The combined effect of leaving those white collar jobs and becoming an independent farmer will without a doubt prevent the expansion of the cities and begin their contraction. I am sure that this is the one ray of light, the one hope, we have of assuring our survival, and we must take advantage of it before the cities see their final collapse. CHAPTER V NOTES 29 Optimists will say, "Humanity will not necessarily perish because of the cities. As a matter of fact, it is not impossible that, because of the progress of science and technology, we will perpetuate ourselves by the acceleration of prosperity." But before coming at me with this counterargument, they must prove the following: -> that no matter how many resources we squander, they will never run out. -> that no matter how much we contaminate the atmosphere and the oceans, it will not affect living things. -> that the more drugs and food additives we ingest, the healthier we will become. -> that matter (trash) is not imperishable, that it can be destroyed. -> that the more land we cover with concrete, the greater our chances of survival. -> that nuclear weapons were made so that they would not be used (in other words, that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were exceptions). And there are still zillions more that they must prove! And what is really important is that the opposite of each one of these zillions is extremely easy to prove. 30 See E. Herbert Norman, Ando Shoeki and the Anatomy of Japanese Feudalism. Reprint edition published in 1979 by University Publications of America, Inc. (Translator's note) 31 A term of Shoeki's which means that all people grow their own food. (Translator's note) 32 This blind faith is implanted in us, on a national, yea, an international scale, from the time we are in elementary school, and we have come to the point where there is no greater "faith" than this. To the question, "Science is the standard for everything; if we cannot believe in science, then what must we believe in?" one must reply, "There is only the Way of Heaven. The Way of Nature is a cycle with neither progress nor development; wild animals commit themselves to this cycle and live out their lives this way. Blind faith in science is a privilege given only to human beings, but unfortunately they will perish in the near future because of scientific progress. 33 The land in Southeast Asian countries is the precious means of food production to those who live there (there are also the forests which maintain the ecosystem and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen for us). It is preposterous to abandon the agriculture of one's own country and invade another. Such arrogant corporate minds crowd the cities of the entire world so that now reckless development runs rampant in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Amazon basin, and desertification and devastation of the land proceed at an astonishing pace.