Hard times are just that: hard. But not necessarily bad.

Yes, lots of people are out of work. Yes, record numbers of Americans are relying on food stamps.

Nevertheless, we in the West—Americans in particular—have long had an unhealthy relationship to money. We shop for therapy. We have huge personal debts. We have stuff we never use, but we still buy more.

If this recession, which is looking like it’s a severe one, can help us grow a healthier relationship to money, it can become a good recession.

This is a question of using material scarcity to remake our culture. It can be done. And it will take time. We’ll need to undo some of our basic beliefs, like ownership makes me secure.

What will the new world look like when we make our music instead of buying it? What will the new world look like when we re-learn to grow our own food?