At 14:13 28/03/01 -0500, you wrote:
>(AC quoting Hans Moravec)
>> <<<<
>> As societal roles become yet more complex, specialized, and far removed
>> from our inborn predispositions, they [young people] require increasing
>> years of rehearsal to master, while providing fewer visceral rewards.
>> >>>>
>
>(Keith Hudson)
>
>> Ed asks the question, Hans Moravec supplies the answer. From 14-16 or
>> thereabouts, young people are fully adult in a physical and hormonal
>sense.
>> They feel as adult as we feel. And yet an increasing proportion have no
>> possibility of being incorporated into "normal" economic society because
>it
>> is becoming increasingly arcane and invisible.
(Ed Weick)
>I agree, but, as usual, only partly. A generation ago, in the 1960s and
>1970s, kids had an easier time fitting-in. There were more jobs, and most
>kids could find a place somewhere. Nevertheless, in at least the advanced
>world, they sat-in, protested and rioted. During the 60s, one of their
>slogans was "Never trust anyone over 30!"
>
cut to -->
>
>My point is that these kids are far less concerned about fitting into the
>system than about the system they are supposed to fit into. Though they may
>not be too articulate about their concerns, there is some evidence to
>suggest that they have grounds for having them. As one example, despite the
>fact that the Kyoto Agreement has been around for some ten years, the world'
>s largest producer of greenhouse gases, the US, has not ratified it.
Well, no other country has ratified it either! Australia, Singapore (and
one other I believe) have said that they "intend to". But when? IMHO, the
Americans (that is, the Bush camp) are being less hypocritical than others.
Before anybody says I'm bneiong reactionary, of course something should be
done. But what? And in what feasible way? Our greatest Prime
Minister-who-never-was of the past century, Rab Butler said, "politics is
the art of the possible". The Kyoto Agreement was as much hot air as the
hot air that it was meant to solve. A much more comprehensive agreement
must be framed that would also undertake specific responsibilities for the
likely events that will occur if the atmosphere continues to heat up due to
our fossil-burning.
But this is taking me away from the main point of this discussion. I
disagree with Ed. I still think that the rioting youngsters are just using
Kyoto, WTO, TNCs, GM crops, etc, as pretexts. They just happen to be useful
alibis. Worthy though those causes may be (or may not be), it's clear that
the youngsters have no intellectual arguments to bear. So they have a riot
instead. Their main purpose is still that of wanting to draw attention to
themselves, to be noticed, to be let into the adult world.
Keith Hudson
___________________________________________________________________
Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus <http://www.calus.org>
6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England
Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727;
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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