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What is an economy for? and How much isenough? and What are the things in life thatprovide joy and happiness, peace of mind andsatisfaction? Does the plethora of goods that ourhigh production economy delivers so effectivelyprovide the route to happiness and satisfaction, ordo the relationships between human andnonhuman beings still form the core of theimportant things in life? Is the uniformity of foodand other products that we now encountereverywhere on the globe an adequate substitute forthe different and the unexpected?In the dail y grind of ordinary life, its very difficult to keep these fundamentalquestions at the forefront. Instead, the typical routinethe institutionalized processof daily life consumes us, dulling our ability to think of the right questions. Weappear to have been hypnotized into the rhythmic pace of modern economic life.Playing it safe, Ive been taught, means saving for the future. Since the governmentand pension plans no longer give us the security required for our later years, wevegot to save for ourselves. People I work with have told me Id be crazy not to beinvesting in retirement savings plans. Even worse, once that money is socked away,you would be nuts to touch it. I do understand that the money, the numbers mightlead one to b elieve this. To some extent, however, this is a trap that ensures thecontinuity of the way things are now. If they were sustainable that might be fine.They arent. So I have cashed in a portion of my retirement money to invest in solarpanels and a wind turbine. Youd have to be nuts according to current financialadvice. But, as weve seen, there is much more to life than money. Besides thestocks I bought werent doing very well anyways. I think it is the economic systemthat is nuts.Financing ChangeWhy arent more people achieving a sustainable lifestyle? Once you make thedecision to change, even though all of the technology, information and resources doexist, there are difficulties getting the credit or loans nece ssary to implement thesolutions. Without this availability of capital it becomes difficult for any but the rich70