>At 4:13 PM -0500 2002/01/08,Steve Kurtz wrote: >>This is refreshing output for a subsidiary of NAFTA. It indicates, >>among many things, that overshoot in human impact is occurring. It >>also suggests that technology isn't sufficient as a fix. At least >>there is recognition that humanity has a problem. >> >>Steve
This is a very hopeful sign Steve. Marilyn Waring has written several books trying to convince the world that the current GDP formula is insane if you care about people and the planet. Following is a brief description of a film that was made based on Waring's ideas: Brian McAndrews -------------------------------------------------------- 1995 National Film Board of Canada video called: Who's Counting: Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics. Who is Marilyn Waring? She's a rural New Zealand woman who decided, in 1975 at the age of 22, to run for office in Parliament. She campaigned successfully from one farm to another and, perhaps to her surprise but no-one else's, she was elected. Her irreverent, common-sense approach to demystifying the political process as well as global economics led her to be re-elected twice. Waring demystifies our global system of economics. For any of you who have wondered just what the gross domestic product truly is -and how it is measured -this tape not only informs you, but also gives you insight into exactly what it is not. Waring explains that the GDP was a system of accounting created by the British for the World War II war effort, to quantify the monetary value of work. As Steinem explains: "There was thought only of winning [the war], not of accounting for the human or ecological costs of war " (p. 233, Steinem, Moving Beyond Words). Unfortunately, this system became the foundation of the United Nations System of National Accounts: the way work throughout the world is evaluated. It has become the measure against which the United Nations assesses whether developing countries are admitted into its midst, and how such countries are assessed in terms of readiness for funding by the World Bank. How does this affect us? Because it forms the basis of how global economics functions, GDP affects each and every one of us, especially women. It will be of no surprise to feminists -or to anyone who seriously questions how society values work -that housework, still typically performed by women, is given zero monetary value. Struggle as we might with this debilitating fact, women still do most of the work around the home. And society still places no monetary value on this work. Another disturbing facet of the GDP and global economics is illuminated when Waring reveals that in international accounting, there's no such thing as a debit column. Her stunning example is the oil spill created by the Exxon Valdez. What most environmentalists consider to be an environmental disaster of enormous proportions is actually deemed to contribute to the economy using the GDP measurement system! How can this be? The spill was a positive contributor to the GDP in terms of job creation and spending! The tanker was replaced and the cleanup became an economic boon to disaster-response industries. Unfortunately, the GDP was not designed to measure losses to society such as environmental degradation, species and habitat loss. -- ************************************************** * Brian McAndrews, Practicum Coordinator * * Faculty of Education, Queen's University * * Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 * * FAX:(613) 533-6596 Phone (613) 533-6000x74937* * e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * "Education is not the filling of a pail, * * but the lighting of a fire. * * W.B.Yeats * * * **************************************************
