"Population is not the problem. The problem is Donald Trump. We can fit the whole world's population in an area as big as Senegal, at the density of Chelsea. And, Chelsea is a pretty nice place..."
We have a problem.
It's over-usage of "the language of gods" (bahasa dewa), while in reality we often interact with people who talk "the language of folks" (bahasa kawula).
Combine has listed itself at the Disaster Coordination Unit as an agency that provides "clearing house" service. As a result, for the past few days I've received calls from people who asked for shovels and even backhoes.
OK. I'm exaggerating. Not backhoes... (yet)
I felt like smiling, but then I remember these are people who've maybe lost their houses. So I swallowed that smile, and explained to them patiently what we really do...
"We want to help!":the volunteer recruitment desk
"People in my neighborhood need help! Here are their names..."
"Here you go... A bag full of goodies for everyone."I was struck by the number of respondents who suggested that the ideas of both Friedman and Galbraith had relevance, perhaps at different times and in different places. Henry Kwok wrote, "They brought to us two perspectives—the need for freedom to choose and the need for the government to provide an order to the economy. We cannot live with one without the other." Kamal Gupta noted that, "in the case of an economy that is coming out of poverty, like India . . . [the ideas of Galbraith] would provide for a faster redistribution of wealth. But once the economy reaches a certain threshold . . . the state should move to minimize its involvement."
The real strength of the free world is not in its freedoms but in its ability to reach compromise. From that angle, Galbraith (like Keynes before him) would appear to me to be more relevant in the future. Rosy socialism was a mistake and Friedman's great role was to help stop the world from going there. Galbraith's views are more inclusive and require us to look at the social responsibilities of the successful.
As a foreigner, an HBS graduate, and an admirer of America, I find that we may now be drifting too far to the right. Viva Galbraith.
The BRIDGE (Building and Reinventing Decentralized Governance) project is finally interested in the voice of the people to improve public services in Sulawesi. After more than a year, now they want to build a multi-stakeholder knowledge management strategy. And community radios will be at part of this. About time! The problem with our precarious public services, though, was never in the voice of the people (or a seeming lack of it). But rather the inability of government - and their private sector partner - to listen to them.
Communication is really at the center of governance. Whether a government agency is transparent or closed, accountable or corrupt, can be seen by how they communicate. Do they gather inputs, or just disseminate? Do they listen, or just talk? A pro-poor communication system is one that makes, or forces, the government to listen to the people.
BTS at the discussion in URDI this morning underscores not just the growth of large cities and the losing out of villages, but also the shrinking of (small) towns. There's no more hierarchy of cities. There's only (big) cities and everything else. SW said villagers nowadays don't move to a small town before they move to a big city; they come straight to
I see cities NOT as "magnets", but rather they are the ONLY "hope" left. Cities (or urban interests) have engineered it this way. Lefebvre said the rural is now part of the urban. And this, Storper & Walker said, is the "capitalist imperative".
