On Determinism and Self-Determination
Can we in good faith advocate localization and regional development as our economic realities are increasingly dictated by global financial interests?
This power vacuum is being felt from communities, to cities, to states, to nations as decision making is increasingly driven by narrow financial interests at the cost of livelihoods and sovereignty. I feel there is a growing need to engage at all scales to address this ?#?InvisibleBackhand?.
Haiti over 100 years (zanmi an ayiti, ki sa ou panse a sa rapo?):
“The [UN Stabilization] force’s mandate has been renewed every year, despite the fact that Haiti has much lower rates of violent crimes (8.2 per 100,000 people) than many of its Caribbean neighbors such as Jamaica, which does not have a U.N. mission (54.9), or Brazil, heading up the U.N. mission (26.4).”
https://nacla.org/…/2015/07/28/humanitarian-occupation-haiti
39 Developing Countries in the Global South since the 1980’s:
“The sweeping changes in the name of structural adjustment have not brought prosperity to the majority of the people. Unable to compete with cheap imports, many small farmers are being pushed out of their livelihoods.”
http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/…/trade-and-hunger-the-i…
Japan soon:
“Japanese negotiators in Maui, who only a few months ago seemed intent on protecting rice growers by maintaining current import quotas, appear to be bending to American pressure in exchange for allowing more Japanese autos into the US. The tit for tat of trade negotiations, along with the geopolitics of countering China, now threatens this ancient way of life.”
https://theconversation.com/japans-sacred-rice-farmers-brac…
On the use of the ‘Invisible Hand’ as a soothing mind rester:
“Economics is the only field where practitioners pride themselves on having something invisible as a foundational concept…It was the philosopher Adam Smith who gave birth to the idea of the invisible hand, even though he only mentioned it 3 times in his writing.”
http://www.theguardian.com/…/big-ideas-podcast-adam-smith-a…
Morning rant over.