Summary of STS: Village of the Watermills by Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (Clear Copy with English Subtitles)

00:00:00 - 00:15:00
Thank you for clarifying. Based on the new transcript excerpt you provided, the video features the Village of
the Watermills, a community that eschews modern conveniences and instead relies on natural resources such as
water flow and rocks to power their mills. The villagers emphasize the importance of living in harmony with
nature and maintaining a balance to avoid waste. They view daily work as contributing to a healthy lifestyle,
and they respect tradition through practices such as wearing formal clothing during funerals. Overall, the video
highlights the simplicity and contentment that can be found in a life connected to nature.

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 00:00:00 In this section, we see a village called the Village of the Watermills, where electricity and
modern conveniences are not used, and the people live a simple life. The villagers believe that humans
are better off without such modern conveniences as they do not need them. At night, the village is dark,
and one cannot see the stars. However, there is enough light to see within the village. The villagers do
not have tractors or any modern equipment, and they get their fuel from a nearby waterfall. Overall, the
villagers lead a simple life and do not need any modern conveniences to be content.
 00:05:00 In this section, the villagers express their desire to live naturally with the environment and
maintain a balance to avoid waste through an efficient use of resources. They explain how the river flow
and rocks can be used to power water mills, and show how they respect nature by collecting just enough
resources and maintaining natural habitats. They also discuss the importance of daily work and how it
contributes to a healthy lifestyle, while a scene of children placing flowers on stones by the river is
shown. They later discuss a funeral and speak about how wearing formal clothes, like a hakama, is a
respectful tradition. The clip ends with a brief discussion of a wooden leg and a reference to a page.

The video features the Village of the Watermills, a community that intentionally avoids modern
conveniences and instead lives a simple life, relying on natural resources like water flow and rocks to
power their mills. The villagers emphasize the importance of living harmoniously with nature, avoiding
waste, and maintaining a balance in their environment. They demonstrate how they use the river's flow
and natural elements to power their mills efficiently. Additionally, there's a mention of the villagers'
respect for traditions, such as wearing formal clothing during funerals as a sign of reverence. Overall, the
video seems to showcase the contentment and simplicity found in a life closely connected to nature,
where daily work contributes to a healthy lifestyle.

Based on the information provided from the video about the Village of the Watermills, the villagers intentionally
avoid modern technology and conveniences. They believe that humans are better off without these modern
advancements and live a simple life without electricity or modern equipment. The absence of technology seems to
have a profound effect on their lives.

Effect of technology on human life:

Simplicity and Contentment: The villagers demonstrate that a life without modern technology can lead to
contentment and simplicity. They believe they don't need these conveniences to live fulfilling lives.

Harmony with Nature: Rejecting modern technology allows them to maintain a close connection with the natural
world. They utilize natural resources like water flow and rocks to power their mills, emphasizing a sustainable and
eco-friendly way of life.

Reduced Dependency: By not relying on technology, the villagers demonstrate a reduced dependency on external
resources, finding ways to sustain themselves through natural means.
How technology affects our connection with Mother Earth:

The absence of technology in the Village of the Watermills seems to enhance the inhabitants' connection with
Mother Earth:

Greater Respect for Nature: By living in harmony with nature and utilizing its resources wisely, the villagers
show a deep respect for the environment. They emphasize the importance of maintaining balance and avoiding
waste.

Closeness to Natural Cycles: Their rejection of modern technology allows them to live more attuned to natural
cycles, relying on natural elements like water flow and rocks to power their daily activities.

Preservation of Traditions: Avoiding modern technology might help preserve traditional practices and cultural
values that are closely tied to nature, like the way they conduct funerals and dress in formal clothing as a sign of
respect.

Forget 'developing' poor countries, it's time to 'de-develop' rich countries

Jason Hickel

2017

Yes, some of the excess income and consumption we see in the rich world yields improvements in quality of life
that are not captured by life expectancy, or even literacy rates

Abstract

Given all the fanfare, one might think the SDGs are about to offer a fresh plan for how to save the world, but
beneath all the hype, it’s business as usual. The main strategy for eradicating poverty is the same: growth.

Findings
Since 1980, the global economy has grown by 380%, but the number of people living in poverty on less than $5
(£3.20) a day has increased by more than 1.1 billion

Why? Because even at current levels of average global consumption, we’re overshooting our planet’s bio-capacity
by more than 50% each year

Scholarcy Highlights
 As the UN’s new sustainable development goals are launched in New York, there’s little to celebrate about the
business-as-usual approach
 Since 1980, the global economy has grown by 380%, but the number of people living in poverty on less than $5
(£3.20) a day has increased by more than 1.1 billion
 Yes, some of the excess income and consumption we see in the rich world yields improvements in quality of life
that are not captured by life expectancy, or even literacy rates
 Even if we look at measures of overall happiness and wellbeing in addition to life expectancy, a number of low-
and middle-income countries rank highly
Scholarcy Summary

Introduction
As the UN’s new sustainable development goals are launched in New York, there’s little to celebrate about the
business-as-usual approach.

Growth has been the main object of development for the past 70 years, despite the fact that it’s not working.

People in the US and Canada consume about 8 hectares per person, while Europeans consume 4.7 hectares – many
times their fair share

Results
What does this mean for our theory of development?

Economist Peter Edward argues that instead of pushing poorer countries to “catch up” with rich ones, we should
be thinking of ways to get rich countries to “catch down” to more appropriate levels of development.

We should look at societies where people live long and happy lives at relatively low levels of income and
consumption not as basket cases that need to be developed towards western models, but as exemplars of efficient
living.

Many countries have achieved similar life expectancy with a mere fraction of this income.

Cuba has a comparable life expectancy to the US and one of the highest literacy rates in the world with GDP per
capita of only $6,000 and consumption of only 1.9 hectares – right at the threshold of ecological sustainability.

Yes, some of the excess income and consumption we see in the rich world yields improvements in quality of life
that are not captured by life expectancy, or even literacy rates.

Even if we look at measures of overall happiness and wellbeing in addition to life expectancy, a number of low- and
middle-income countries rank highly.

Costa Rica manages to sustain one of the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies in the world with a per
capita income one-fourth that of the US.

According to recent consumer research, 70% of people in middle- and high-income countries believe
overconsumption is putting our planet and society at risk.

The problem is that the pundits promoting this kind of transition are using the wrong language

Conclusion
They use terms such as de-growth, zero growth or – worst of all – de-development, which are technically accurate
but off-putting for anyone who’s not already on board.

Such terms are repulsive because they run against the deepest frames we use to think about human progress, and,
the purpose of life itself.

It’s like asking people to stop moving positively thorough life, to stop learning, improving, growing.

ANSWERS:

1. The article criticizes the use of growth as the primary strategy to end poverty because despite significant
economic growth globally, the number of people living in poverty (on less than $5 a day) has increased by
 over 1.1 billion since 1980. This suggests that focusing solely on economic growth hasn't effectively
reduced poverty.

2. The article suggests the need to reconsider the development approach in rich countries because their high
levels of consumption and income are often unsustainable and exceed what the planet can support. It
proposes the idea that instead of continuously aiming for increased wealth and consumption, rich countries
should adopt more efficient and sustainable ways of living that emulate countries with lower consumption
but similar or even better life expectancies and levels of happiness.

3. The article indirectly highlights a connection between excessive consumption in rich countries and its
impact on the planet's resources. It suggests that relentless pursuit of economic growth and consumption
may not necessarily equate to greater human flourishing. Rather, it indicates that high levels of
consumption in rich nations might not significantly improve overall well-being compared to countries with
lower consumption but relatively high levels of happiness and life expectancy. It prompts a reconsideration
of what truly contributes to human flourishing, implying that progress in science and technology should
focus on sustainable development rather than unchecked growth.