So does the movement to live what I would call "intensive" instead of
"extensive" lives. The intensive life uses fewer things and less
resources but uses them more thoughtfully and gets more out of them.
Examples of the intensive life range from such small actions as having a
family vegetable garden, hanging out the wash instead of using a dryer,
cycling and walking to run errands instead of driving and taking the
train instead of the car to work (you can read on the train) through
establishing an organic family farm that sells its products locally
(anyone interested in doing this should see Farming Magazine; you can
call them at 800-915-0042). All these actions and many more like them
are fundamentally conservative, because they represent a return to the
way we used to live, in our grandparents' day. I think there are
connections between such actions and the good lives our grandparents
led. They also represent a value the current conservative movement seems
to have forgotten, namely stewardship. God did not put us here to waste
His creation.
Perhaps the way the next conservative movement can begin is to build
some bridges among people who, for a variety of reasons and from
different backgrounds, are resurrecting the old ways in their own lives.
The current culture tells anyone who tries to reject it, "You are all
alone. You cannot possibly succeed. There is something wrong with you."
It is hard for individuals to stand against such assaults. But if
individuals are tied in with other people who are doing the same sorts
of things, resistance to the dominant culture (which is the old
counter-culture) becomes easier. There really is strength in numbers.
The next conservative movement is not just a dream. Aspects of it are
already happening. In my next column, I will discuss why the existing
conservative movement cannot be a successful vehicle for the next
conservatism.