Yana Ludwig: Moving Toward Cooperative Culture
The United States is one of the most individualistic, competitive, materialistically-oriented cultures in the world. To move forward to a less oppressive environment we need to radically shift our values and learn to work together.
Here to discuss these important topics today is Yana Ludwig, cooperative culture pioneer, intentional community advocate, and oppression activist.
Yana is the author of Together Resilient and The Cooperative Culture Handbook and today we explore the ways that she is confronting power, oppression, privilege, and individualism in her writing and intentional actions.
We talk about the focus on local community-based responses to climate destruction in Together Resilient and how the themes of culture and group process work in that book grew into The Cooperative Culture Handbook.
On the topic of organizations struggling to cooperate, Yana weighs in on her approach to remedying this by positing sustainable cooperative culture as a middle ground between the two extremes of mainstream and counter culture.
A few of the themes Yana discusses in her book are around how our culture thinks about security and listening, and the effects that disintegration has on us psychologically.
Part of the work she tries to do is reframe these concepts so they can underlie a more equitable cultural value system or drive a behavior change.
Our conversation also explores the difficult terrain of oppressor cultures confronting their privilege, cultural appropriation and Yana’s decision to change her name multiple times, and a few organizations that are pushing the needle forward as far as cooperative culture.
So for all this and more about moving to a more equitable society through reframing our values, tune in today.
Key Points From This Episode:
Hear about the commune Yana lives on and the philosophy they follow.
The focus on responses to climate change in Yana’s first book and how this research led to her second book.
Problems with mainstream and counter culture and the healthy balance between them written about in The Cooperative Culture Handbook.
The ‘this is why consensus doesn’t work mentality’ that led to Yana writing her book.
Cultural appropriation and how this fits into Yana’s name-changing experiences.
How Yana’s book approaches redefining culture, power, and confronting conversations around race and class.
Conscientizing oppressor classes to the idea that their lives are racialized.
Examples of different books and groups who are setting examples of new ways of living.
How to create a culture where not only the loudest voices get heard.
The theme of the psychological damage caused by disintegration and code-switching in Yana’s book.
Getting back to a place where our lives are values-aligned.
How Yana and her community are grappling with the problem of intentional communities being something privileged people only have access to.
Yana’s experiences and lessons learned while running for US senates.
North stars for Yana as far as what to focus on to move forward to a better economy.
The projects that Yana is involved with and how to support what she does.
Tweetables:
“In the United States, we are the most individualistic, competitive, materialistically oriented culture in the world, and that is incredibly problematic. If you can’t compete in a capitalistic, hyper-competitive framework you are kind of worthless in that mainstream culture.” — Yana Ludwig [0:05:18]
“Noticing who you don’t bother to listen to as a daily practice can be really powerful.” — Yana Ludwig [0:27:59]
“If there is a capstone to the book it is this phenomenon of disintegration versus having our lives reintegrated, and being able to be whole, coherent people is a rare gift.” — Yana Ludwig [0:33:18]
“I want to move to a place where we are asking questions about how do we get back to a place where our whole being is values-aligned for us.” — Yana Ludwig [0:33:38]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
The Cooperative Culture Handbook
Surrendering Ma’ikwe: A Step Back From Cultural Appropriation
The People of Color Sustainable Housing Network
The Foundation for Intentional Community
Yana is now the Executive Director of Leadership East Side
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