Self-Sufficiency

"The ideal tyranny is that by which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unknowingly enslave themselves" ~ Dresden James

Every choice we make today has its effects on tomorrow. We feed and support the systems we live in by the choices we make, by the products and the services we buy and the lifestyles we choose to live. Those living lifestyles that support their own lack of independence are essentially enslaving themselves to a system that they themselves pay for. It is our choice to live by and support a system that suppresses freedom and independence, or one which promotes it.

"Be wary of leaders who keep their followers in a state of continual dependence" ~ Kenneth Meadows

Self sufficiency is generally defined as "the state of not requiring any outside aid or support for survival, and is therefore additionally referred to as personal autonomy" (i.e., personal independence). Although we all necessarily depend on one another for our survival (of the individual and the whole), wise and frugal individuals draw a line where fair exchange ends and subjection begins. And because our own survival ultimately depends on the survival of our planet, self-sufficiency also naturally requires environmentally sustainable, economical, simple living practices.