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NEW
INTERNATIONALIST 160  |
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THIS
MONTH'S THEME |
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RADICAL
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Starting with yourself Defending the wimp
A new start The less you have The Good Life You
are what you eat Eat your greens Your money Live better Think Globally Bolivian women get weaving No Kidding |
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FROM
THIS MONTH'S EDITOR |
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It was enjoyable - and humbling - researching this issue of NI and finding out some of the ways in which creative, whimsical, courageous or awesomely selfless life-styles have made their impact on the much bigger stage of world history. I met a Filipino lawyer, for example, who realized that most of those imprisoned in Manila hadn't been charged or tried. She started to work for their release. One day her boss issued an ultimatum: she must stop helping those in jail or quit work. She left her job and continued her mission. Due to the life-style decisions she took, and those taken by thousands of Filipinos like her, the corrupt Marcos regime fell. Some life-style choices aren't so dramatic, but are just as impressive. The people of San Antonio, Texas, made history by voting for local tax increases, to fund public transport, showing that they cared about the pollution caused by their cars, and wanted alternative methods of travel.
As this magazine was being compiled we heard that the NI's circulation has gone over 50,000 (see box) That means that you and I belong to a large - and growing - number of people who do care what happens to the earth, today and in the future. We often receive letters asking how it is possible to live without exploiting others. This issue of NI is our attempt to suggest ways in which our everyday choices can affect what happens in the wider world. The intention was to be as down-to-earth as possible, without forgetting that the inspiration for some of the best life-styles comes from the wildest of dreams. Though we are all in the gutter, as Oscar Wilde said, some of us are looking at the stars. |
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Amanda Root
for the New Internationalist Co-operative |
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Letters
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Peter Wingham |
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LIFE-STYLES, I readily admit, (before anyone gets in first) are a dangerous theme for a magazine. Particularly when most of its readers will have strong commitments to some ways of life and will regard others as a complete waste of time. However, we're not going to presume to tell you how you should be living. Instead we're looking at various options - from boycotting certain goods to moving into a rural commune; from giving up meat-eating to dressing to disturb - as we're showing why some people are attracted to one life-style and others choose an utterly different one. I must say, I'm glad this diversity exists. The world would be a very drab place if everybody who wanted change went about achieving it in the same way.
