I don't know about you guys, but I found these first couple of chapters hard to read. I love the concepts about ending global poverty and sharing the wealth, I just couldn't get into his style of writing. Maybe it was the lack of sleep...
That being said, I still found some things that stood out to me. It was interesting how optimistic Sachs is about stopping the overpopulation of the world. At 6.6 billion in 2007, his suggestion to stabilize the world's population at 8 billion by 2050 seemed like a stretch. The concept of governments mandating the number of children parents are allowed to have seems like a civil rights law suit ready to happen. I mean, I know we have to regulate the world's population somehow, but where do we draw the line on what can be regulated and what can not?
Because I have a love for literature, quotes stick out to me. I really liked it when Sachs included an excerpt from John Kennedy's Peace Address of 1963. "So let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to means by which those differences can be resolved," Kennedy had said. "And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal," he concluded his speech. I felt this was a very poignant call to world peace. I think this speech also touches on why we need to help out our fellow brothers and sisters who are in poverty. We may not know them, we might never meet them, but we should feel the need to help them out just because it's the right thing to do. We strive to elevate their living conditions not because we might get something in return. We may may never get a reward for what we do. No, instead we help them out because they, like us, are human, and need help from time to time.
Mengapa Hak Pencetakan Uang Dikuasai Oleh Negara
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[image: Mengapa hak pencetakan uang dikuasai oleh negara]
Mengapa hak pencetakan uang dikuasai oleh negara
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7 months ago
The first two chapters of Sachs’ book didn’t really reveal much about the principles of economy as it did the extent to which ideas, whether we acknowledge them or not, determine how humanity functions as a whole. One of the earliest points he makes is that it will take a global effort to avoid a Clash of Civilizations. This is a theory developed by Samuel Huntington suggesting that future large scale global conflicts will occur based on differences in cultural and religious identity. These are intangibles, things economics can’t manage. The ideas themselves, however, determine the general direction of economic development.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it matter that economic dominance will shift to China eventually? The population with a flourishing economy, an appetite for resources, and the most amounts of people should be the richest. The fear comes from not knowing what China will do with that influence. If America is to be introspective they would find that during their years being an economic powerhouse they’ve been bringing capitalist-democracy to as many places as possible even if it’s unwelcome. What ideas in the East do we fear will be imposed on us?
Sachs touches on issues like curbing population growth in India. I really don’t believe it’s a coincidence that a sweatshop dense nation and outsourcing target is struggling with population issues. Economy can’t fix that, it’s the part of the problem. If numerous offspring betters the chances of survival for a family as a whole, then the population will be fruitful and multiply. The capitalist idea that outsourcing and sweat shops at ridiculously low wages is okay to gain profit plays a large role in this issue. Awareness will not fix problems like this. In areas where sexual education is prevalent, and there are at least 100 free condoms for any sexually active person on a given day, there’s still a demographic suffering from HIV. This has nothing to do with awareness but a lifestyle that is perpetuated through generations.
I guess I’m just being skeptical but I don’t believe that economics can deliver us from the problems he raises. It’s just a tool and a tool will produce the intent of the one’s using it.