Hi Lawry, I too benefited from "free markets", as I was a winning player in the zero sum game of trading the derivative instruments which are are based upon the shares, currencies, commodities, and interest rates of the 'system'. As I have reiterated many times, the system is far from perfect. I fully agree that it gives no "assurances of personal or social well-being". I won't get into "justice", as it a highly subjective notion, but I can expand a bit on "smart development".
Time horizons once were very short: hunter-gatherers migrated from area to area (often on a circuit) and learned (those that didn't were deselected from the gene pool) to not take too many of a species in one area. Similiarly, they probably learned not to cut and burn the berry bushes and producing fruit trees for fuel. Agrarian era horizons were longer,(yearly & more) as seeds needed to be saved, crops rotated, animals bred for desired traits, etc. Sailing vessels, caravans,(exploration, trade) & military expeditions often required multi year planning. Industrialization probably likewise, although I'm not up on that history. The factory workers, etc. may have been largely oblivious to the long term plans. The soldiers and seamen signed on for campaigns, so they were aware of duration. It seems to me that the past 20 years or so has seen shortened horizons again, mainly due to the bonus system (sometimes quarterly!) and stock options paid to high ranking execs. Shareholders want to see growth NOW. Dividends, which used to represent a large portion of investor motivation, became largely irrelevent during the 1990s. Consumers want gratification NOW, and are hocked to the gills (record levels in US). Smart behavior (incl development) requires in my opinion a flexibility of options going forward. Locking oneself or ones enterprise into a quarterly return maximization strategy diminishes foreward flexibility. Debt does likewise, which is one reason that I'm very reactionary fiscally. Governments in debt can lose flexibility once confidence wavers even a bit. Bankruptcies (business & personal) are now at record levels, I believe (US). The Native American (those here before Europeans) notion of "Seven Generations" as the guide for planning land use, migration patterns, knowledge storage and transfer, etc demonstrated smart behavior (if not development), for the sustainability and health of their society was of highest import. It seems to me that the developed world (particularly N. Amer) is following a polar opposite path. I've left the overpop. issue out of this till now, but consider unplanned breeding as a lack of attention to the consequences of current behavior. Unexpected/unwanted pregnancies reduce flexibility/options going foreward. If women are denied free choice, as well as being dominated in other ways in patriarchal societies, "smart development" is further inhibited. 50% of humans in a society can't be ignored in decisionmaking and planning. The available family planning technology is cheaper and better each year. Disease avoidance is a side benefit of condom use; but patches and norplant at least can minimize unwanted pregnancies, and reduce the need for abortions. Soooo.. TIME HORIZON as a major factor in decision making seems crucial for smart behavior by a society, in business, in governance, in cultural & educational institutions, in infrastructure planning, in resource management, in research and technology, and yes in desired size of population. My 2 cents, Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------ Personally, I benefit quite a bit from free-markets, but I would never view them as assurances of personal or social well-being, or anything that I would equate with social justice or smart development. Indeed, I view free markets as antithetical to smart development. When commercialism and material acquisition become the driving forces behind free markets, the social future of our species comes into risk. But that's a larger issue. Lawry -- http://magma.ca/~gpco/ http://www.scientists4pr.org/ Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.--Kenneth Boulding
