Having stayed in Galmpton a number of times now – my parent’s house is full of various medical paraphernalia – we noticed a sign (one of many) outside a beautiful brick-work #(chocolate-box) cottage – advertising local honey. Although this sign is a permanent fixture, we were never quite sure if the honey is available all year round – and we did not want to bother the owners. I could just imagine a startled villager as their sedate and isolated cottage is over-ran by a loud South London family – and their two-dogs!
During this trip – we got two jars – as the “Honour System” is in effect. In England, the Honour System a certain level of decency, civility, and responsibility is extant within the minds of those participating in the commercial enterprise. There is no forcing, compulsion, or punishment for dishonesty (only three jars are ever left-out – so only £15 of goods could ever be stolen in theory at ay one time). We are allowed to enter the unlocked porch to the cottage where three jars of honey await their buyers. We place the money in a nearby box and choose the two jars we feel like taking with us.
As a Buddhist family, we abhor thieving. No one has the right to steal the labour of others. We respect all produce – and the hard-work used to create it. We also respect being trusted by the owners of honey. This is so very different from the consumer capitalism invented by the Americans in the 1920s and subsequently inflicted upon the rest of the world. The US has killed millions in spreading it around the globe. Instead, the Honour System relieves (by bypasses) the pressure of the modern capitalist system and is probably much more beneficial from the mental health perspective. Of course, having said all this, everything is still dependent upon the presence of social justice. As Joseph Stalin once said, he never forgets the plight of the poorest person struggling to feed themselves, their families, and their animals – when deciding policy. No money – no honey. Still, if things were equal – the “Honour System” (which also operates in part in Hay-on-Wye) is much more preferable for us all. Perhaps I am starting to think like a character from the children’s novel – Peter Pan! A week back in London will sort me out!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 