The Fabulous Forager

When I first read Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael trilogy (Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael), I was struck by an urgent desire to do something helpful for humanity, to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. In short, I had an earnest desire to save the world. And although Quinn had thoroughly convinced me that civilization was inherently unsustainable and would collapse in short order, I was glad that his solution didn’t involve doing anything drastic like running off into the woods. I could stay in civilization, in the society in which I had been born and raised, and merely start or join a tribal business. Civilization would collapse, but not in my lifetime: it was my job to live in more eco-friendly housing and start an eco-friendly tribal business and do all sorts of little things that wouldn’t change my lifestyle much at all.