Archive for the ‘World Issues’ Category

The leading nations of the future

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Having a big economy means being a big player on the world stage. If you are big you use your power to dominate the world. History is full of these nations: the Ottomans, the Romans, the British/Europeans and now the US. So what will the emerging big players do?

The emerging economic strength of population-big nations like China and India will surely see  changes materialize. China will soon have an economy that is bigger than the US, and a bit later India will surpass the US.

So there will be an old-fashioned fight coming up – let us hope we avoid a new world war. The US will work hard to make such a war take place outside of the US, maybe on mainland China, or between India and China. It could also mark the end of the war on terrorism, and be part of a process of finding a new big “enemy”.

This appears to be pure speculation at the moment, but the old fashioned security thinking does not make the world a safe place. New alliances will now be built, and the big question is how fast China and India will emerge and also how fast and deep the US influence is reduced. World institutions will have to change to reflect the new power balance.

The attention of the US is shifting towards Asia, China is not a mature player yet, India is testing its abilities toward foreign lands.

So would it be possible to envision some new thinking that shows humanity becoming more sensible and cooperative – a new era of modern world politics? We have many big matters that requires handling, e.g. poverty, lack of education. It is far too early to say, but so far we see no sign of innovative thinking. Let us for the time being hope we will survive. It is all rather sad really.

We will one day have world cooperation, sharing, fairness, conflicts settled through international law, but maybe another big shoot-out is required before we can manage that.

Your personal deep choices

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

In the future world of deep ecology we need education to understand what this is about. It has been likened to a life philosophy  and it will affect our western lifestyle profoundly. It is not about going back to nature, it is about understanding the place of man in the ecological system – an equal among equals. There is a living system all around us that we are part of, that is constantly developing, and we are developing with it. We must all find out what this is all about, and make it a personal choice to be part of it.

Some points to consider as this is not only about plants and fish, but ethics and systems too:

  • We must make less self centered choices about economic growth, even thinking of stopping economic growth or production in some areas. This thinking is completely new, but it should not mean having less, but distributing what there is fairly. A lot of what we make and is part of “economic growth” should be stopped. An obvious example are bombs. A lot of products should be recycled completely – e.g. metallic products. When we produce “enough” of a product it should become a commodity that everybody can have via the public domain at a fixed cost, and it becomes a common pool resource.
  • The system we have for health care should be for all, it is a public good. There are choices to be made, difficult ones about priorities. Our methods for developing cures are grossly inefficient, and people are dying because of it. Research into new ways and methods should be free and open and publicly funded. The drug companies are not the ones to do this.
  • Protecting the environment must become priority number one. This also have wide health implications.
  • We must use progressive technologies that are already out there and develop new ones – societal influence on development and use must dominate.
  • The understanding of human health must improve so that we know how our bodies work, including our brains, so that we can live well, eat and train sensibly based on knowledge.
  • Issues like abortion, gay rights, drinks and drugs and a million others should be either part of research programs where we find solutions, or less regulated or left to your private sphere.
  • Natural resources are a common pool for all and should be handled through common pool resource management. This is a prime area for corrupted practices, and must be stopped.
  • Political processes should be re-engineered to remove lobbying and forcing by special interest groups, many questions like roads, water, hospitals, schools should be run as a common pool resource and removed from politics. Corporate lobbying is a disease. Only individuals can take part in politics. Political influence on personal choice should be cut or removed.
  • Local politics and engagement should be rebuilt, participation should be increased, political principles should be renewed.
  • Corporations should not be allowed to become enormous so that they can threaten society in various ways. Small, agile, innovative enterprizes should be the norm.
  • Free trade is the normal system, but there is cooperation and coordination on selected products.
  • Product design, construction, distribution should all be ecologically founded, with a view to long life, use of resources, recirculation, practicality.
  • All decisions should be measured against an ecological yardstick: cost/benefit analysis
  • All communities, both urban/rural should be in a state of permanent renewal and development, or closed down as part of a willed process. Ghost cities are bad.
  • Excesses should be eliminated because people as ecological beings do not want them, as all products are measured ecologically.
  • Local culture must prevail – Americanization of the world is not desirable, and the same goes for Chinesifaction.
  • Education must be free up to and including university level, it must be broadened, travel to other parts of the world must be included to learn about foreign culture and philosophy, the exclusivity of intellectual training must be changed so that emotional, creative, intuitive abilities are recognised and trained. This way we can find our place in the world.
  • The monetary system and the system of markets must be changed profoundly – it’s basis must be broadened – now it is for the few that are running us around.
  • Forget politics – do not wait for something, it will never happen. World decisions will never materialize. All good systems are bottom-up: you decide for yourself, become an ecological being, express ecological views, see that it is good, others will join in, and you have an improved situation where you are. Do not think about everything, but stop thinking and get on with your life. You are the only one who can do it. “Obama” does not know about you and never will.

Think deeply and make a personal choice about deep ecology – it surely is a good idea.

So you think this is naive and far too wide – just start working on deep ecological principles and you will see that it is profound and much deeper and wider than these points.

Raise the game – and change it too

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Money is a means of exchange and everybody should have some minimum of it so that we are fed, have shelter, get education, find water, get treatment when we are sick: the basics should be taken care of for all, by community or public programs.

This is not what we see now. There is dire poverty in many places. We need to change the monetary system or as a start we can use simple mechanisms like giving poor people money with conditions attached?

Let us assume the present monetary system is basically good, but some aspects of it must be fixed. The lenders and government control the money supply, and money is hoarded as part of power schemes and this is wrong. The lenders and governments control the money supply, and they should as a matter of principle see to it that all citizens have a minimum supply. Social security should at the same time be taken from people who do not need it. This is difficult, but we must find ways to rebalance distribution of money.

Further if money is turned into a salable product through productification, made a “risk” product you can use for marketization and speculation, then the concept of money has been profoundly changed. Public interest must be called upon to regulate what takes place. There should be thrown some light on the black pools of money!

The value of money should be related to value creation in society, governments should not be able to make new money without relation to value creation. Treating money as “goods” and handling it in a market should not be allowed.

We are producing ever more, the unit costs are going down all the time, and we must accept that some goods now must be commoditized or made free, i.e. provided by the public. It is silly to stop value creation for lack of money?

So new thinking is needed: cash programs for a start for kids with conditions attached, for poor people to make them dignified, and this is already done in many places, strong regulation of money, fair distribution systems, and may be some more.

Traditional economics are incomplete, we must expand our thinking about it, markets are an illusion and suffer from insufficiency, the monetary system must be reworked.

The aim of it all – let us start with the basics – food, shelter, education, healthcare for all. We can do it of course, but our systems are flawed and our thinking is wrong. The future is coming, so let us prepare for changes.

East meets West: US and China

Monday, August 16th, 2010

The emerging change of world power balance is happening. Stories of Chinese presence in Africa are found all over, and now things are getting hotter in the areas of water near China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Philipines, the Paracels, the Spratleys etc. All countries in the area want a piece of the action or control of the sea and its depths – whatever is down there. Security and control are other factors coming into play. Vietnam already has a presence on some of these shoals.

And surprise, surprise: the US is here with big boats making sure things are stable and that national interests are taken care of – this must be the extended version of national interests. Vietnam is joining up with the US, and all are preparing their positions. Will this be the new hot spot of the world? Not much terrorism here, but power games are much the same.

The continent of the US has eyes both east and west, and now the west has to rest a bit while we focus on the situation in the east – and the future of world power balance.

What about a negotiated settlement, a multilateral conference to thrash out some agreements? Based on international law and legitimate interests – whatever they are.

The Chinese have diasporas all over the world – some of them large, even in the US there are about 3 million Chinese (direct immigration or born from Chinese parents). They are even in Africa – everywhere lending credibility to Chinese action. The Chinese have a long history of going abroad in large numbers. They are trying a piecemeal approach, a peaceful development, or what will  we see now?

But can the US afford being here with military spending cuts and all? The game is on!

East meets West

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

The world is divided into blocks. It has to do with physical distance, culture, economics, politics, religion. The thinking behind it all also seems to be going on in its own way inside these blocks.

Culturally we think the best about ourselves. Our art and literature is deemed superior to culture from far away. Intellectually the differences may seem huge. We appear to be living in different worlds. But remember that all continents have produced great art and literature.

The Greeks are considered the source of our wisdom and culture, our model. But it now appears that the Greeks travelled widely also eastwards – to Persia and India, picking up thinking and wisdom from these parts and amalgamating it into their own thinking. Our Western tenets of freedom of speech and thinking, fairness, distribution of wealth, human suffering et. al. have also been part of Eastern thinking. Maybe some ideas originated in the East and later were made our own.

It now appears that there is a oneness based on basic human values like love and respect, and that it is possible to say that Eastern and Western thought are similar although the languages and expressions are different. There are also stages of development, differences of opinion, powerplay involved. Some people are famous in the West, others are famous in the East.

Gradually we will now see a merging of philosophies, the old ways will be left behind, new ways will emerge. The basic premise is that we must all take care of all living things under the all-embracing oneness there is. This oneness is emerging in many areas like deep ecology, life sciences of interconnectedness and systems thinking, medical thinking of body and mind, the Gaia model of the Earth.

This may seem like speculation now – but watch it – the increasing stature of many nations, the rebalancing of the nations of the world will aid the wholeness and integrating processes. The East will meet the West, and the philosophy of oneness will grow.

Hiding the truth – or twisting it

Monday, August 9th, 2010

There is almost always a reality to be found in the activities humans engage in – there is a truth. Information leading us to see the truth must be available so that true processes can run their course. Of course we do not always  agree as to what true processes are: maybe so that democracy can function, balanced action is possible.

When we know the truth we can get nearer to what is right, and elected politicians should abide by the truth.

Information control, propaganda, twists, spin have made the truth hard to find. The people with the agendas played out locally and on the world scene now try to control what information you will have access to. Human activity or what goes on – including war –  is not always reported as a true story, there is a fight for our minds – what you can be led to think is going on.

This is the reality of modern information processes. But it is not good enough to leave the truth to be found out by historians in about two hundred years time.

The media are playing along as they let themselves be controlled for reasons unknown – maybe it is a lack of access and resources, they just repeat what they are told. The truth is now hidden – may it always has been – trust in public information is gone.

Wikileaks has popped a little bomb about Afghanistan – some of the realities have been bared. The informants will now be killed, they say.

If it all is about information control we go astray. The power game has gone too far – reality must be reinstated. Wikileaks is there, the rest of the media have doubtful presence, but remember that Watergate exposed a bad president. We need exposure, even power games must tolerate that, the world must be transparent.

This is obviously naive, but truth will out, and hiding the truth can be dangerous. It will be a shame if we did not do right because we did not know.

Markets – the incomplete solution or the great illusion

Monday, August 9th, 2010

We use markets for almost everything – put it on the market and supply and demand will take care of everything – you are supposed to get everything you need in the markets.

But this system is not good enough. Many people are left uneducated, in bad health, with substandard housing, in a general state of suppression and poverty.

The market system works well in many cases, but the deficiencies are severe. The industrial and technological developments have made production of food, industrial products possible in abundance. Often farmers and factories have to reduce production to avoid surpluses. At the same time time many people have less than they need.

Some markets may even hurt you, so that you can lose everything or find it impossible to participate. Markets presume efficiency to work well, equality and balance among participants, satisfactorily elastic and predictable supply. This is not always the case.

So a lot of human activity must be kept out of markets to function well. Basics like education, health, roads, water and others too should be shared and made available to all by the community.

Shared resources should therefore be considered part of a common pool and administered as such by users, partners, interested parties – often outside of politics. Many resources could be part of such schemes: metals, fisheries, oil, forests, water. For some resources this could be done on a global basis. The system we have for utilizing the worlds resources is – and have been for centuries – based on powerplay and political scheming, and will one day hit the wall.

So changes must come. Markets must be sorted out, common pool resource thinking must be introduced,  both locally and in some cases globally. We must sort out our thoughts about markets: what can be left to the markets, what is to be provided for all, what are common resources to be administered in a pool for all, what sales should be taken care of by special systems – e.g. distribution of human organs. We should consider that when a product becomes a commodity it is seen as a common pool resource and is to be had by all and financed through taxes and levies.

This change also ties in with politics and the economic system which do not benefit all.

A new, refined and modern thinking related to production – ever cheaper and more efficient – and distribution of goods and services tied in with a new monetary system is hereby placed on the wish list.

Global politics – promoting equalization

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

The big players are building relations crisscrossing the world – there is a big powerplay that is kept running. The most active player is the US with its tradition of defending itself on other people’s soil – never on its own – this is an amazing achievement. But China, Brazil, India are increasing their efforts to promote politics, resource use, markets, likability for future use.

Sometimes it is necessary to make war, said Peace Prize winner Obama. This thinking is now making fiscal trouble for the US, and the consequences will gradually be seen.

Balancing the world nations against each other in power play is not a good principle of world development, and very costly too.

We need new ways, and it is hard to say what they should be. Cooperation, consultation, consensus are key words. Balancing the influences of nations is another concept leading to a strengthening of a world coordinator – a healing institution.

An equalization process continues in the world: The economies of countries with many people are progressing steadily and their economies will soon be the biggest too. The consequence is that the West, especially the US, will not dominate any more.

But these countries, especially the US, own development processes that are innovative and efficient and with aggressive business tactics. Brain power counts too.

So what can we expect: A continuation of power play or will we see something better? Globalization by tactics, domination, suppression or globalization in a new new sense of togetherness?

Why is there terrorism?

Monday, July 19th, 2010

There has always been acts of violence in the world, small scale, isolated incidents aimed at certain problems and disagreements. Now we have world terrorism, organized on a large scale, aimed at the West – this is how it is presented.

The real content of terrorism against western countries – the West – is hard to see. We hear a lot and see preciously little – so far. The rest of the world – the major part – is watching.

The cold war has been replaced by the the war on terrorism. The reasons given for terrorism are sometimes religious, or global, national or local, or based on broad security issues. It is instigated by the US. Everything is collected under the terrorism umbrella – wars in Irak, Afghanistan, 9-11, London bombing etc. There are groups of people keeping this activity going – no states. Somebody is financing the activity, but information is scant. It is not precise at all – it is a chimera – and we hear a lot about it.

If the claims of terrorism are true we should be eager to find the causes, and if possible remedies. We need a solution – we must try to end it. This can be done through dialogue, talks, contact. Nations must be involved, no country protects terrorists. But this is obviously naive.

We are now wasting life, resources and time on futile activity – a huge question is arising: what is going on?

Terrorism is also a construction – it is not to be solved – it is wanted by the instigators – it gives focus – it keeps attention away from other matters – it is good for other things too – it can be kept up forever.

So what is the solution to the terrorist problem? Let the big nations of the Earth join the game properly, infuse security policy with some new ideas – let China, India, Brazil et al. balance the game – the results will be remarkable. We need the new era to start now.

It is sad that lives are lost for obscure reasons.

Locals and global action

Monday, July 19th, 2010

People are local, what they do is local, the consequences of the action is mostly local. People mostly like to decide for themselves.

Now global thinking is becoming pervasive in the wrong way: Locals are being told what to do by outsiders – they tell you because they know, they say. The outsiders come from many places, but they are not in your place or representing you. They seldom tell you about the rightness of what they say, often the truth is hidden or in doubt. Politicians are also becoming global, finding global rightness that does not fit with the locals. There is risk of a divide.

This will not work. The only way to achieve a common global solution is to make people understand, see what is right and do what is acceptable also locally. Maybe the global solution is impossible to enforce in some localities?

What makes it troublesome is that what is right is no longer agreed upon. There is a obvious forcing of the truth that creates negative reactions and uncertainty. We find people that without debate know what others must do. They will not engage in dialogue about the content and empiricality of what they say.

Climate action, sustainability, war on terrorism, finance are examples – they all must clear the hurdle of local acceptance before global solutions can be pondered.

So why push so hard – it is better to find what is right, enlighten people, keep it transparent, communicate, build acceptance – then maybe some global action is possible.

Have there ever been any global solutions? Will there ever be? Is it really desirable to have global solutions? Or is it just a smokescreen set up to avoid doing anything locally?