HOW WE DEPEND UPON ONE ANOTHER IN COMMUNITY LIFE
INTERDEPENDENCE AN IMPORTANT FACT
Nothing could be freer than air. But even as we sit in our
schoolroom, whether or not we get all the pure air we need,
depends upon how the schoolhouse was built for ventilation, the
number of people who occupy the room, the care that is taken by
others to keep the room free from dust, the health and cleanliness
of those who sit in the room with us. If this dependence upon
others is true in the case of the very air we breathe, how much
more true it must be of other necessities of life that are not so
abundant.
This dependence of people upon one another for the satisfaction of
their wants is one of the most important facts about community
life. It is not merely that A and B have the SAME wants, but that
A is dependent upon B, and B upon A, for the satisfaction of their
wants, that makes their wants COMMON.
Mention the people, both inside and outside of your home, who had
a share in providing for you the food you had for breakfast or
dinner.
Mention all the workers that occur to you who have been employed
in producing the clothing you wear; the book you are reading; the
materials of which your house is built.
Show how the people who produce these things are dependent upon
your wants for their livelihood.
Show that you are dependent upon other people for your education;
for recreation. Are other people dependent upon your education for
their welfare? Are others dependent on you for their recreation?
INDEPENDENCE OF THE PIONEER
The farmer's life is often spoken of as an independent life. His
independence was certainly much more complete in pioneer days than
it is now. In regard to the early days of Indiana, it has been
said:
Give the pioneer farmer an axe and an auger, or in place of the
last a burning iron, and he could make almost any machine that he
was wont to work with. With his sharp axe he could not only cut
the logs for his cabin and notch them down, but he could make a
close-fitting door and supply it with wooden hinges and a neat
latch. From the roots of an oak or ash he could fashion his hames
and sled runners; he could make an axle-tree for his wagon, a
rake, a flax brake, a barrow, a scythe-snath, a grain cradle a
pitchfork, a loom, a reel, a washboard, a stool, a chair, a table,
a bedstead, a dresser, and a cradle in which to rock the baby. If
he was more than ordinarily clever, he repaired his own cooperage,
and adding a drawing knife to his kit of tools, he even went so
far as to make his own casks, tubs, and buckets. He made and
mended his own shoes. [Footnote: Quoted in Pioneer Indianapolis,
by Ida Stearns Stickney, p. 11 (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis).]
We also read that in early New England:
Every farmhouse was a manufactory, not of one kind of goods, but
of many. All day long in the chamber or attic the sound of the
spinning-wheel and loom could be heard. Carpets, shawls,
bedspreads, tablecovers, towels, and cloth for garments were made
from materials made on the farm. The kitchen of the house was a
baker's shop, a confectioner's establishment, and a chemist's
laboratory. Every kind of food for immediate use was prepared
there daily; and on special occasions sausages, head cheese,
pickles, apple butter, and preserves were made. It was also the
place where soap, candles, and vinegar were manufactured.
Agricultural implements were then few and simple, and farmers made
as many of them as they could. Every farmhouse was a creamery and
cheese factory. As there were no sewing machines, the farmer's
wife and daughters had to ply the hand needle most of the time
when they were not engaged in more laborious pursuits. During the
long evenings they generally knit socks and mittens or made rag
carpets. [Footnote: Nourse, Agricultural Economics, p 64, from
"The Farmer's Changed Conditions," by Rodney Welsh, in the Forum,
x, 689-92 (Feb., 1891).]
THE PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE
But even under such conditions as those described, the farmer and
his family were not wholly independent. Even Robinson Crusoe on
his lonely island was dependent upon the tools and equipment that
he saved from shipwrecks, and that were the product of other men's
labor. So, also, the pioneer farmer had to maintain some kind of
relation, however infrequent and slight, with the outside world.
Moreover, he had to pay for his comparative independence by many
privations. He had all the wants described in the preceding
chapter, but he had to provide for them in the simplest way
possible, and often they were hardly provided for at all.
THE GROWTH OF INTERDEPENDENCE
As soon as a number of people come to live together, even in a
pioneer community, it is likely that some members will have a
knack for doing certain things of use to the community better than
others can do them. Thus one man may be especially skillful in
making axe handles. In time, the entire community comes to depend
upon him for its axe handles. In addition, he probably makes other
tools and does repair work of all kinds. This requires so much of
his time that he does little or no farming, and depends upon
others for his food supply. So in a course of time the community
has its blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe-makers, teachers,
storekeepers and doctors upon whom it depends for their special
kinds of service, while each of them depends upon others to supply
the wants that he has neither the time nor the skill to supply for
himself. Thus interdependence develops in the simplest
communities.
THE DEPENDENCE ON OTHERS OF THE MODERN FARMER
The farmer still does many things on the farm that in the city
would be done by special workers, such as repairing houses, barns,
and tools. But he has become vastly more dependent upon others
than formerly. This is due partly to improved farming methods,
requiring the use of complicated machines and greater technical
knowledge; and partly to improved means of transportation and
communication which bring him in close touch with trade centers.
If a farmer needs a new axe handle, he can get a better one with
less expenditure of time and effort by going to town in his
automobile than if he made it himself. His farm machinery is too
complicated for him to repair except in small matters, and even
then he must go or send to town for the necessary parts, which may
be sent to him by parcel post. Not only does he get better tools
and services generally through this reliance upon others who are
specialists in their lines, but also on account of it has more
time to give to the actual business of farming, for which others
depend upon him, and leisure for thoughtful study of his problems,
for social life, and for recreation.
THE VALUE OF SELF-RELIANCE
It must be acknowledged that reliance upon others may be carried
so far as to result in loss or disadvantage. "Self-reliance" is
one of the most admirable traits of character. The pioneer farmer
possessed it from necessity to a remarkable extent. A habit of
depending upon others may quickly cause a person to lose the
"knack" of doing things for himself, to become less "handy about
the place," and less "thrifty" about keeping things in repair or
installing small improvements--the casting of a cement trough,
mending the harness or the fence or painting the barn.
WHO MAKES OUR SHOES
The interdependence of people in community life to-day may be
illustrated by starting with some of our own needs, as was
suggested in the topics on page 12. For example, if we need a pair
of shoes, we must have money, which we will suppose that we earn
by farming. In order to farm successfully we must have machinery.
This we also buy in town; but it is manufactured for us in distant
city factories from metals procured from mines and from wood from
the forest. The shoes bought at the store were also made in a
factory employing hundreds of men and women, perhaps in
Massachusetts. They were made from leather from the hides of
cattle raised in the far west, or perhaps even in the Argentine
Republic. The leather is tanned by another industry, and tanning
requires the use of an acid from the bark of certain trees from
the forest. The making of the shoes also requires machinery which
is made by still other machines, the necessary metals coming from
mines. To smelt the metals and to run the factories there must be
fuel from other mines. Meanwhile the workers in all these
industries must be fed and clothed and housed. This means the work
of farmers, food packers, millers and bakers, lumbermen,
carpenters, cotton and woolen mills, clothing factories, and many
others. At every stage transportation enters in,--by team and
automobile truck, by railway, by water. These are only a part of
the activities necessary in order that we may have a pair of
shoes. It would seem that practically every kind of worker and
industry in the world had something to do with it. People in
communities today are indeed very interdependent.
The following item appeared in a newspaper:
HELD BACK BY NEIGHBORS
Farmer Is Limited by Conditions in Community
The average farmer is limited in the changes he can make in his
farm business by the farm practices of the community in which he
is living.
There are farmers in every community who would like to change
their systems of agriculture but are restrained from doing so by
the fact that their neighbors will not change. Many farmers have
tried to change from one type of farming to another better suited
to the region, but failed because the cost of running such an
entirely independent business was too great.
A man owning an orchard in a locality where there are no other
orchards has trouble getting rid of his crop. Even when the farmer
is so fortunate as to get buyers, he generally receives a lower
price for the same grade of fruit than would be received in a
general apple-growing region.
If a man wants to buy several purebred Holstein cows, he generally
goes to a locality where a large number of farmers keep that kind
of stock. Often there is a man in his own community who has for
sale Holsteins that are just as highly bred as those in other
districts, but he either has no market for them or must sell them
at a greatly reduced price.
The farmer ought not to think on account of these facts that he
should not change his system of farming just because his neighbors
do not do likewise.
Probably the best way for a farmer to start such a movement is to
arouse the interest of his neighbors in his farming operations. As
soon as this has been accomplished he can gradually bring about
the change that he advocates. Farmers in a community profit from
the experiences of other individuals.
WHAT GIVES VALUE TO LAND
The value of a man's property is dependent not upon his efforts
alone, but upon what his neighbors do. The land occupied by a
pioneer increases in value as other people settle in the
neighborhood, and BECAUSE they settle there. Men often buy land
and then simply wait for it to increase in value because of
improvements in the neighborhood. The property that we own may
increase or decrease in value according to the care that neighbors
take of their property. Even if we take good care of our property,
it will be less valuable if the neighbors let their fences and
buildings run down and the weeds grow than it will be if they keep
their fences and buildings in good repair and their weeds cut.
INTERDEPENDENCE IN HEALTH
Malaria is carried by mosquitoes, and we know that mosquitoes
breed in standing water, as in swamps and in old barrels or tin
cans that hold rainwater until it becomes stagnant. Now we may
endeavor to get rid of mosquitoes, and thus of malaria, by
removing all open receptacles of water about our premises and by
draining the marshes on our land; but unless our neighbors do the
same, we are not much better off than we were before.
Give other illustrations to show the dependence of people upon one
another in your community.
Compare the farmer of to-day in your neighborhood with the pioneer
of Indiana described on page 14 with respect to his equipment,
skill in making things and kinds of implements used.
Compare the average farmer's home in your neighborhood to-day with
that of the New England farmer described on page 14 with respect
to household activities.
Are farmers in your neighborhood to-day more or less dependent
upon others to supply their wants than they were when your parents
were children? Why is it? Get all the information you can from
your parents on this point.
Which is more dependent upon others for its daily wants: a family
that lives on a farm in your neighborhood or one that lives in
town? Give examples to prove your answer.
Do you know cases in your own community where land has increased
in value while lying idle? What are the reasons?
Do you know of cases in your community where property has
depreciated in value because of neighborhood influences such as
suggested on page 18?
Do you know of cases in your community similar to the one
described on page 17 under the heading "Held Back by Neighbors"?
Explain. (Consult at home.)
UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF INTERDEPENDENCE
We do not always realize how dependent we are upon one another
until something happens to disturb our accustomed relations. We
best realize our dependence upon the telephone when it is out of
order. The recent great war produced conditions that made us
conscious of our interdependence in unexpected ways.
For example, if we had gone into a store to buy underwear in the
early part of the war, we would have found that the price had
greatly increased, and we might have been told, if the salesman
were well informed, that the high price was due to the manufacture
of airplanes! The explanation is that the wire stays used in the
manufacture of airplanes are made of steel wire from which machine
knitting needles are also made. In the early part of the war all
of the available wire of this kind was taken for airplanes, thus
limiting the supply of knitting needles and consequently of knit
goods.
The manufacture of airplanes is also said to have affected the
price of fish! The nets used for catching certain deep-sea fish,
such as cod, must be made of linen, which is invisible in water.
The linen which had been used for this purpose suddenly came into
great demand for the manufacture of airplane wings. Since
airplanes were necessary, linen fishing nets were sacrificed and
the price of deep-sea fish went up. This, of course, created a
demand for other kinds of fish, and the price of the latter also
went up.
CONFLICTS DUE TO INTERDEPENDENCE
When people are so closely dependent upon one another conflicts
are likely to occur. Sometimes they are due to selfish disregard
by some persons of the rights and interests of others; but more
often they are due simply to failure to see what the real results
of a particular act may be and how it may affect other people. It
was not dreamed that the building of airplanes would affect the
price of underwear and fish, and it was only after careful
investigation that the relation between these things was
discovered. A family that is careless in the disposal of refuse
from the household and stables may unconsciously poison the wells
of neighbors half a mile away. Sometimes men oppose public
improvements, such as better roads, or a new schoolhouse, because
they see only the direct costs of the improvements, and fail to
see the more important losses to themselves and to the community
if the improvements are not made.
DANGER OF HASTY JUDGMENTS
One thing we may learn from such facts as these is the danger of
forming hasty judgments about things that happen, or conditions
that exist, or proposals that are made, in our community life.
Even those conditions or events that are apparently most simple
may be related to other conditions and events that are not at
first apparent. Wise judgment and wise action are dependent upon
the most complete knowledge obtainable.
We shall see, as we proceed with our study, how this fact of
interdependence appears in every phase of our community life.
From observation in your own community, give illustrations to show
how people, in attempting to satisfy their own wants, may
interfere with the efforts of others to satisfy theirs. The
following are given as suggestions:
An employer and those whom he employs.
A man who owns a house or farm and the tenant to whom he rents it.
A man who keeps a livery stable adjoining a schoolhouse.
A grocer who displays his goods on the sidewalk (especially food
products).
Men who raise cattle and those who raise sheep on the western
ranges.
A boy who raises chickens and one who has a garden adjoining.
Suppose a schoolmate comes to school with measles or some other
contagious disease. How may this affect your schoolwork? your
association with your friends? How may it even add to your
father's expenses?
Show that your schoolmates are as dependent upon you as you are
upon them.
Is the community in which you live dependent upon you in any way?
Give illustrations.
Taxpayers like to keep the tax rate as low as possible. In their
interest in doing this, is it possible that they might interfere
with your getting a good education in favorable surroundings?
Explain. Who are the taxpayers?
We often hear of "self-made men." What does it mean? Can a man be
entirely "self-made"?
Does a child become more or less dependent upon others as he grows
older? Explain your answer.
Show that as a person becomes more "self-dependent" other people
become more dependent upon him; for example, in the home, and in
school.
Watch the newspapers for items illustrating interdependence, or
conflicts due to it.
READINGS
Lessons in Community and National Life (see note on reference
materials in Introduction)
Series A: Lesson 1, Some fundamental aspects of social organization.
Lesson 2, The western pioneer.
Series B: Lesson 1, The effect of the war on commerce in nitrate.
Lesson 2, The varied occupations of a colonial farm.
Lesson 12, Impersonality of modern life.
Series C: Lesson 1, The war and aeroplanes.
Lesson 2, Spinning and dyeing in colonial times.
Lesson 9, Inventions.
Lesson 11, The effects of machinery on rural life.
Dunn, Arthur W., The Community and the Citizen, Chapters i, v.
Tufts, James H., The Real Business of Living, Chapter xxxi
(Problems of country life).
Earle, Alice Morse, Home Life in Colonial Days (Macmillan).
Finley, John H., "Paths of the Pioneers," in Long's American
Patriotic Prose, pp. 1-4.
Pioneer stories from any available source, especially local
history stories.