Subsistence

[səbˈsɪs·təns]

Related terms: Becoming Political, Ghost Acreage, Habitat, Livelihood, Rations, Situatedness, Survival

To become aware of one’s own subsistence is to be able to formulate and define one’s position in the world. The term describes the act or process of supporting physical life on Earth. It commonly refers to fundamental needs that give stability to life, such as food, water, and clean air. In our contemporary cultures of being and consuming, the term extends from the affordability of our rent, to our access to education and information, all the way to the pharmaceutical pricing of medications we may need. »Subsistence« should be defined as every thing and every force that we live on. To understand one’s subsistence is to become political about the forms of one’s relationships to the Critical Zone. The question »What do we subsist on?« takes us down to the grounding of our existence.