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On Being · April 11, 2024 · 55m

Wendell Berry — The Failure of Industrial Imagination (re-release)

Classic re-release. Wendell Berry on why local economies, small farms, and community-scale life are not nostalgic but visionary. Industrial civilization fails the imagination — it can only think in terms of scale, efficiency, and growth.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Canon

Berry: living in one place for decades teaches lessons that moving never can. The land itself becomes a moral teacher — its limits, seasons, and demands shape character more reliably than any philosophy.
Berry: industrial civilization is caught on a growth treadmill — each expansion creates the need for more expansion. There is no 'enough' in industrial logic, just as there is no 'enough' in the hedonic treadmill.
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