( kick it over )

health care hypocrisy...

about the only lesson barack obama has learned from the hillary and bill health insurance debacle of 1993-1994 is to leave michelle obama out of his current drive to get something-anything-through the congress labeled "reform." otherwise, he is making the same mistakes of blurring his proposal, catering to right-wing democrats and corporatist republicans, who want an even mushier "reform" scam, and cutting deals with the drug, hospital, and health insurance industries. his political opponents become bolder with each day as they see his party base in congress weakening, his polls dropping, and a confused public being saturated with unrebutted propaganda by the insatiable profiteering, subsidized health care giants// ralph nader, 07.26.09, ICH

...the most trusted name in news?

a recent time online poll asked, "now that walter cronkite has passed on, who is america's most trusted newscaster?" i don't think the results will surprise anyone//

c.b.c. to launch current canada...

CBC and current media are planning to reshape the way canadians consume media with the announcement of a partnership to launch current canada, a cross-platform media company uniquely focused on engaging young adult audiences through participatory and interactive initiatives on tv and on the web. can't believe i just found out about this. where do i sign up?

lost in democracy...

( the kingdom of bhutan )

the only true aim of politics is to give free play to man's natural creativity, and to deaden, whenever they manifest themselves, the forces of acquisition, power and convention that jeopardise individual responsibility and freedom// bertrand russell

against the market economy...

what is wrong with markets? i will discuss four reasons you should reject markets if you want to build a socialist economy—four reasons markets are not the harmless coordinating mechanism that guarantees efficiency some would have us believe, but instead a powerful social institution that undermines everything socialism stands for while generating a great deal of inefficiency as well. i will argue that (1) markets distribute the burdens and benefits of economic cooperation unfairly, (2) markets undermine solidarity and promote egotistical attitudes and behavior, and (3) markets fail to provide economic democracy and subvert political democracy as well. finally, contrary to what most economists will tell you, i will explain why (4) markets do not allocate scarce productive resources efficiently// robin hahnel, 01.08, monthly review

living utopia...

( otro mundo es posible )

...u.s. support for overthrow?

although obama and secretary of state hilary clinton have made comments condemning the ouster of zelaya, the US government has thus far refused to legally recognize the coup as a "coup," maintained diplomatic ties with the illegitimate coup government in honduras and continued to send millions of dollars in aid//

the wisdom of incentives...

barry schwartz, a professor who studies the link between economics and psychology, has been thinking about wisdom. in a recent TED talk on the subject, he weighed the effectiveness of rules and incentives in society. while it would seem to make sense that the more incentives we give people to do something, the more likely they are to do it, schwartz argues that isn’t always the case. he cited a swiss study wherein citizens were asked if they’d be willing to have a necessary nuclear waste dump located near their homes. asking the same question with the inclusion of a financial incentive produced surprising results. as schwartz says, “the introduction of the incentive gets it so instead of asking, ‘what is my responsibility?’ all we ask is, ‘what serves my interests?’”//

maverick...

first published in brazil in 1988 as turning the tables, this book was the all-time best-selling nonfiction book in brazil's history. semler, the 34-year-old CEO, or "counselor," of semco, a brazilian manufacturing firm, describes how he turned his successful company into a "natural business" in which employees hire and evaluate their bosses, dress however they want, participate in major decisions, and share in 22 percent of the profits. semler believes that semco is different from most companies that have participatory management because employees are given the power to make decisions--even ones, with which the CEO wouldn't normally agree. the key message is to free workers from traditional management by rigid control, associated with an extrinsic reward system, to self-control with self-ethical value, associated with intrinsic reward//

new shad vid...

( compromise )

sam harris on the defense of religion...

7, 13, 18, 25...

( religion gap )

beach day @ port stan...

american libertarianism vs. libertarian socialism...

I WROTE THIS in response to some conversations i recently had about political theory and practice: socialism does not necessarily imply a centrally controlled economy, although bolshevism and other strands of marxist-leninist ideology may. there are various "left socialist" proposals for decentralized systems of social and economic organization, beyond "free"-market capitalism. furthermore, most socialists insist that the soviet union did not represent the core principles of socialism and, in fact, shared many similarities with state capitalist countries. while addressing some of the problems with state power, american libertarians fail to adequately recognize/justify the risks and repercussions associated with the concentration of private power (i.e. environmental destruction and social domination, coersion and exploitation by corporate tyrannies) and the sociocultural impact of market forces (i.e. the intensification of greed and self-interest through competition and the endless pursuit of happiness through conspicuous consumption). libertarian socialism provides a more comprehensive and realistic explanation of power politics, including the insidious relationship between big business and big government. both state and commercial institutions seek to centralize power and resources by expanding their control over citizens and workers, and ensuring their own personal security and privilege over others. this overriding imperative tends to produce oppressive social relations and vastly inequitable living conditions. the only noticeably difference between the two is that most "democratic" states maintain at least some pretense of accountability and concern for their citizens, whereas transnational corporations have no immediate allegiance to anyone other than their owners and shareholders. many opponents of socialism are simply bounded by their own pessimistic view of human nature. although there are more than enough speculative arguments to be made on both sides, i believe we possess the biological and cultural constitution to build a more free, just and peaceful world. to be sure, there is no natural law preventing humans from creating a more egalitarian and inclusive society. in the end, we can only be certain of our potential through a process of trial and error. one example of an anti-statist model of democratic planning is participatory economics, or PARECON for short. in his book capitalism 3.0, peter barnes offers a less radical proposal for reform that protects the commons while preserving the many strengths of capitalism as we know it. his major innovation is the commons trust—a market-based entity with the power to limit use of scarce commons, charge rent, and pay dividends to everyone. of course, this proposal requires a political system that is truly democratic and responsive to its people//