Mark Gowan's Blog, page 14

Truth is Like Poetry 10

Problem: Poverty           

There have always been the poor and most likely there will always be impoverished people.  Poverty has been an excuse, a plague, a problem, and a scapegoat throughout history.  In other words, the problem of poverty seems to be a natural consequence of civilization.  The solution for this general poverty would be the allocation of funds, goods, and services to people across the planet, but this takes money, planning, and a political desire.  These are in actuality the problems of poverty.

Income disparities are often the consequences of politics and greed, corporate greed in particular.  Corporate greed alone probably accounts for a great percentage of global poverty, which is to say that most poverty is human-born.  Even if corporations (which hold the vast majority of the wealth on the planet, not including governments*) were to find the motivation to try to solve general poverty, planning such an endeavor would prove unlikely given the history of governments across the planet.  Furthermore, most governments are at least in part controlled by large sums of corporate monies.

Lastly, the political desire to eradicate global poverty would be necessary.  This alone is enough to make this endeavor impossible.  Human beings are tribal and primarily understand their immediate surroundings.  An endeavor to end world poverty is beyond the scope of human empathy not to mention political will.  There might be a way to conjure political will to eradicate poverty, but it would most likely be limited at best.

Solution: John Rawls “invisible curtain”

            John Rawls, an ethical philosopher, wrote The Theory of Justice which introduced a philosophical theory of justice based upon two principles which are important.  They are:

First Principle: Each person has the same indefeasible claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which scheme is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all;

Second Principle: Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions:

They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity;They are to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of society (the difference principle) (JF, 42–43).

These two principles play a part when citizens (individuals within a given society) are put behind what he calls the “invisible curtain”.  In short, all theories of justice in that given society are to be made by everyone within that society.  However, no individual actually knows their particular place in that society.  In this way, everyone has ‘skin in the game’ so to speak.

With Rawls’ hypothetical ‘curtain’ in place, the likelihood of anyone allowing for extreme poverty would at least be lowered.

Truth is Like Poetry 9

Problem: Racism

For the sake of this argument, I will state that we are all racists.  Racism is, after all, a bias.  Given that, racism is not limited to two or more races of human beings.  However, racism in the sense that is meant here, is a conscious giving in to that bias based upon fear and/or ideologies.  Typically to be a racist is to be biased against someone’s skin color, which is ludicrous.  So, in the simplest sense of the word, racism is irrational and based in ignorance at best.  This simple problem is problem of stupidity and has its own solutions which will not be covered here.

However, racism, in a broader, more complex sense, encompasses much more than just skin color.  Racism is cultural, it is social, it is tribal.  And so, the problem of racism is found in those concepts rather than simple bias based upon skin color.  Culture and social norms are primarily tribal, and so it would follow that racism is a tribal problem.  But human beings are tribal by nature.  For most of our history we have lived in small groups that have been completely ignorant of any others, or at least very few others, and we have and continue to view strangers, people different than ourselves, and people with different viewpoints, with quite a bit of wariness.

The problem, therefore, is not racism in the broad sense, but that we are no longer limited to living in small groups.  We continually meet others, mostly strangers that are different than ourselves.  And we constantly meet those with differing viewpoints.  Now we must live with these “strangers”.  These “strangers” are people that live in the same country, in the same town and in the same city.  Furthermore, with the inception of the internet, these “strangers” are virtually anywhere and anyone with any viewpoint at any time of any given day, month or year.  The problem is that we as individuals are still tribal while we live in a global environment.

Solution: travel/internet/time

The solution to simple, stupid racism is ironically enough, more complex than the solution to racism as tribal problem, although both the narrow sense and the broader sense are very closely related.  The narrow solution is primarily a cultural one, encompassing ridding ourselves of religious views, ridding ourselves of irrational fear, and confronting the major issue, poverty, which inevitably creates ignorance in both realms.  In the narrow sense of the word, the solution lies in regulation of false claims by religious, social and political institutions while making a good education (one steeped in critical thinking) available to all.

In the broader sense, the solution is a bit of the opposite.  While the spread of disinformation and misinformation is ubiquitous online and should be regulated, any other censorship should not be allowed.  While not everyone has the means to actually travel, the internet gives those that do not a chance to explore the world far outside of their own.  Part of the solution is to make this virtual “world” as close to the “real” world as possible.  However, in Europe it is much more the norm for young people to take off and travel for months early on.  This is in part due to the social systems in place in most countries of Europe.  And so, this too is part of the solution.

Lastly, innate problems like both the narrow and the broad senses of racism take time, generations often, to work themselves out.  The older generations cling to the “old” world ways and beliefs while the “new” generations do their best to break free and be “normal”.  There are several ways to promote this generational shift but many of those are often deemed immoral or simply not realistic.  And so, time is of the essence.  We can only hope that we have enough.

Truth Is Like Poetry 8

5.    Problem: War*

War is, of course, waged for numerous reasons but all of these reasons can be summed up into two basic camps.  First, there is the need and desire for resources, and then there is the desire for political power.  These two often coincide with each other.  Of course, the problem of war is steeped in human limitations (greed, arrogance etc…) as well.  As the population grows, the world becomes smaller, and more and more nations become richer, resources will continue to grow in importance.  The obvious problem here is that there is limited resources and a seeming exponential growth in population.  The other side of the population growth is that more and more people desire to live in more and more luxury: more things, more tech, more consumerism.

Secondly, the desire for political power is a ubiquitous problem for those in power.  And, as political power often equates to economic power, war is often waged for money.  Money and politics rarely mix well, especially when business and government coincide.  Oligarchical and plutocratic tendencies are as old as human society.  So common and accepted is the idea of corporately-corrupt politicians that a new term has been bandied: corporatocracy.  But these problems have now become even more dangerous with the easy spread of disinformation coupled together with public fear and ignorance.

War is often the result of the sordid soup of politics, money, and power, but it is almost always based upon fear and ignorance.  While we may never rid ourselves of our warlike tendencies, we can at least accept that we are a violent species and start changing from there.

Solution: National governments/Global Economies (the UN)

            The solution to war is, of course, a complicated one.  Not so easily come to and won’t happen quickly.  But, in order to create a workable basis government(s) must work together, which they rarely do on a larger scale.  For this reason, an international government is needed.  This sets the stage for two things.  First, national interests become cultural and social, not economic; and secondly national interests are separated from the economic interests.  The European Union is, perhaps, an example of this on a smaller scale.  Each country keeps its autonomy to an extent, but economic needs and desires are defined on a larger scale.

            With an economic “government” on a global scale, economic power and decision-making are spread over numerous countries, which still maintain power and decision-making on a cultural and social level.  The idea is the separation of political power while maintaining a global interest economically.  With a global economic system, each country will hopefully have a more vested interest in each other while at the same time being separate countries.  A global economic government which is comprised of both economic and political powers will only be larger cauldrons in which the same old problems cook.

Truth Is Like Poetry 7

Problem: Immigration

First, although countries like the United States include the idea of a “melting pot” of cultures, the reality of this is that immigrants typically do not “melt” into society for at least a generation or two if ever.  This causes micro-cultures to form and these micro-cultures create cultural, religious, and social divides within the larger society itself, which in turn cause the undermining of society as a whole. 

Secondly many of the countries, especially those with a large number of asylum seekers (in particular), have personal issues stemming from the countries that they are leaving, that do not coincide with the culture and society in which those seekers are coming.  In short, there is a lot of so-called “baggage” that is foreign and carried into the country in which they are coming.  This includes many things such as ethical, political, and cultural differences that do not coincide with existing ethical, political and cultural systems.  These differences often cause a divide, which tends towards political and social violence.

Third, the influx into a country by large numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers undermine the existing culture, itself being as valuable as any other, changing its form and foundations to be something that it is not without the express consent of those that make up the existing society.  This is not as big a problem in countries such as the United States, where multi-culturalism is theoretically the end goal, “theoretically” being the key word.  There is an ethical component to this, as well as a practical component that needs to be addressed, which is beyond the scope of these short studies.

Fourth, many people who immigrate to the United States (in particular) are not accustomed to the social and economic realities that come with living in such a country.  These people often fail and end up in poverty or in impoverished situations because of their lack of understanding of the social and economic systems in which they migrate.

This problem comes with a caveat, however.  Many of the issues in the poorer countries that people immigrate from have been or are being caused by rich countries, those countries that people tend to immigrate to.  That problem aside, immigration causes these several problems.

See also: problems 1,2,4,5 & 6

Solution: Fair pay, fair prices, and narrowed policies

The reality of large, rich countries is that the corporations in these countries rely upon cheap labor, and it is them, the corporations, that create the motivation and the mode for immigrants, both legal and illegal to immigrate.  These corporations pay slave wages to “illegal” immigrants and often to the contractors they hire as well.

First, the need to regulate corporations and their ability to hire labor at slave wages is imperative.  This includes the corporate movement to immigrate to countries with little or no regulation in order to circumvent more fair practices in the country that they are in.  The immigrants who take these jobs do so for several reasons, but two predominant reasons are the pay scale, horrible as it may be, is better than the pay scale in their own country, and often social conditions are dangerous in their own countries.  However, once immigrated, their rights are limited and so they have no recourse in either country.  This situation, in turn, causes a myriad of other related problems.

Secondly, the public in the rich countries rely, consciously or not, on cheap prices.  Certain chains such as Walmart, Target, and most chain grocery stores, rely upon selling goods, services and food at well below realistic prices.  As the corporations that supply these outlets are regulated, prices will rise.  This, however, is not unfair or surprising.  As long as pricing is artificially low, the market will be contrived.

Lastly, as long as corporate money is interwoven with government policies, immigration policies will not change and the previously stated problems will continue.  However, this aside, government polices do need to be put in place to limit and/or control immigration into countries.  Historically, right or wrong, societies depend upon boundaries to make them civil.  These policies need to be fair to all involved, but strict.

Truth is Like Poetry 6

Problem: Government*

A good government (one that increases the amount of happiness for most people) must balance the desires of individuals with the desires of the society in which the individual lives; think of government as a seesaw with individuals on one side and society on the other.  The seesaw will always swing one or the other way, but not too much.  This is its natural state of what I will call the “rights-relationship”.  It is when the natural state of the governmental seesaw is changed artificially by individuals or society that problems become inherent.  The seesaw starts seesawing radically.

It is important to remember that government is a philosophical idea and an objective reality, and at the same time it is defined by human limitations. So, a second problem is that the essence, the ultimate goal of government becomes biased, or corrupt unnaturally by human limitations instead of progressing towards its philosophical ideal.  One might say that one of the jobs of government is to regulate stupidity: to lessen human limitations in order to progress towards social and philosophical ideals.  It has failed in this.

Lastly, governments are defined by laws and so it would seem to follow that any law ought to protect the “natural state” of the rights-relationship, the natural state of the seesaw, between individuals and society.  It is the concept of rights, after all, that we are discussing when we discuss the concept of government.  However, laws are linguistic and so there will always be the problem of interpretation.  It is when interpretation of the law is used for the above reasons that bias and corruption become problems.

*see problems 4 & 5

Solution: Enforceable Law/social changes/re-establishment of separation of powers/money

First, rights are defined by law.  They are not “God-given”.  Nor can they be assumed simply because we are human beings.  That being said, any law must be written and enforced as to allow for the most rights for both individuals and society; both must compromise.  In essence, laws are amendments, and as such are changeable (amendable) but the ultimate goal, the most rights for both individuals and society, must always be the end-result.  Once in place, any and all laws must be enforceable and applicable to all individuals, the whole of society.

Secondly, unlimited lobbying and money must be taken out of governmental decision making.  The ability of the rich (or any minority) to control the government must be ended.

Lastly, law is interpretable.  Language is a tool of interpretation, and government is defined by the language that it uses.  This is where the issues start most of the time.  It is important to remember that interpretation itself is not a problem.  However, the issue is interpretation that is unnecessary, rhetorical, biased or corrupt towards an end other than the natural state, or that amendable laws are arbitrary.  This is typically caused by one or another section/part/power of the government gaining an upper hand through legal and sometimes illegal methods by re-interpreting law to their favor in lieu of the ultimate goal. To combat this inevitable problem, a true separation of powers is necessary.  This will need to be done legally and be enforceable.

All of this may sound like a mess, but it is the nature of government.  At the base of this mess must be a platform.  What that platform is must be clear, but can change if enough individuals within a society deem it necessary (a legal majority).  Enforce laws and change society, if needed, in order that laws may be enforceable and amendable if necessary.

Truth is Like Poetry 5

Problem: Government

A good government (one that increases the amount of happiness for most people) must balance the desires of individuals with the desires of the society in which the individual lives; think of government as a seesaw with individuals on one side and society on the other.  The seesaw will always swing one or the other way.  This is its natural state.  It is when the natural state of the governmental seesaw is changed artificially by individuals or society that problems become inherent. 

Government is a philosophical idea, and at the same time it is defined by human limitations and so a second problem is that the essence, the ultimate goal of government becomes biased, or corrupt unnaturally by human limitations.  One might say that one of the jobs of government is to regulate stupidity, to lessen human limitations.  It has failed in this.

Lastly, governments are defined by laws and so it would seem to follow that any law ought to protect the “natural state” of the rights-relationship, the natural state of the seesaw, between individuals and society.  It is the concept of rights, after all, that we are discussing when we discuss the concept of government.  However, laws are linguistic and so there is the problem of interpretation, often used to create the bias and corruption mentioned above.

*see problems 4 & 5

Solution: Enforceable Law/social changes/re-establishment of separation of powers/money

First, rights are defined by law.  They are not “God-given”.  Nor can they be assumed simply because we are human beings.  That being said, any law must be written and enforced as to allow for the most rights for both individuals and society; both must compromise.  In essence, laws are amendments, and as such are changeable (amendable) but the ultimate goal, the most rights for both individuals and society, must always be the end-result.  Once in place, any and all laws must be enforceable and applicable to all individuals, the whole of society.

Secondly, law is interpretable.  Language is a tool of interpretation, and government is defined by the language that it uses.  This is where the issues start most of the time.  It is important to remember that interpretation itself is not a problem.  However, the issue is interpretation that is unnecessary, rhetorical, biased or corrupt towards an end other than the natural state, or that amendable laws are arbitrary.  This is typically caused by one or another section/part/power of the government gaining an upper hand through legal and sometimes illegal methods by re-interpreting law to their favor in lieu of the ultimate goal. To combat this inevitable problem, a true separation of powers is necessary.  This will need to be done legally and be enforceable.

Lastly and in short, unlimited lobbying and money must be taken out of governmental decision making.  The ability of the rich to control the government must be ended.

All of this may sound like a mess, but it is the nature of government.  At the base of this mess must be a platform.  What that platform is must be clear, but can change if enough individuals within a society deem it necessary (a legal majority).  Enforce laws and change society, if needed, in order that laws may be enforceable and amendable if necessary.

Truth is Like Poetry 5

Problem: Laissez-faire Capitalism

The problem of the idea of money is (actually) most likely as old as humanity.  Money, in all its forms, is simply a method of barter.  Bartering systems have varied over time, ranging from rocks and livestock and other things throughout history.  However, capitalism goes beyond the concept of bartering.  Capitalism is the concept of profitizing.  Nowadays, especially in the USA, capitalism has taken on a religious tinge which gives it some of the same qualities and problems as religious belief.  So, the idea/concept of using money as a system of barter is not the issue, the ideological fetishes regarding profit is. 

Profit-at-all-costs is the end result of laissez-faire capitalism.  This, in short, is the problem.  This has cost the American society dearly morally, socially, and politically and culturally.  One aspect of this problem is the so-called ‘Protestant work ethic”, which leads to meritocratic worth above all else and creates a moral worth to economic standing.  Secondly, capitalism has led to an oligarchical and plutocratic governing system that is unhealthy and even dangerous.

Lastly, laissez-faire capitalism corrupts the concept of civilization; it undermines a core value system that allows peaceful societies to exist by rendering unfair the barter system itself.  Profit-at-all-costs  undermines trust in the economic system of a country.  It is important to remember that greed is not a basic good, something capitalists throughout time have seemed to forgotten.

Solution:  Government Regulation

FDR introduced “The New Deal” early last century when capitalism-run-amok tanked the American economy, and it is a good start as a solution today.  Furthermore, anti-trust laws are already in place to rectify the problem of capitalism, but have simply been relegated to legal trash heaps by the Republicans in particular and indirectly by Democrats.  They are The Sherman Antitrust Act, The Clayton Act, and The Federal Trade Commission Act. 

The Sherman Antitrust Act deals with unfair and deceptive contracts and trading (think Wall Street) while The Federal Trade Commission Act deals with deceptive ‘acts and practices’ such as the housing bust in and the reasons the government (we the people) had to bail out the banks.  The Clayton Act was put into place to cover issues not covered by the previous two.  There is also the McCain-Feingold Act which, in part, was put in place to battle Citizens United (a heinous piece of pathetic legislation that undermines all vestiges of fair-trade practices).

Secondly, government is not a business and cannot be run as such.  It is a platform upon which societies are built, and like all such platforms, it is conceptual, not financial.  The question, as is the case with most socio-political questions, is what kind of society do we as individuals want to live in, and government is an answer to that question.  Laissez-faire capitalists, Libertarians and Republicans mostly, have answered this question loud and clear as to the kind of society that they desire, and the consequences of their decision has not boded well for civil, fair, peaceful societies.

Truth is Like Poetry 4

Problem: Religion

It is said by many that religion is as old as humanity.  It isn’t, but if it was it has been a problem for all of human history.  There are many problematic aspects of religion not the least being its undermining of Truth, critical thinking, and the ability to decipher and search out meaningful truth, the scientific method.  Other problematic aspects include the justification of human weaknesses, greediness, arrogance, selfishness, its stubborn and insistent anti-progressive stance, and the propagation of ignorance in general.

People turn to religion for many reasons, most of them bad, but for whatever reason people turn to it society pays.  Churches are subsidized in several ways by the government (i.e society).  They pay little to no taxes and in turn add little to no advantage to society other than to those who attend this or that particular church.  Furthermore, religion has held societies in its grip for eons, standing in the way of social, economic, scientific and cultural progress.  Religion is a problem, but so is the legislation of morality. The theocratic tendencies of religions continue to be a dangerous issue to most societies.  People may have the right to believe what they want, false or not.  However, all of society should not have to pay for that right.

Solution: taxation and education

The ultimate solution is for humanity to turn its back upon the crutch of religious belief by educating itself (especially regarding critical thinking).  However, this is unlikely.  So, the education of children should be limited to non-religious public education systems and private educational institutions should be limited to secular only.  In short, religious belief has no place in any educational institution and has no business calling itself (or being established as) an educational institution (i.e. “Bible College” etc…). 

Secondly, religions should be stripped of their nonprofit and/or not-for-profit status entirely.  The multi-million-dollar monstrosities that dot most cityscapes should not exist if its members do not want to pay for it themselves.  Public coffers and policy-making need to be off-limits to religious organizations, including the ability for religions to lobby the government.  If a religious organization of any kind desires to do more, become public, build, or create an institution for public use, it should be held to the same tax laws as any other business.

However, religion is and ought to be a private affair alone.  The division of church and state should be absolute.  The Christian figure Jesus, perhaps said it best:

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen.”

Truth is Like Poetry 3

Problem: Critical Thinking

It is not a secret that common sense is not that common, but it is necessary.  Common sense is nothing more than the ability to think logically and critically.  And although it is not common and at the same time necessary, logical, critical thought is the only process by which we can problem-solve and come to conclusions that are both not contradictory, and can be applied with no doubt and trustworthy consequences to objective issues and subjective arguments.  From philosophy, to engineering, to the scientific method and the arts, critical thinking is core.

But critical thinking takes practice. Common sense is learned and not simply a “natural state”.  Critical thinking entails educating one’s self to be a critical thinker and then putting in practice those basic logical methods.  This takes work, and this is the first problem.  Secondly, most people in power do not want a thinking populace.  Such populaces do not follow orders, question authorities, and generally do not fall into place and so it is not pushed in education.  As a result public and private education systems (for the most part) are based upon ideologies (religious and political) that do not coincide with critical thinking.  John Stuart Mill summed this problem up very succinctly.  Paraphrased, he wrote that if a leaders do not educate the public, they get what they deserve.

Solution:

Like all solutions, education is key.  But here the solution itself needs work.  Most countries (some doing better than others) use public education as a method of nationalizing its citizens, brainwashing for meritocratic and economic reasons.  However, education must be based, solely, on critical thinking methods in all subjects.  Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, non-critical ideologies must be phased out, taught out, and starved. Education, in short, must be overhauled. We have examples to follow, especially in Scandinavia.

Secondly, a quality, critical-thinking based education must be made available and accessible to all within the society, no matter their economic, social, or cultural standing.  This “extreme” idea is not new as it is one which several founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, proposed it. This will take a social and a political push.

Finally, from the Judaic traditions to the eastern traditions, from nationalistic to patriotic, from social to cultural norms, ideological beliefs must not be immune to critical analysis or consideration for they are the core of the problem. ideological beliefs have no place in educational systems outside of historical interest.  No leaf shall remain in the shadows, hiding from critical consideration.

Truth is Like Poetry…

Problem: Global Warming

Since the 1970’s or even before, scientists have known about the human-induced warming of this planet due to industrialization and the continued production of certain gases.  And yet, in the United States in particular, global warming is “questioned”.  This feigned skepticism is primarily the product of one man and his pathological greed, Charles Koch.  However, he is not alone.  The evidence is clear and unquestionable: we are the primary cause of inducing greenhouse gases that will inevitably change or desecrate life on this planet slowly but surely.

Solution:

Buying a Tesla is perhaps a start, not the solution; controlling overpopulation is.  So, curbing the human population is necessary.  However, that is not the first nor is it the only step.  Secondly, corporations worldwide, especially in the United States, must be regulated stringently regarding their output of goods, services and the numerous pollutants.  Corporations (and all businesses) must pay the real cost of doing business.

Third, societies must be changed from being consumer-based to being sustainably-centered.  This takes education (true education [the next problem]), but it also takes a heavy-handed look laisse faire capitalistic-attitudes of all of us.  Last but not least, we must guard what is left of our natural spaces, forests in particular, in the same way we are trying to guard the last two white rhinos, and must replenish large natural areas by heavily limiting civilization’s sprawl.  Trees are truly part of the answer.