John Ruskin was determined to put people - and their individual needs, gifts and contributions - above the march of progress as expressed in terms of the profit motive. He said, "THERE IS NO WEALTH BUT LIFE. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others." (From the work 'Unto this Last', which also inspired Gandhi).
Thanks for this - I've known of Ruskin since being a child. In Sheffield there is a Ruskin gallery and a Ruskin this and that. So had a vague awareness of where he was coming from (I seem to remember he was in the same scene as Walt Witman, Edward Carpenter and the utopian socialists right?). But your passion for the man has certainly inspired me to do a bit more digging!
My name is Padma. I am a UK-born singer-songwriter, Buddhist and environmentalist. I live between Vancouver Canada, the UK, and a yurt in the Spanish Pyrenees.
My first album, Here, came out on Just Music in 2008. My second album, In Defence of the Wild, is due out mid-2010.
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John Ruskin was determined to put people - and their individual needs, gifts and contributions - above the march of progress as expressed in terms of the profit motive. He said, "THERE IS NO WEALTH BUT LIFE. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others." (From the work 'Unto this Last', which also inspired Gandhi).
Hi Jason
Thanks for this - I've known of Ruskin since being a child. In Sheffield there is a Ruskin gallery and a Ruskin this and that. So had a vague awareness of where he was coming from (I seem to remember he was in the same scene as Walt Witman, Edward Carpenter and the utopian socialists right?). But your passion for the man has certainly inspired me to do a bit more digging!
Ruskin realised the problem but his solutions failed, unlike the Amish.
And yet, tech has many advantages, perhaps the answer is to keep it out of the home to reduce the chance of negative effects ?
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