I may have originally got this one from the list (possible Brad) but it is appropriate...
"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit." D. Elton Trueblood arthur -----Original Message----- From: Ray Evans Harrell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 11:48 AM To: Keith Hudson Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Futurework] Hitherto, a Ricardian free trader I would argue that a decline in the human spirit must precede one in intellect and that an obvious misuse of fiscal materials must be the also obvious result. It has taken 300 years to destroy the cultural and intellectual traditions that were 2000 years in the making in the West. Such rationalizations, as most economists have put forth, including the rationalization for war currently in vogue in the White House, are in my opinion a cancer on the large system of the environment and the earth's cultures. Psycho-economic rationalizations have operated to their advantage and to the ultimate disadvantage of cultural, intellectual and now public health issues. Soon, as you point out, it will follow that the environment will collapse as a result, but you still stubbornly refuse to give up the rationalization. People have to know to care about such things as intelligence, education and public welfare and it is the cultural systems that develop the ways of knowing in the growing individual. Adopted children may have an inclination to their genetics but given the proper cultural development of their perceptual abilities they have every possibility of making informed and intelligent long range decisions. I contend that it follows that societies that do not do so are somehow mistaken or lack good perceptual judgment. Given the collapse you describe that should be obvious. Arthur has made the cogent point that today's corporate intelligencia are either "sociopathic at least and psycho-pathological at worst" in their life and business styles. These are not the choices of informed, cogent, developed human beings. They may be good at hard science, physics and math but their ability to project a clear future that includes us all is lacking. So it would follow that hard science, physics and math must not be enough and neither is economics. Unless you begin with the mega-system and project a future for it that includes all of the endeavors that make us human then, I contend, that what you get is insanity in the real meaning of the word or on the physical level, cancerous to the world system. I also contend that such thought is just another form of fundamentalism that reacts to its own literal rule's value in the face of the Mega-System. Rather than confronting the mystery and exploring it, they react with such word descriptions as "chaos" and hide in their Platonic caves content with examining shadows. That is my judgment based upon my encounter with the economic theories on this list that suffers from a proliferation of descriptions but a dearth of ideas. I make that judgment sadly for I relate to their human condition and enjoy their personalities, however, I live on the edge of that Great Mystery and struggle with it daily. I give no better than I ask. To do less, weakens the intellectual integrity of the list and is an exercise in impotence and at my age I have too little of that left to squander it. Just read Ed Weick's post so, maybe we are not so lacking in imagination after all. The problem still, however, is the inability of the sciences to respond to "inner life" and motivation rather than "external motivation". As opposed to externalities. Economics seems locked in its own inner life to the death of the external world while denying an inner life to the development of the individual which begins in the realm of aesthetics. Science's lock into the need for predictability denies human judgment and makes automatons of us all. Aesthetics gives you the tools and then sets you free to become truly human. It doesn't promise guarantees as science desires but offers opportunities. It is the basis of the "Pursuit of Happiness" section of the Preamble to the American Constitution but technology and modern science have precluded that as a possibility by through their own fundamentalisms. Got to go. Ray Evans Harrell P.S. My Maestro's son Matthew Ferro was one of the developers of the first Matrix movie. He did a lot of the technology and concepts. His father Daniel Ferro is one of America's great cultural treasures and has taught more great singers than anyone living on the planet today. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 3:08 AM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Hitherto, a Ricardian free trader > Ray, > > At 20:53 03/08/2003 -0400, you wrote: > >I have argued from my beginnings on this list that the psycho/economic roots > >of industrialism and what that means as work, in the Western sense, was > >incomplete, bordered on failure and demanded a serious look by serious > >minds. It seems you now have begun to question the logic that you have > >espoused in the past. I congratulate you on that and encourage the > >continued exploration of such with your considerable intellect. As such I > >hold great optimism that we will have some very good posts from Bath in the > >future. > > I'm not questioning the logic that I have espoused previously. All I am > saying is that the free trade question has become relatively trivial > compared with the serious decline of fossil fuels which will shortly be > upon us -- with no obvious replacement energy technology in sight at > present. Free trade or not, South America, Africa, Central Europe and the > Middle East will not be able to join the developed world's economic network > because there isn't the energy to sustain them as well as us. America, > China and western Europe's industrial system might well fail but not before > all the other blocs have failed first. > > KH > Keith Hudson, 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath, England > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
