So, we were talking in class today and the question my professor asked was, " How much of the world does it take to make what I wear?" I thought this was an interesting question.  And this led me to the question of what kind of structure, both economic and financial, we would have to have to have to support our consumerist needs?  Just to have the basics, for cotton shirts, jackets and socks we would need enough cotton fields to support the population of ruston, we would need looms, the machinery or employees to sew all of it into those patterns. And if you picked machinery then we'd have to find steel or iron deposits somewhere in ruston, fat chance of that happening! So we'd have to do it by hand. If we wanted to dye it, we'd have to figure out what natural native ingrediants to use.  And then we'd buy it.  It would be soo expensive and consume such manpower that it is illogical to propose such a plan.  I think however we, in our move to a global economy and culture, are missing it.  Local and regional cultures are being overrun.  People in india know what grits are.  And "you're not from around here, are you?" has become an expired phrase.  I think that we are losing our local identity but to retain it we'd have to revert to club-wielding neanderthals.  Or would we?  Is there a happy medium that we could acheive.  Could grow the cotton locally and ship it 30 minutes away to we made into textile fabric, and ship it back to be dyed and sewn, by machines made from regionally mined and refined steel?  Should Mcdonalds be able to ship chicken in from God knows where to feed to us.  It isn't healthy, it makes us sick?  Should they be allowed to, but should we have the sense to say no? 

I think these big localized factories need to start spreading out, waaay out.  I think our cars should be made within 2 hours of where they are sold.  I think if we have to move our fuel more than 500 miles just to get it into our cars then it isn't a valid fuel source.  Why can't we as a people acknowledge that this import/export economy is bad for our health and bad for the environment?  I don't think that the government should give us what we want right now, it may sound socialist, but shouldn't they give us what we need?  I'll close on this, If 60% of America went and voted to legalize murder, shouldn't the government say no?

I think Architecture should not give us what we want, when it isn't what we need.