Interdependence

I am always fascinated to see how the observations of early Eastern Philosophers, in this case the teaching of interdependence between sentient beings, prefigured the findings of modern-day Neuroscience.

Fear and Loathing

"He who makes a beast of himself

gets rid of the pain of being a man"

Dr. Samuel Johnson

(view trailer)

Who's your daddy?

NOW is the time!

Oberon is now on island time.

I just arrived in la la land

a.k.a. St.Croix, Virgin Islands.

Yowzaah! Daddy needs a vacation!

Was banned...

This Video, “Is It For Freedom”,
Long Banned On YouTube, Is Back.
by Sara Thomsen - Why It Was Banned For So Long?
I have No Clue.  Enjoy.


She created this just before it was known that BushII would be "illegally selected" as the gateway to the corporatists' final take-over of our nation, around '97 or '98, I think...

Just before the cheerleader, (Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.,) moved to Crawford, TX, to become the pretend
"just a good old boy" American.

Rock-A-Billy

Zentai

The Zentai Project

is a group of people

who go out in public

wearing Zentai suits

for the amusement of themselves

and the public.

Coherent curriculum

No other country, with a history of successful education, applies economic principles of competition and incentives to the teaching profession. It’s too narrow-focused. There are so many other variables to consider. Community, family, individual differences. Schools are not factories. No other nation, with a successful school system, abandons courses in cultural subjects, like music and foreign languages, to focus only on basic skills and testing. Schools work best when teachers collaborate to help students, not when they compete for higher scores and bonuses. Otherwise, the lesson we’re teaching our children is: how best to be nothing more than a fucking commodity.

In education, collaboration is not socialism !!

Space Odyssey

The Big World

It's a big world...

what makes you think we're alone?

(video clip)

Douglas Rushkoff's

UFOs In Renaissance Art

(see more)

Laurie Anderson and National Debt

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), well-known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which has been called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He is extensively quoted. Twain was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

Twain was very popular, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned praise from both critics and peers. Upon his death he was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature". (read more)

"...in one way or another all men are mad. Many are mad for money...Love is a madness...it can grow to a frenzy of despair ... All the whole list of desires, predilections, aversions, ambitions, passions, cares, griefs, regrets, remorses, are incipience madness, and ready to grow, spread and consume, when the occasion comes. There are no healthy minds, and nothing saves any man but accident--the accident of not having his malady put to the supreme test.
One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal."

from "The Memorable Assassination", by Mark Twain.

The Price Paid for Public Apathy is Enormous

The current economic crisis, the abysmal state of our health care system, the alarming condition of our national infrastructure, the failure of the educational system, our burgeoning prison population and system of justice that incarcerates the poor and the powerless and the other social issues that currently haunt the nation are a direct result of the fact that the general population has allowed the power, wealth and influence of this nation to fall into the hands of an affluent class that represents less than one percent of the general population and yet controls a disproportionate share of the nation’s resources.

It is the haunting silence in the face of the enormous scale of social injustice and the economic inequality that has allowed the power that is supposed to reside in the people to be usurped by the few. The public has no reliable access to appropriate health care, for we have allowed the health of our nation to be managed by those whose only goal is profit. Our roads, bridges, school buildings, energy production facilities, resource management and other manifestations of the national infrastructure are in such pathetic condition; because, we have been cajoled into thinking that taxes are offensive and that government regulation runs counter to progress. Our educational system is in disarray; because, we have collectively refused to place the resources where they are needed. As a result, funds for schools are weighted towards those communities who need them the least. Many of the nation’s poor are imprisoned; many are homeless; many go hungry; because, our priorities are distorted and we have allowed public money to finance private profit.

This collective apathy comes at an unfortunate price. If the current trend continues and the public is once again lulled into believing that everything will improve without social action and an insistence that the government serves its people, the future state of the nation is not difficult to predict.

selfhood as the way

another one worth to watch

Vezi mai multe video din Evenimente

The Way Of Peace

Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 51st Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day
March 10th 2010

Today marks the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan people's peaceful uprising in 1959 against Communist China's repression in Tibet, as well as the second anniversary of the peaceful protests that erupted across Tibet in March 2008. On this occasion, I pay homage to those heroic Tibetan men and women, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet, and pray for an early end to the sufferings of those still oppressed in Tibet.

Despite the great hardships they have faced for many decades, Tibetans have been able to keep up their courage and determination, preserve their compassionate culture and maintain their unique identity. It is inspiring that today a new generation of Tibetans continues to keep Tibet's just cause alive. I salute the courage of those Tibetans still enduring fear and oppression.

Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, it is the responsibility of all Tibetans to maintain equality, harmony and unity among the various nationalities, while continuing to protect our unique identity and culture. Many Tibetans in Tibetan areas are working in various responsible posts in the party, government and military, helping Tibetans in whatever way they can. We recognise the positive contribution that many of them have made up to now, and obviously when Tibet achieves meaningful autonomy in the future, they will have to continue to fulfil such responsibilities.

Let me reiterate that once the issue of Tibet is resolved, I will not take any political position nor will members of the Tibetan Administration in exile hold any positions in the government in Tibet. I have repeatedly made this clear in the past. To understand the situation of the Tibetans in exile and their aspirations, I invite Tibetan officials serving in various Tibetan autonomous areas to visit Tibetan communities living in the free world, either officially or in a private capacity, to observe the situation for themselves.

Wherever Tibetans in exile have settled, we have been able to preserve and promote our distinct cultural and spiritual traditions, while generating awareness of the Tibetan cause. Unlike other refugees, we have been relatively successful because we have also been able to give our children a sound modern education, while bringing them up according to our traditional values. And because the heads of all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion are in exile we have been able to re-establish various institutions for religious training and practice. In these institutions over ten thousand monks and nuns are free to pursue their vocations. We have been readily able to provide educational opportunities for those monks, nuns and students who have continued to come from Tibet. At the same time the unprecedented spread of Tibetan Buddhism in both East and West and the prospect of continuing to flourish in the future gives us hope that it may yet survive. This is some solace to us during this most critical period in Tibet's history.

Today, the Chinese authorities are conducting various political campaigns, including a campaign of patriotic re-education, in many monasteries in Tibet. They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practise in peace. These conditions make the monasteries function more like museums and are intended to deliberately annihilate Buddhism. (read more) (the global community)

A Late Entry For International Women's Day

This is a part of the Sikh morning prayer, prayed daily by millions of Sikhs.  It is from our Sacred Book, Our Eternal Guru, Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

It is appropriate for International Women's Day, I think.  It would be nice if this respect were really practiced and not just mouthed.

From woman, man is born; 
within woman, man is conceived; 
to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; 
through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; 
to woman he is bound.

So why call her bad? 
From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; 
without woman, there would be no one at all.
O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.
That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful.
O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord. ||2||

Picture:  Are Going To Battle courtesy of Simmal Tree

Terror-Vision

(click title)

I.Q. test, read aloud...

I am sofa king

we Todd did

I am sofa king

we Todd did

I am sofa king

we Todd did

And I Love You

Catastrophe theory

I’m always fascinated by the way people explain events to themselves ..especially when the cause is obscure and not directly observable. In Haiti, for instance, the local population believes that the earthquake was caused by angry mystical entities known as ‘gedes’ ..or spirits of the dead. Evangelical Christians, arriving on the scene, say the earthquake was caused by exactly that kind of superstitious thinking .. if only they had switched their beliefs, none of this would have happened. According to Pat “ ..they made a pact with the devil when they won independence from the French (and Christian rule) .. and now they’re paying for it.” No one talks about fault lines or tectonic plates, I guess that sounds way too much like scientific ideology. So now I’m going to say that the mudslides in Los Angeles last week were brought about by the kind of decadent behavior LA is known for, and has nothing to do with the fires last summer ..those happened way too long ago.

Composure

Human nature is an ever-elusive concept. Collectively, society is going full-steam-ahead into cataclysmic retrograde and we’d be jolly-well fucked to see it stop anytime soon. Why are we allowing this to happen?
We have wars for economic and strategic gain, war profiteering, worldwide famine and poverty, not to mention more societal aspects like the reigning train of thought that materialism leads to happiness, selfishness, racism, bigotry, prejudice, et. al.
It’s all around us. We see the writing on the wall every day as we’re driving to work, riding our bicycle to school, giving spare change to the homeless, volunteering for duty, calling the cops, going to church and looking out our windows.
We cannot affect the aforementioned so easily, whether by solitary or collective effort. We can, however, seek to alter the behaviors and character of ourselves and those around us.
We need to realize material wealth and selfishness, as an extension, will not ultimately solve anything. Acquisition almost always leads to a craving for more, with a central focus on the self. Our schooling, our hours at work, our promotions, our vehicles, our homes, our families and our wealth do not define us, and an utmost focus on any of these will not help anyone to achieve a real and lasting peace and harmony with themselves and ultimately others.
Buddhist wisdom teaches us that our minds are our source of suffering and that to ease or change our suffering, we must first change our minds. Doesn’t that sound so simple? Even if you do not subscribe to Buddhist ideologies, even so this advice must not be so easily dismissed.
We can choose to focus on all that we want and need, all that we don’t have but would like, our shortcomings and our failures or we could instead choose to focus on what we already have, what makes us beautiful, what makes those around us beautiful, what we have already achieved, what we have done to make any real impact, etc.
It is a defeatist folly to buy into the wholesale apathy and cynicism that society’s influence sells to us. We must match this apathetic inclination with a positive and humble outlook, realizing that real change starts with a conscious decision to alter our destructive behaviors and thoughts.
A good first step would be to refrain from hateful speech as well as thoughts. What you say is a direct reflection of what is in your heart. If your heart is swelling with derogatory remarks and hateful diction, that does not allow much room for happiness. For example, if you are volunteering somewhere and there is a fellow volunteer who is working arduously but you say, “What the hell do they have to prove? They’re only in it so everyone can talk about how great they are,” there’s nothing positive in that at all. If you choose instead to focus on the positive, “I may not agree with their reasons but at least she’s making a difference,” or, “At least they’ve found something they truly enjoy.”
If we are to keep moving in a positive forward motion, it would be unwise of us to dwell on our hypocrisies and all that we could be doing but aren’t. Instead we should focus on what we are already accomplishing because there is never a shortage of things we can do. Look not at what others are doing and compare your efforts to theirs, for there is surely someone who has done heaps more than you. Focus instead on what positive things you are already doing and seek to give them your utmost effort.
What we also need is a revolution of the heart, the mind and the soul. We need to so nourish ourselves and become more tolerant and compassionate beings so as to become models for those around us and so we can act with patience and understanding in all that we do, allowing for a more positive and healthy life.
Never mind the fact that there are those who are more or less privileged than you. Never mind those who are content in ignorance or those who champion their intelligence. Do not pay attention to the denomination of an individual or group, nor the color of their skin. These are only divisions and barriers that keep us from reaching out to others and also keep us from realizing our true potential. These divisions will do nothing to help us realize harmony with ourselves or others.
I can’t even begin to imagine what a happier place this world would be if people would just simply act with little more tolerance and patience. Actions always resonate and affect more than the immediate recipient of those actions. That snide remark you made to the person you bumped to in passing could have deeply upset that individual (because you will never know the circumstances of their anger or their current situation) and they will then go and project that outwards and, sometimes just as harmful, themselves.
Understand that we are all connected. We are all brought into this world through dependent arising and that we are social beings. Selfishness, anger, sadness, impatience-all these emotions do a heart no good. Compassion, kindness, positivity, a strong sense of forgiveness and having a short memory for those who have wronged you will help to brighten our darkening world.
We can simply seek to exist, sheltered and isolated from contact with anything substantial or we can choose to actually live a life defined by passion, compassion, harmony, peace, forgiveness, tolerance and overall kindness.
We can look for happiness to fall into our lap or for others to bring it to us or we can realize it all begins inside ourselves and that happiness is best when shared.

Dark Star

(watch trailer)

(watch Dark Star)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Star_(film)

Chomsky’s Review of Verbal Behavior

Chomsky's review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior has been hailed as the most influential document in the history of psychology. This is especially true in the field of language development.

In his book Verbal Behavior, psychologist B. F. Skinner wrote that language development occurs when: “..differential reinforcement shapes relatively unpatterned vocalizations into grammatically correct forms”. Linguist Noam Chomsky refuted this claim, declaring that principles of ‘differential reinforcement’ cannot ‘shapewell-formed sentences, but rather a system of rules from which they can generate an infinite set of well-formed sentences. Chomsky was so persuasive that psychologists adopted his linguistic principles as a method for observing language development. Chomsky’s ‘transformational grammar’ is a system of abstract rules designed to produce sentences of varying complexity starting from a simple conceptual-base. Sentences can be ranked in order of ‘derivational complexity’. Derivational complexity refers to the number of transformation rules required to produce complex forms from simpler forms. For example, a passive rule transforms a simple declarative sentence like “John hit the ball” into “The ball was hit by John”. A possessive rule transforms it into “My ball was hit by John”, adding another degree of complexity, and so on. Turned out that Chomsky was right. Transcripts of early speech show a definite trend. Development does, in fact, occur in stages that correspond to levels of derivational complexity.

Presented at seminar in language learning

Another language

A survey of the literature on language suggests that the process of learning another language is no different than learning the first. If the focus of instruction is on communicative intent, rather than phonological repetition, then learning a foreign language recapitulates the stages that children follow when learning their native language. Contrary to popular belief, adults have an advantage over children when learning a second language. It’s just not apparent because repetition drills are so dissimilar to the language environment of early childhood. I think language instruction should include beaucoup more exposure and social interaction.

Presented at seminar in language learning

Alien discourse

On a ridge top overlooking Los Angeles, a team of alien cryptographers are busy deciphering messages encoded in streams of light that circulate the city at night. I try explaining how those are like transport vessels, indirectly responsible for carrying genetic information from one generation to the next ..and thinking how ‘evolved’ that must’ve sounded. They look at me with undecipherable expressions and I feel deflated ..like they saw right through that attempt at impression-formation. I hear them say it would take as many as four planets to sustain the level of eco-plundering they see. I imagine how threatened they must feel ..like we’re inter-planetary-expansionists or something. I try to explain that we’re really not like that ..we make progress more by stumbling around than by calculation. Another round of indecipherable expressions and I suddenly feel like I just admitted to whatever it was I was trying to deny. I try backing-up to start over again when I realize how pointless that would be ..they communicate telepathically. My thoughts are clearer to them than what I say ..same as my doubts and fears. They don’t need invasive devices to probe my brain ..they’ve got a system of highly evolved sensors doing that.

The Eagle Has Landed

Only Human

What it means to be human

is about to change...

Forever!




Aristarchus!




Moon Rising

Anomalous Gigantus

http://www.lunomaly.com/

http://www.thelivingmoon.com/

http://www.ufocasebook.com/moon.html

When the truth is found to be lies

It's A Bizarro World

Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superboy #68 (1958), and was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared in both comic books and graphic novels; and other DC Comics-related products such as animated and live-action television series; trading cards; toys and video games.

Bizarro debuted in Superboy #68 (Oct. 1958), writer Otto Binder casting the character as a Frankenstein's monster pastiche that possessed all the powers of Superboy. Shunned for his grotesque appearance, the teen version of Bizarro only appeared in a single comic book story. An adult version, however, followed soon after: debuting in the Superman daily newspaper comic strip, featuring in Episode 105: "The Battle With Bizarro" (Strips 6147-6242 :Aug. 25, 1958 to Dec. 13, 1958). This storyline also introduced the strange speech patterns that became synonymous with the character, with all of Bizarro's comments meaning the opposite - eg. "bad" means "good". The newspaper version also wore a "B" on his chest, as opposed to the distinctive "S".

Writer of the strip Alvin Schwartz stated:
"I was striving, you might say, for that mirror-image, that opposite. And out of a machine which would reveal the negative Superman, came the mirror image, - always remembering that in a mirror everything is reversed...The times were such that one-dimensional characters, your standard superheroes, even in comics, seemed rather simplistic, like paper cut-outs. What was demanded was the full dimensional personality - a figure that carried a shadow, if you like. I was certainly inspired to some degree also by C.G. Jung's archetype of "the shadow" - and Bizarro certainly reflected that, as well." (read more) (click title)

The Day Democracy Died

I know who killed JFK

http://www.jfkmurdersolved.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Action_(film)

The Custodian

I'm a custodian

I clean up dirt

It's a dirty world

somebody's got to do it

I'm cleaning up around here

"bedazzled"

The Devil threatens revenge on God by unleashing all the tawdry and shallow technological curses of the modern age:

"All right, you great git, you've asked for it. I'll cover the world in Tastee-Freez and Wimpy Burgers. I'll fill it full of concrete runways, motorways, aircraft, television and automobiles, advertising, plastic flowers and frozen food, supersonic bangs. I'll make it so noisy and disgusting that even you'll be ashamed of yourself."

"bedazzled" 1967 Trailer

Grigori Perelman

You can read the book: Perfect Rigor

I am reading the book right now. Since I am given the opportunity by Oberon to write in this site; here you have it.

My point is that Mathematical Science appears anywhere for no particular reason. At some point in Greece, a group of free thinkers started the Western Tradition of Mathematics and Philosophy. Why Greece? Put your favorite answer here. Mine is that a brotherhood developed between a group of like minded individuals there; maybe encouraged by an open mind about homosexual love. Now jump to middle XX^th Russia. In the most unlikely place, two men fall in love: Pavel Alexandrov, and Andrey Kolmogorov .

That is as unlikely as a butterfly wing flapping: producing one of the most successful Mathematics traditions to appear on this Earth since the classic Greek period.

I believe that the ways of the World are mysterious.

Who Killed The Electric Car?

Multinational Corporate Fascism

A Corporatocracy is a form of government where corporations, conglomerates or government entities with private components, control the direction and governance of a country.

This belief has two factors: campaign finance and special interests, also includes government ownership.

First, corporations provide financial support to competing political parties and major political party candidates. This allows the corporations to hedge their bets on the outcome of an election so that they are assured to have a winner who is en-debted to them. As politicians are increasingly dependent on campaign contributions to become elected, their objectiveness on issues which concern corporate interests is compromised.

Second, in many cases former corporate executives are appointed as powerful decision makers within government institutions. They are often charged with the regulation of their former or future employers. Government employees who collude with corporations often accept high ranking positions within corporations once they have demonstrated their commitment to serve the corporate interest. These lucrative offers provide incentive for government employees to serve special interests as well as provides their new employers with access to governmental decision makers. This is known as the "revolving door" between corporations and the institutions established to regulate their behavior; and can lead to regulatory capture. (read more) (additional reading)

(Zeitgeist: Addendum) (Zeitgeist: The Movie)

Lamentations from a Lifelong Democrat

I have been a Democrat my entire adult life. I anticipated that the last election could usher in a new time in which the peoples’ interests would at last be served. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has demonstrated that this was an idle hope. It seems that powerful corporate interests continue to prevail. The needs of the vast majority of Americans, with many in serious economic difficulty, are treated as entirely secondary to the wishes of the one percent of the population that controls a disproportionate amount of the nation’s wealth.

This failure to represent the national interest is readily demonstrated by the way the entire health reform issue has been handled by the party that holds such a commanding majority in the legislative and executive branches. It took nearly a year of wasted and ludicrous maneuvering for the only meaningful aspect of the proposed legislation, the public option, to be summarily discarded based on the supposed power of the Republicans in Congress, who seem to march in mindless lock-step with their party’s reactionary principles. Now that the Democrats have finally come to the conclusion that they need to proceed via the route of reconciliation where a simple majority is required, the public option is nowhere in sight. If there is legislation passed, it seems likely that the there will once again be a mass transfer of public monies to private interests – this time it’s the health insurance companies who will reap a bountiful harvest.

I am also wondering aloud what happened to energy policy designed to help avert the eventuality of climate change. There is now serious mention of the use of clean coal, an oxymoron, and nuclear power and no real effort to control carbon dioxide emissions. I find it quite intriguing how the powerful always seem to get their way regardless of what party happens to be in power. This is certainly not our country and the politicians obviously do not serve us; although, that seems to be the prevailing rhetoric.

I strongly urge the President and the Democratic members of Congress to reconsider the course they are taking, for without meaningful reform the future of our nation remains in serious jeopardy.

OMM 0910

My time is yours...
Very good, proceed...
Yes, I understand...
Yes, fine...
Yes... yes, I understand...
Yes, fine...
Excellent...
Yes...
Could you be more... specific?
You are a true believer.
Blessings of the state,
blessings of the masses.
Thou art a subject of the divine.
Created in the image of man,
by the masses, for the masses.
Let us be thankful we have an occupation to fill.
Work hard; increase production,
prevent accidents, and be happy.
Let us be thankful we have commerce.
Buy more. Buy more now. Buy more and be happy.

I'm A Lucky, Lucky Man

Dr. Edgar D. Mitchell - Apollo 14

Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, the sixth man ever to walk on the moon, has a message for all citizens of Earth: We are not alone.

"We are being visited," the 79-year-old grandfatherly "spacefarer" told 100 or so UFOlogists gathered at a National Press Club conference called by the Paradigm Research Group (motto: "It's not about lights in the sky; it's about lies on the ground").

"It is now time to put away this embargo of truth about the alien presence," said the astronaut who made the longest moonwalk in history. "I call upon our government to open up ... and become a part of this planetary community that is now trying to take our proper role as a spacefaring civilization."

(read more)

(Dr.Edgar Mitchell)

Master of the Universe

"A Fighting Man of Mars"
Frank Frazetta

One Thousand

This is post number

One Thousand!!!

Thank you

Globalove Think Tank Members

If you want to join
Globalove Think Tank
send me an e-mail.

I Lost my Password

All of us have a key to our thoughts. It is deep and therefore hard to reach. Imagine it is a password. All the thinking you have done is stored there. What happens when you lose your password?

If your thoughts do represent what happens outside of your brain, you can recover your thoughts. If they do not represent reality, who cares?

Loosing this password, may not be as bad as it seems.

Warrior For Peace

I am a Warrior

I fight for Truth

I fight for Love

I am a Warrior for Peace

Sometimes I stumble and fall

but I get back up

I am proud to be an American

Do not mistake my love of peace for weakness

I am a Warrior for Peace

Have any Peace on today?

It seems like peace is becoming something that is fashionable, but not for the right reasons. Especially with products marketed towards young women, peace must be profitable. I see peace symbols on shoulder bags with a catchy peace slogan stitched next to it. I see peace emblems on necklaces, ear rings, and bracelets. I see it all over the place, but it's worn passively, as if it were just another brand to be slathered across merchandise.

Peace is something stronger than that. Merely placing it on bags and t-shirts seems to be degrading in a manner of speaking. I'm not trying to place a negative connotation on peace being fashionable, I just want it to be fashionable for the right reasons. The people who wear the merchandise don't often understand or care about the meaning of the symbol they wear. It's more of a lifestyle choice than it's being made out to be.

Peace is something that needs to be fought for (non-violently), not reduced to a stylish flare on a handbag being carted through the local shopping mall.

Tilikum

Marine mammal trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed today at SeaWorld Orlando by a 30 year old, 5 ton orca by the name of "Tilikum".

Tilikum has been involved in two other deaths of humans in the past.

We have no business making circus clowns out of killer whales.

Captivity is abusive to these animals.

I urge everyone to boycott SeaWorld Marine Parks.

(read more)

Amartya Sen - An alternative economic paradigm

Amartya Kumar Sen was born on November 3, 1933 and is the sole recipient of the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on welfare economics. He is currently a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is also a fellow of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He is known for his astute analysis of economic theory in relation to the actual realities that haunt the underprivileged in the world, such as famine, homelessness and unemployment.

Sen comes from East Bengal, India in what is now called Bangladesh. His family is very distinguished with strong roots in academia and government. As a nine-year-old boy, he witnessed the horrendous famine that devastated Bengal in 1943, in which three million people perished. He would later conclude that this terrible loss of life was unnecessary. This experience must have exerted a powerful influence upon where his future career would take him.

In his seminal work entitled, Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen claims that “enhancement of human freedom is both the main object and the primary means of development.” In his view freedom encompasses economic facilities, political freedoms, social opportunities, transparency guarantees and protective security. In his view, freedom is not simply a political attribute, but has very practical manifestations such as accessibility to adequate health care, housing, etc.

Amartya Sen, a Noble prize laureate in economics, has proposed a different model for economic development. While obviously a proponent of free trade, he envisions a very different approach to its implementation. He identifies the traditional ethics, exemplified in the policies of the IMF and World Bank, as focusing on the primacy of income and wealth. Furthermore, he defines poverty as a “deprivation of elementary capabilities which can lead to premature mortality, illiteracy and other consequences.”

He has postulated a freedom-based orientation to policies geared towards economic development. The author states that, “With adequate social opportunities, individuals can effectively shape their own destiny and help each other. They need not be seen primarily as passive recipients of cunning development programs.”

This different perspective allows application not only to developing countries but also to the developed world. The fact that tens of millions of Americans lack access to adequate health care provides a striking example. A link between income and mortality can also be readily established. The life expectancy of African Americans compare to poor countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Costa Rica.

In this view of development, a consideration of personal liberties cannot be divorced from economic consequences. The link between income and poverty is, of course, self evident. Freedom can be seen not only as residing in so-called political freedoms, i.e. freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, but also dependent on those aspects of economic life that are fundamental to living successfully, i.e. adequate health care, housing and food, referred to as substantive freedoms. What good are political freedoms to those who expend all their energy simply trying to survive?

In this paradigm, development is seen in terms of substantive freedoms and requires an analysis of the unfreedoms that people may suffer. This differs substantially from the current operational approach of the traditional institutions. The IMF’s approach to economic development often exacerbates, or, in extreme cases, creates the very inequities that make the plight of the poor even more devastating.

Sen has devoted much of his attention to the idea of justice and from this idea he has evolved his economic perspective. He has detailed his analysis of justice in his work entitled, The Idea of Justice. He has approached the theory of justice through the diagnosis of injustice. From his perspective, understanding involves reasoning and critical examination. He stresses the roles of rationality and reasonableness in understanding the demands of justice. From his perspective, he has concluded that the implementation or evaluation of social change should focus on whether or not such change would enhance justice.

In his mind, any theory of justice must, by necessity, include a diagnosis of injustice. From this perspective, injustice may either arise systemically or stem from individual behavioral transgressions. In Sen’s mind, injustice must be evaluated at the level of the individual as well as the institutions. For example, a society that prides itself on the democratic nature of its institutions may quietly condone and neglect the poverty and hunger that is a fundamental part of the lives of some of its people. Within the paradigm that Sen has proposed, this reality is an injustice in part because it is readily open to remedy. This practical consideration of real impact on social institutions on the lives of individuals represents a radical departure in regards to the analysis of the institutions themselves. Within this point of view, the emphasis is on reasoned arguments rather than relying on articles of faith and unreasoned convictions; reasoning and justice go hand in hand.

Sen invokes the age of European Enlightenment in the 18th and 19th centuries as having a positive impact on his thinking. He describes the idea of justice from two historic perspectives. The first he refers to as “transcendental institutionalism.” This represents the point of view taken by such notable philosophers as Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau. They envisioned a perfect justice that could be realized if the institutions themselves were perfected. This approach does not, however, take into account the behaviors of ordinary people and their social interactions. Sen believes this to be a major flaw, and, in many ways, an impediment to real justice.

The other perspective he refers to as “realization-focused comparisons.” This idea focuses on actual realizations and accomplishments. In defense of this approach, he cites such well-known thinkers as Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. As far as Sen is concerned, “The rules may be right, but what does emerge in society – the kinds of lives that people actually live.” This lies at the heart of Sen’s thinking. This point of view can be readily summarized in Sen’s own words, “The need for an accomplishment-based understanding of justice is linked with the argument that justice cannot be indifferent to the lives that people can actually live.”

Sen proposed that reason needs to be balanced by an instinctive revulsion to cruelty and to insensitive behavior and that the remedy for bad reasoning is better reasoning. Sen was strongly influenced by John Rawls in regards to formulating his theory of justice. In Sen’s scheme, justice must include the fundamental property of fairness and the use of reason. He felt that individuals have a strong inner sense of justice and a conception of the good. The following provide some insights into his thinking, “Why should we regard hunger, starvation and medical neglect to be invariably less important than the violation of any kind of personal liberty.” In his mind, justice must encompass an actual assessment of real freedoms and capabilities.

Amartya Sen applied his conceptions of justice, freedom and the use of reason to economics (On Economic Inequality, Oxford Press, 1973), and formulated an economic paradigm that challenged the conventional approaches to economic development. His sensitivity to the plight of many of the world’s people lies at the heart of his conclusions.

Dangerous

"Tanzerin" - Otto Mueller - 1903


Believe me!

The secret of reaping

the greatest fruitfulness

and the greatest enjoyment

from life is to live dangerously!

...Friedrich Nietzsche...

Finally. . .

This Explains The How & Why Of Us Still
Going From Bad To Worse...
by George Lakoff, via CommonDreams.org

A longish article, but worth the time to read it...
“A Good Week For Science —
And Insight into Politics”

As is often true with CommonDreams...
the comments are as enlightening as the article.

Nothing else.  Just - Please - Think, as you read it.