Hygiene

This post is a little random. But, it is related to skipping layers of development in developing countries. What happens in the near, or far, future, if you just integrated technology/knowledge saturation into the lives of those still living in "backward" lifestyles. A library in the middle of Combodia (don't ask why I though of Cambodia), or in a similar place. Things would get dirty and technology would fail. Libraries in America have enough problems with mold, general decay, and computer abuse, how would less hygienic places fare? Should we be obsessed with cleanliness? Or, should materials science cope with such issues?
So much of the effort of the developed world is expended in cleaning everything we own...for good measure. I have a couple cleaning products in my room and there are numerous in the bathroom I share with others. If I didn't clean, partly a reflection on the people I live with, things would get stinky after awhile. Is it a negative that I am concerned with certain aspects? The areas where food is prepared can not be ignored. But is there a simpler way to keep the floors clean...occasionally? Is the packaging and chemical/environmental expense equal to the benefit of a clean floor and such? Those type of questions seem moot until you think of the cost of providing everyone in Africa with a hot shower in the morning. Why the ****does Arizona exist? It gets cheap water at the expense of so many others...as does Nevada. Talk about thievery.
At what point is ultimate cleanliness, beyond basic hygienic standards, too costly?

Food and Books

So you want to eliminate the developing countries' desire to become a developed country like the US, with the out of control consumerism and waste, what do you need to provide the people to be satisfied, and what do Americans, and others, need to change their ways.

The masses need to be satisfied. They, everyone/we, need is food and shelter, in the most basic sense. The emotional and psychological needs are beyond definition. Also, a cause of much woe in the world. Of course, you need to start with the physical, and build to the mental and metaphysical. Unfortunately, every discussion of how to engineer the good "citizen"(person), leads to the inevitable journey into distopia. But, I consider those more failings of the system in regards to people than an impossibility of a system. Later...maybe.

It would be relatively cheap to feed those that are hungry. Though, the international community is being prevented from feeding people by those who have power in certain areas . Petty insecurities lead to countless deaths everyday.

To return, the best plan would be to create enclaves of sustainable agriculture around large scale agriculture areas that can provide work and food. The problem is that the surrounding poor invade the areas that are to be developed/developed areas within poor countries. Attempts to open industrial parks in places like Indonesia have run into massive squatter problems. It doesn't help that Indonesia was/is extremely corrupt and the people are not being thought about...not that transnationals think about such things. Summary: Yes, widespread government action is needed to have a comprehensive enough plan.

There are hungry and homeless everywhere, except the suburbs, in America. That would largely be a consequence of the price of space in America, and most places. And, NIMBY(Not in my backyard). Who wants to help people next to their house? I feel that I cannot truly attack these selfish actions until I have my own family, or advocate that such "negative" things be moved near my family that I do not live near (aka mom, dad, sister). But, on principle, I find that people who do not accept facts and such as disappointing, but people are people.

I must pause here on this post for reflection....and yes, it does seem somewhat communist or socialist and self-righteous. But, capitalism/consumerism is not the answer as it has been shown to not take the true cost of inputs into account. I do understand economics...sorry.

Education Addendum

What I really wanted to say is the quest for consumption/attainment of goods is endless and pointless, while the wuest for knowledge is endless and fulfilling. That is only an opinion, but think about the implications in teaching it.

Education

Is education not the most important function of a government once the government structure has been stabilized? That question is phrased oddly, but the main point is that education is important. The only way to create stable development is to educate the people. Everyone can fight to acquire all the resources that they accumulate, which is what we have today in most parts of the world. Education is necessary to teach people to work together and subsume aspects of their individual to society. Do I mean social programming? I do, to a degree. This is not a Brave New World I am trying to create. But, with about the socialization of a large, hmm, value system, you have the anarchy of a "free" market, survival of the greediest. But, everyone needs to survive.

Note: Chad is becoming very annoyed at Sudan and threatening war. Isn't Chad the country Pauly Shore was deployed to in "In the Army Now". Makes you think doesn't it.

This post was interrupted halfway through and I lost my train of thought.

The Lost Continent

Another post about Africa...I will get more specific as I consistently post and get into the flow.

Is it not time for a new paradigm in development theory? Africa is done...put a fork in it. The only news is famine, fighting, or ****nuts being horrible human beings (Zimbabwe). Monkeys are being hunted into extinction. Resources are being taken to fund fighting, either by rebels or government. And, genocide is occuring while the world watches and goes "eh".

Development's answer is to strengthen intstiutions and industrialize while giving agriculture a more balanced reward. An industrialized Africa can only serve Africa...who buys a PSP that says "made in Ghana"? But, Africa is so compartmentalized that people are too stubborn to buy from some neighboring countries. Though, this only seems to be the case and I have no actual proof. Africa has no need for industrialization.

The world does not need more stuff. Small scale production would be an interesting approach. But, this would be interesting on many levels as many countries don't need industrialization and many Western countries need to de-consumerize. Africa seems to have lost its values. There doesn't need to be a specific set that they need, but they definitely need one that does not involve killing rivals and such.

The focus needs to be on education and infrastructure. Why is there not research being conducted in materials science in Africa's harsh climate? There is much to be learned, much to be taught.

The next post will be on education in America.

Philip K. Dick

This post strays from the hard facts and reflection on the current state of affairs to reflect on reflections of development. The title author that I would like to muse on is Philip K. Dick. He schizophrenic and such and wrote many stories that were out there. But, they are on the edge in that they take you on a journey with a mind that can't rely on reality, or even its beliefs. So few things in this world make people think in that way. People with chemical imbalances have similar things....I do not know this because I have not experienced and do not claim to know what it is like. I am approaching this from a "sane" person's standpoint, as most of the pop. is.

Many of Dick's stories involve development...of course, they are science fiction, so they involve the future. But, Philip usual imagines a near future and he delves into the negative of the technological and socio-chemical aspects that were developing is his time. The human psyche is very fragile, and without the comforts of what it assumes should be right, it fights and struggles and searches for purchase. You have to step out of the box and ask "what if?", "why this way?", "what values define this world?"

Also, are you interested in penny stocks and how to make money, I have a great link...just kidding.

What we create is lead on by what we value. Are we ruled by out innate desire to get our genes, or genes like us, passed on? Is it all a product of evolution? Or have we transcended to a greater understanded of what it takes to balance a system? No animal does not have the desire to over-reproduce and eventually destroy its ecosystem. Humans are just the best at it, it is natural. At some point we need to forget the natural and look at the future.

In conclusion, many of Philip's stories ask what is the ultimate end/have past or current actions looked at what might happen in the future, and/or where do our conceptions of what is right/wrong/or best for the world fit.

How do your values shape your perception of the present and future? And, what do you want to create with those values?

Development II

I found a good definition/criteria to define development. It was, surprisingly, in a book about development economics. Development, or its goal, is the improvement in the living conditions of the people. If GDP, or GNP, grows and the people's lives stink, then it is not positive development.

In America, we have pretty much given up on any form of positive development. Wait, sorry, urban redevelopment is an attempt to repair past mistakes, but it simply tries to give the middle class, or young single folk, an incentive to move back to parts of the city while not addressing why areas degraded, though it is usually because the tax base left, and not addressing the plight of the urban poor. Just because you shuffle the urban poor around does not mean you have improved their lot. Development in America means the elimination of "affordable" housing. Pretty soon, in Hawaii and Las Vegas, the lower classes that work the tourist related jobs will have nowhere to live. If they can find something, then it will not be very conducive to the creation of a positive environment. Yes, saying "lower classes" may not be the best label, but I can't think of anything better to capture what is happening in America, but especially Hawaii. I am only thankful that I do not, at this point, want to start a family on the medicore wages I get working at a hotel in childcare, at an elementary school in aftercare, and at a local home improvement store. I would have to possibly sacrifice my values and get a crap job if a kid suddenly showed up in my life, which it won't. And, people complain about service and price.

Without respecting how communities evolve and grow, people won't respect the community. Once that happens, there is no hope. Future development in the development world takes the awareness that life is not a one player game (horrible analogy). To escape this vicious downward spiral that we are in, people must realize that all people are people, not sons of bitches that can be **** upon in order to get ahead. Then there is the whole illusion of consumerism being the ultimate goal in life.

You'll never take me alive, unless my death will help people.

Growth

The obsession with growth is what will doom are future. Those are harsh words, but in the long term, everybody is dead...to quote a famous economist and not use quotes at the same time. The real question is how do we want the world to die? I would prefer we delay it a little by being smart.

My ultimate goal, I may have said it before, is to understand a zero-growth economy. I often confuse myself when trying to expand upon this concept, and am confused now, but wil try. A develeped economy with little real estate to grow with an a shrinking population has to create a situation where it grows even more, in order to compensate for the shrinking pop. In the end that is consuming more resources and a losing battle is being waged. A balance must be sought where production is renewable and finances are stable so increasing tax revenues are not needed. When it comes down to it, almost every single govt. has the ever increasing cost of debt to address as their populations mature.

You need to balance inputs and outputs while maintaining a standard of living. The question is, can this be done without a general paradigm shift in what it means to be alive? Different things need to be valued. The wage disparaities that are increasing everyday need to be reduced/eliminated. I am not preaching communism, though I am probably approaching socialism. The difference is that it can not be something imposed, it has to be embraced. The sense of community, the respect for man (human), and what is beyond/around man. I have often heard people say "I don't care what I leave for tomorrow, let them deal with this ***." and am like "what?" That don't make sense. But it does, tragically so. There is no pleasure in protecting and appreciating. There is pleasure in consumption and possession.

Unfortunately, the nature of the current economic system yields a situation where there is little value to be found in work and people consequently turn to satisfying there own desires. Dmanit, but where is the balance....I don't know

Sorry, I exhausted myself

Development

It seems like the whole world has forgotten about development. They have forgotten about development of poor countries, from a mainly economic standpoint. And, they have forgotten about how the developed world is developing, in total. It is hard to simplify arguments from around the world, gathered from mass media, but I will try a little.

America-So embroiled in partisan politics and the fight against protecting "me" that is never looks around at the "us" that is the country. (will explain more later)

Asia-A mixed bag of countries, but ultimately concerned with growth at any cost. I say this because of the attention China gets and its impact on the region. Japan is obsessed with growing again, but has many more issues that it is slowly dealing with (maybe will explain later...or tomorrow)

Europe-Well, the only news comes from France, but the people are obsessed what they feel they have a right to, for some reason. Focused on the past basically.

Africa-Does anyone care anymore? Most countries are going down the crapper. There is no good news. They have truly been forgotten, largely because of the Iraq war/insurrection.

South America-Venezuela is crazy and obsessed with its oil. The other countries have been forgotten...what is going on in these countries?

My initial concern with this post is to see how everyone has lost the big picture, as my brother mentioned in an email. Nobody cares where the world is going...unless it relates to oil prices. The oil companies don't deserve to be making record profits, but people shouldn't care that they are somewhat approaching appropriate prices for gas. The one thing that is outrageous is that prices are not driven by any real supply side factors. It is mainly the perception of scarcity where adequate supplies exist. People should be worried about oil use in the present and future. But, only oil companies/oil rich countries are profiting off of this.

Other than stopping McMansions, does anyone in America really care about creating a sustainable future...no. People should truly shut up and get to work. Bush is a horrible President, but ultimately it is the people who control the future.

Sorry about the things not yet covered, I will get to them in the future.

Reborn

I post this because I finally got all my **** together and can start posting again, not that anyone is still reading.

I plan to be much much more consistent as an April resolution. Though, you never what will happen, there will be a definite delay come June-July, but that is well in the future.

I have recently started studying economic topics again and wish to offer comments on them before I lose them in the haze of life.

The main problem is getting overwhelmed with the size of the issue while looking at finer points. The larger issue being, we are screwed.

Later