Poverty

Money does grow on trees

I talked about Development, and also Inequality in previous posts. In college, back in '89-'93 at UC Davis, I majored in International Relations, with a Third World Development emphasis. My wife wants me to talk about poverty today.

Poverty will always be, the bible (Jesus, specifically) says. There is poverty everywhere, not just in developing or underdeveloped or backward countries or whatever you want to call them. Economists are our modern day priests, creating policy and manipulating inputs to tweak the national and international systems to create the most wealth. It's all about the dolla billz, y'all. The power and the money, the money and the power, minute after minute, hour after hour. The almighty dollar, we praise thee. Poverty sucks. Conspicuous consumption and consumer therapy pervade our culture. We say, "how much are you worth?", as if your bank account is the measure of your value. The cold war was a battle between two economic ideologies, capitalism and communism. Communism was premised on the concept of greater equality, and from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. The communist manifesto said that, in capitalism, the worker was removed from the value of his labor.

Where am I going with all this? Poverty is a problem, and we say we shouldn't just throw money at problems, although that would technically be the solution. What we're after is quality of life, for both the squalid poor and the billionaires alike. That's what money is for. That's it's purpose: Happiness. If we're going to base our lives and our world on a capitalist system of making money, then we should make every attempt to structure it so that maximum happiness is achieved, not simply maximum wealth. They say money can't buy happiness, but money can buy happiness, and we need to intelligently assess how much money it would achieve to make a happy world. Things are only a part of the happiness picture, and services, as well, are essential. Not all goods are good. Well, maybe they are. What I'm trying to say, is, some goods may be better for the world than others, like that water filter bicycle I mentioned earlier, marketed for the developing world, as opposed to shiny diamond rocks, which are ridiculously expensive, but in my view, almost worthless. You could, for example, pledge eternal love to your significant other with a pencil. Seriously, folks.

Basically, what I learned in my history and economics classes back in the day, and which I suppose is common knowledge, is that the global economic structure, the world order, if you will, the political economy, to use another phrase, is such that the the developed world, through colonialism, is historically responsible for the satellite status of developing economies who provide raw materials to the developed world, which makes the most "value" from them, and therefore perpetuates their peripheral and inferior status.

I don't even know if that's true, but that was the gist of it, I think. Anyway, we live in a global economy, they say, and presidents are basically p.r. agents for corporate interests. We should treat people everywhere equally in my opinion, as part of the human community, and seek global happiness, and not economic warfare and repression, because we are all in the same boat, on spaceship earth, and we all want the same things, more or less, and shouldn't alienate ourselves from other cultures just to make a buck. I don't like the concept of countries and borders. As I've said, I'm iffy on the whole deal with law. If there were no countries, everyone would mingle, and people would travel the world and have more varied and exciting lives, and there wouldn't be militaries, and thus wars, and all conflict would be personal and local, not these ridiculous monstrosities of armed forces representing national interests, with potential for unthinkably stupid possibilities like nuclear detonations or invasions.

If people need to fight, they can learn martial arts, and the (generally healthy) philosophies that go along with them, to defend themselves. I am the nra. I believe if everyone were armed, crime would basically be extremely difficult, and therefore we would live in a safer world. It sounds scary, I know, for some, but on the whole, I think the world would be a better place with lots of handguns and no nukes. That's just my opinion.

Anyway, countries are basically corporations, these days. The leaders are the ceo's, and they are no different from gangs, in my opinion, with a group identity that excludes everyone else, who fight. I am a humanist, and I do not define myself primarily as an American, although I happen to live here. We seem to think we're all part of a global community, with talk of global warming and rainforests and whatnot, but we're still in a restrictive system, in my view, that keeps us from our real identity as members of a unified human race, or a part of the animal kingdom, or, to get philosophical, as part of the mass consciousness of all things. My previous entry, of course, says, basically, in the words again of the great Swami Kurt Cobain, yeah whatever nevermind. But I still hold my beliefs.

As for poverty, misery is inexcusable. Starvation is absolutely unacceptable. Clean water, sanitation, healthcare, food, and shelter (I think I hit all the basic needs) are a human right. Global happiness is an achievable goal. Let's put our heads together, and go out to love and serve the lord, who is the least of our brothers (and sisters), and make this world a better place from the bottom up. Making happiness makes happiness. It's win-win. Act now, supplies are limited.