more from ourselves and it can be fun, but we need to have a positive, pragmatic outlook and the collective self-esteem to make that happen.

My aim is to share with you people, products, and projects aiming to help with the transition to the civic culture and economy we need and could enjoy. Some will be environmental products, such as technology aimed at waste diversion or energy conservation, while other ideas are social in nature—thought experiments with the goal of soliciting feedback for improvement.

To this end, I want to crack people out of their shells, take them out of the warm nest and give them a benevolent mother-bird kick out of the tree, so they might gain a different perspective on the world and their place in it.