You can certainly critique individual judgement calls on their so-called "self-sufficiency" - e.g. reliance on external oil mining & refinement does seem an unf

You can certainly critique individual judgement calls on their so-called "self-sufficiency" - e.g. reliance on external oil mining & refinement does seem an unfortunate choice - but at a high level I think saying their rules "ultimately don't even matter" misses the point a little. The intent (and benefits) of adopting things late is twofold: it allows more time for judgement calls to be made on impact, and it also instils self-sufficiency in individual members of the community, which ultimately is a pretty large collective benefit in itself when it comes to day-to-day living. > in places where scarcity is not self-imposed Not everyone has the freedom & resources to leave home and settle (& succeed) somewhere else, but for those who do, scarcities can be self-imposed by personal decisions on where to stay. Either way, I'm not sure how someone deserves more or less respect for taking similar approaches just because their situation is either chosen by them or by fate.