I know nothing of Saba Malik other than what is reported in this article, but I am fully in agreement with her orientation as described. It is my position that the localization movement by itself cannot dismantle the Goliath of the capitalist world. At best, it will improve people's ability to survive under conditions of near poverty. The latter is precisely why the establishment has no problem with the localization movement. For example, the Transition Towns movement has enjoyed moderate support in establishment circles. While the financial and corporate operation of capital devour the remaining resources of the planet and destroy its ecosystem, people will be scurrying about at the local level organizing the leftover scraps to sustain their existence. Such people will present no threat to capitalism's death spiral that will bring with it human and other life forms.
As Malik is quoted:
"Numerous organizations are doing lots of great work - permaculture, relocalization, etc. This is wonderful, and I’m involved in it. But everything measurable is going the wrong way. So whatever we’re doing is not working. ... Unless all this community work is linked with a broader political struggle, we’re not really going to get anywhere.”What is needed is a comprehensive theoretical framework that informs localization efforts, the dismantling of capitalist structures, and the creation of new societies on an ecologically and socially sustainable basis.
