DECONSTRUCTING BABYLON #131 - WHY THE SYSTEM DRAINS THE NORTH AND HOW TO STOP IT
Tēnā koutou e te whānau. I am circling back to some of my earlier content to recreate it from the ground up. In the short time since I first started this project, I have learned a lot, and looking back, some of that early stuff sounds, honestly, a bit cringe. It was too sciency, too full of jargon, and felt a bit detached from the real world we live in. This new series is a fresh look at Deconstructing Babylon, focusing on practical, simple changes we can make in our own lives, businesses, and communities.
What is Babylon?
In Research Report #224, we look at "Babylon" not as a person or a specific government, but as a system of extraction. It is a way of organising the world that is based on taking. It takes our talent, our resources, our money, and our data, and it sends them away to benefit someone else, usually leaving behind a bit of a mess for us to clean up.
In the North, we feel this every day. Babylon is the system that treats Taitokerau like a quarry to be mined rather than a home to be cared for. It puts making money for big corporations ahead of looking after our families and our land. It’s the difference between "money-first thinking" and "caring for the household." One focuses on the bank balance, the other focuses on the wellbeing of everyone in the home.
What We Are Exploring
This series isn't about some massive, overnight revolution. It is about making small, positive decisions wherever we have a bit of say: on the marae, in our schools, in our local councils, and in our small businesses. It’s about creating order and health right where we are. Over the next ten posts, we will cover:
Why the System Drains the North and How to Stop It
The Lie of Loneliness: Why Being Connected Matters
Stopping the Money Drain: Building Local Wealth
Seeing Our Value: Moving Beyond the “Colonial Gaze”
Our Data, Our Future: Keeping Our Stories Safe
Trust Over Paperwork: Getting Things Done Together
Healing Together: Why Restoring Relationships Beats Punishment
The Local Economy: Business for Our Whānau
Measuring What Matters: Checking the Health of Our Community
A New Reality: Creating a Better Future for Taitokerau
Unplugging the Machine
The first step in deconstructing Babylon is simply seeing it for what it is: a tired system that relies on us staying disconnected and feeling like we don't have power. When we choose to prioritise the life force of our community over the rules of a distant machine, we stop being the fuel for Babylon and start building something that actually works for us. We don't need to fight the whole system at once; we just need to start making better choices for our whānau right here, right now.
Definitions
Babylon - A metaphor for extractive colonial systems that drain life force from people.
Te Ōhanga Mauri (The Lifeforce Economy) - A regenerative system focused on building and protecting life force.
Te Whenua Taurikura (The Thriving Land) - A vision of a prosperous, sovereign, and flourishing home.
Ekonomia - Stewardship of the "household," the original heart of what an economy should be. From the Greek Oikos meaning household, the root word for “Economy”.
The Economic Pā - A community living by these principles to create safety and abundance.
Note: I have replaced the hijacked metaphor of "Zion" with terms that better reflect our land, our language, and our mission.
This series is based on Research Report #224 - The Tools of Babylon: A Forensic Deconstruction and Counter-Strategy. If you would like to read the full report, please contact the author via the contact us page.
