Millions of Americans already do this, usually in an apolitical or recreational manner. The National Gardening Association, which sponsors annual surveys of gardening activity, found that in recent years more or less half of the households in this country raised some of their food in backyard gardens. The value of this production for use from year to year was calculated at 13 to 18 billion dollars, roughly equal to the value of all the corn raised in the United States each year. We should understand that there are virtually no advocates for non-monetized economic activity because government and business both seek growth in the market economy for revenue and for profit. Other institutions, religious or educational, are similarly dependent on a share of the cash flow.
Many people already have more time than money.
They are, as James Robertson argues in his more recent book, Future Wealth , enabling to people and conserving of resources. Given our key values, Greens are uniquely oriented to develop these humble but necessary practical alternatives and thereby gain support at election time. Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation. Toward an Ecocentric Approach. State University of New York Press, 1992.