What needs to be done? | 40 comments (40 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 1)

Monarchy is the answer.

Well NO. At some point during those terrible years under Milosevic after ex YU collapsed a really thought that monarchy may be the answer at least for Serbia. But our monarch was distant, born in UK, he cannot speak Serbian (even today)...not that Tito was very good in Serbo-Croatian (who knows where he was born and who he was actually)...And I realised that you cannot go backwards and monarchy is a thing of past and should be.
At the time, being naive, I had a great trust in democracy...not anymore. I am feeling like I am disappointed twice now. First with socialism that also was a very good idea ...as idea...as theory...but in reality it was nothing short of dictatorship. Now I am disappointed with democracy that also is a good idea, in theory but reality is it is just a smart type of dictatorship of the few rich. Freedom of speech, well nice, I can say whatever I want and not end up in jail, I can organize (to some extend) with others but if what we can "speak" is totally irrelevant and can't change anything it's just a kind of entertainment. Whoever tries to really enter political field will find all those same barriers. And with minimal difference between left and right why bother entering?
I am looking forward to the times when together with other professions that are disappearing thanks to technology we'll see profession of politician disappear, ha-ha. Not in my life time...or probably ever.
There are times when "strong hand" is needed but it also can be wrong because we know now whose "strong hand" it could only be.
The way things go one could expect that at some point human consciousness may develop enough to be able to work for the better for all of us...but with manipulations of giant proportions as we see it nowadays I am afraid that time is very very distant. Our generation had not passed the test...maybe young will think of something? Seeing them right now paralysed and confuse in this world that we are leaving to them I am not that optimistic unfortunately... but who knows...

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein

by vbo on Mon Aug 22nd, 2011 at 09:25:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 0)

Sure, your remote king was not a practical leader. But looking at the broader picture, most societies have had a hierarchical government with a strong leader at the top, not chosen by the general population.

Somebody's going to hit me now with statistical proof that that's not the case, I suppose. But still, I think there is a tendency for strong personalities to work themselves into positions of power while weaker "normal" personalities will put up with it as long as they get their football and beer.

by asdf on Mon Aug 22nd, 2011 at 09:40:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 1)

I think there is a tendency for strong personalities to work themselves into positions of power while weaker "normal" personalities will put up with it as long as they get their football and beer

That's reminiscent of Bob Altemeyer's "double highs" leading a pack of "right-wing authoritarians". But the "low RWA" kinda like the "Enlightenment rights-of-man democracy crap".

Economics is politics by other means

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 at 02:37:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 1)

vbo:

Seeing them right now paralysed and confused in this world that we are leaving to them

well i thought that more a couple of years ago, but i have been meeting/hosting many young people these last two years, and actually i am impressed how many have a major clue, and are navigating the changes with resilience, optimism, and of course the sheer joy of being young and interacting with others of their age.

certainly there are more deeply damaged individuals too, those who shut down emotionally because the hypercomplexity of today's world overwhelms them, i'm not trying to paint a completely blue sky but notwithstanding the general trend collectively is towards sanity, they are less apolitical than many of the BB generation were, less hedonistic, and more attuned to the importance of global solutions to global problems, mastering easily the social media and intuiting how to use it to expand and improve their worlds.

naturally i try and select for these kind of people, and have largely succeeded. i have become much more positive through the experience, as before i was hanging out too little with young people, and that can jaundice one's outlook not a little...

if we can somehow hold back from totally ripping the ecological rug from under their feet, i think the best thing we can do for them is move over and pass down more power to them. they already see how futile many of our preoccupations are, and will not willingly reclone them. sure they need a little guidance sometimes, we all do, especially at that age.

we are very fortunate to have your voice here, vbo :)

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 at 03:38:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 1)

Thank you for your kind words...I can be annoying sometimes, haha
I have a hope for young generation too. They are navigating "world full of mines" and that's not easy.
Their lives are not going to look like ours...my problem is that I don't see it necessarily as a good thing.
I think we should have a diary about young people today and explore different segments of the issue...and hear from them.

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein

by vbo on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 at 05:41:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 0)

vbo:

the issue

which one? global systems collapse? they have need for confidence, so i try to avoid damaging it with doomery.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Wed Aug 24th, 2011 at 05:32:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What needs to be done? (none / 1)

which one? global systems collapse?

No. I was thinking a diary about problems that they are facing in today's world and how they manage... you know : education, work, family ,etc. How they feel about changes that they have to endure in their lives. Because their lives will not going to look like their parents lives...so they do not have example to follow. Stuff like that...

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind...Albert Einstein

by vbo on Wed Aug 24th, 2011 at 06:14:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What needs to be done? | 40 comments (40 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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