Re: [Futurework] Engineering and adjudicating the economy

[Barry]

First, I feel I owe Selma, Barry B., and the list an apology. I did not intend for my last posting to come across as flip. Hopefully, I have not offended anyone too much. Second, both Barry B. and Selma have raised interesting points. I have added a couple of comments below.

Barry Brooks wrote:

The insecurity of wage dependence and the threat of poverty make people seek 
power.  Controlling people are driven by insecurity, first and foremost.

I agree that insecurity is a major part of the need for control. But it is only part of the issue.

Power is only bad when it's abused.  Everyone can't drive the bus at the same 
time, and whoever is driving will have more power the the riders.  

OK. I can accept this.

We need rules to limit power, rather than futile efforts to abolish power.

Here, I think our views diverge somewhat. Yes, we need rules. But there will be those who learn to manipulate the rules -- work the system -- to subvert the intent of the rules, whatever they may be. I think that we need to supplement the rules, even our existing ones, with a different kind of socialization. The socialization process may well be the root of the problem.

Selma Singer wrote:

<So we have to think about how we will change the way we socialize our
<children from birth. There is a lot of information about the fact that boys
<and girls are treated differently in the delivery room; boys are handled
<more roughly and not paid much attention to; girls are hanled more gently
<and gooed and cooed over. And from there the differences continue and of
<course there are differences by class and all the values of competition and
<violence and one-upmanship, etc. are imposed through parents, schools, the

Yes. Absolutely. One of the most fun memories I have from when my oldest daughter was growing up is when my wife and I would dress her in a blue outfit (my daughter was about 6 mos old at the time) and take her to a public place -- park, store, etc. -- to watch how others perceived her. Then, one day I had the bright idea of dressing her in blue before visiting my mother and sister. I was, of course, scolded severely for "cross-dressing" my daughter, but I also noticed that my family behaved very differently with the baby from how they normally interacted with her. 

One of the lessons I learned that day is that how others perceive us determines how they behave towards us, which in turn determines how we behave toward them. This is apparently regardless of what we think we know about each other. Talk about feedback cycles!


Barry Stennett



media, etc.