From, Philip Thomas phlp_thms at hotmail.com Sun Apr 6 23:53:34 PDT 2008 > All this requires a state government which is equally strong -- and smart (in the best sense of the word)-- and 'top down' as far as leadership is concerned. But in Goa it is yet to figure out how to remain stable for more than 15 days or even 15 weeks. There should be a follow up article about the kind of government needed at all levels for treading the new road. > Mario observes: > Philip, > In a democracy, local and state legislators are elected by voters who make very personal decisions in the voting booth. Whether the resulting local and state governments are then "strong and smart and wise and incorruptible and assertive" depends on the viewpoint of each of those voters. > What makes you think that such a government in Goa would choose to follow the economic principles and policies suggested by Vidhyadhar and enthusiastically endorsed by Diana and Anthony and Floriano, which tend to describe economic development as "anti-people" and "dehumanising" without suggesting any workable solutions that would ameliorate the poverty of the Goan poor? Which "people" or "humans" are these folks concerned about? Wouldn't the poor be denied the jobs that they and their families survive on if economic development in Goa were to be interrupted. > In a democracy, people make economic decisions based on what they perceive to be in the best interests of themselves and their families. It strains credulity, not to mention common sense, to unctiously demand that a Goan family which inherits ancestral property but needs current spendable resources for whatever reason, not sell their property to the highest bidder within the law and the constitution. > In my response to Floriano - see link below - I suggested an example of zoning laws that have been generally successful in controlling urban blight in the US. These generally seek to keep residential and scenic areas apart from industrial and commercial areas, protect historic buildings, require creative architectural and environmental solutions, etc. This concept seems to satisfy, to the extent possible in a democracy, those who want to preserve the beauty of traditional and natural ambience, without restricting those who want to promote economic development that provide the jobs necessary to raise the living standards of most of the population. >
> In my opinion, the best solutions in a democracy are ones that benefit most of the people most of the time, not ones that appeal only to a relatively small ruling elite that are typically economically secure already. >
