What have you been making lately?

Been thinking about shutting this web log down. I have not been regular at writing. I thought I was going to give some book reviews, but then we visited New Mexico, and that was just a tremendous event in our lives, so I haven't been thinking about book reviews.

But then today I had this idea to write about economy (not the first time). And if I didn't have a blog, where would I write it? So here goes:
Election years underscore the national fixation on making money - making our piles of stuff higher. People are losing their homes, true, but the "answer" to that problem is not necessarily a stronger Market and more industry. Frankly, the republicans / free market capitalists end up sounding more concerned with the Market than with people, culture or quality of life.
So, then: Economy - a little etymology. The word has to do with household management. Remember the class Home Economics, where we learned to sew a pillow case and bake brownies?
Next time you hear a candidate talk, tune in to his/ her use of the word "economy".  Is s/he thinking of people who grow their own food, build their own barns, cook their own meals and raise their own children? Is s/he thinking about oil domination? Why do some people think having a CEO in the oval office would make the country better, if not for the belief that the country is really a big and complicated business in competition with other business-countries?

I'll paraphrase Wendell Berry again: A country that cannot feed itself is not really free. So if a neighborhood is not able to sustain itself (local businesses as well as local food), or if a family doesn't have the skills to raise children and care for its elderly - are we really free? To me these national and local issues are fused.

Last thing: I've wished for a long time that I could think of a different cocktail party question than, "What do you do?" and now I think I have one. I've tested it out, and it's been fun: What have you been making lately? I think it gets to the root of the economy issue. We've lots the joy of making things, and doing stuff for ourselves. We think we need an expert with a masters degree to figure everything out. And that sort of thinking (in the short term) will bolster the Market by getting folks shopping.

Anyhow, I hope we can all learn to live without a super-promising government-run Market.