Limits - Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything - page 117

Figure 5-14. Libraries share more than topics.
In a society with rising inequality, libraries aim to level the playing field. There's substance to
this mission, but its role is symbolic too. Like public schools and parks, libraries remind us that
capitalism-socialism is a false dichotomy. The path to health starts with synthesis, but we're held
hostage by this sickness of binary opposition. From whence does either-or dualism come, and
why are we unable to break its spell? The answer may lie in myths, our stories of culture used to
teach morals to kids. Consider, for instance, The Ant and Grasshopper.
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's con-
tent. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest. “Why not
come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper. “We have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant
went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found it-
self dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had
collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: it is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
On the surface, it's a simple tale about two animals that offers children a lesson in common
sense. But morals work like maps by hiding more than they reveal. Aesop paints in black and
white. His story leaves no room for the grasshopper, which is precisely the point of an opposite
fable by Daniel Quinn about a telepathic gorilla and his human student with an earnest desire to
save the world. Ishmael is a story of Leavers and Takers. Leavers are herders and hunter-gather-
ers who leave fate in the hands of the gods. Takers are agriculturalists and technologists who
take the law of nature into their own hands. Takers are the people of our culture who believe
man is the center of the universe, there is one right way to live, and there are no limits to
growth. Leavers are the peoples of all ancient cultures who lived in harmony with their environ-
ments for millions of years until the Takers made them nearly extinct.
Figure 5-15. Timeline of Leavers and Takers.
Ishmael explains to his student that in the tumultuous period since Takers emerged roughly ten
thousand years ago, they have ruthlessly, relentlessly destroyed diversity.
The knowledge of what works well for people is what's valued in Leaver cultures. And every time the
Takers stamp out a Leaver culture, a wisdom ultimately tested since the birth of mankind disappears