Introduction

The SRCBM has been predominantly designed around creating community to assist in providing self reliance to a societal base. The term "self reliance" is intentional as the term "self sustained" is viewed as being problematic to individual comprehension and understanding. A Self Reliant Community (for the purpose of the framework) does not try to provide all of its own requirements. This is viewed as counter productive to the re-defining of society itself. The Self Reliant Community does produce much of its own food by the incorporation of Permaculture practices. It does encourage the "reuse then recycle" ideology of Permaculture. This is of most importance in what the framework refers to as Urban Jungles and Sub-urban Savanna.

The Urban Jungle is where there is a large number of individuals living in close proximity with each other. This is defined in Australia as "...a population density of 200 or more persons per square kilometre shall be classified as urban."(reference) For the purpose of the SRCBM the Urban Jungle is "An Urban Population Centre with a population in excess of 200+ per square kilometre and a predominantly multi-storey residential housing base". These individuals are often tightly packed on top of each other and as a result of this a growing distrust has emerged between many of them. This has had the unfortunate result of producing fear, violence, disassociation, criminal activity and non-interaction between people living above, below and next door to each other.

The Sub-urban Savanna is the region defined in the SRCBM as: "predominantly single to two storey residential housing structures on a land size of no more than 1 hectare on average." Although the population of the "Sub-urban Savanna" is lower per square kilometre than the "Urban Jungle" the same problems occur in relation to disassociation, violence, fear and criminal activity. There maybe a higher level of interaction between people however there is also a heightened sense of "consumerist pride". This is more commonly referred to as "Keeping up with the Jones'". This "consumerist pride" is often manifested in inflated credit card debt, unaffordable mortgages, excessive personal loans and a "green barrier" (lawn) maintained to keep up an affluent appearance.

How has this happened?

There are very different reasons for this and it is viewed as being beyond the scope of this text to dwell on individual reasons and "point fingers" at what are all the possible causes. The major issue, as viewed by the framework maintainers, is the movement towards an inequitable consumerist mentality promoted (almost to the point of religious fervor) by the mass media in the so-called "over-developed world".

The political ideology, of the societal group/nation state, has little impact on this consumerist mindset. There is no difference between a Monarchical State, Oligarchical State, Democratic State, Communist State, Capitalist State, Marxist State or Socialist State on this point. The reliance on a deregulated fiat monetary system and its inherent requirement for continued economic growth, is a basic failing incorporated into all these different political systems.

One goal of the SRCBM is to produce a changed approach to community development, while staying within broader societal norms. The non-political nature of the problems and the resultant reliance on political systems to "fix" them is, in the maintainers view, fundamentally flawed. The reliance of the varied political systems to try and balance what is of interest to the individual as well as what is of interest to corporations is inherently at odds. This can be seen in "lobby groups" who spend millions in getting the interests of their corporate sector sponsors raised with legislatures. The individual has no way of combating this inequity on an "even footing".

An answer from a 15 year old in response to the question:

Why are petro-chemical based fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides still being used on major food crops when there is an abundance of evidence to show that the so called "dead zones" in our oceans are produced by these contaminants, from water run off."

One of the major "carbon dioxide sinks" is plankton.
Plankton dies from the petro-chemical based pollution.
Plankton is a primary food source in the worlds oceans.
Without plankton many fish starve.
Without the fish, that live on plankton, species starve that eat the no longer existing fish, that eat the no longer existing plankton.
Carbon dioxide is no longer being stored in the plankton.
Commercial fishing no longer catches the same number of fish as a few years before in the areas they use.
Fisheries move to non-polluted areas.
Fish caught may be contaminated by these petro-chemical based farming products.
Without the fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides the farmers couldn't grow the food to feed us."

Is this the farmers fault?
No.
The farmers are doing what they are told by government and their representative body.
Is this the fishers fault?
No.
They are doing what they are being told by government and their representative body.
The problem is not even that government is doing the wrong thing or that corporations are.
That would be to simplify it too much.
There is no right and wrong here.
A more holistic approach is required and that is what the SRCBM is all about.
Producing a society that is not based on greed and selfishness but through co-operation and understanding.

There are no simple answers and those that say there are, don't understand the question.

"We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive."
Albert Einstein.