On Monday, October 13, 2003 at 11:59:46 (-0400) Doug Henwood writes: >Devine, James wrote: > >>Doug asks: >>> I'm curious what PEN-Lers think a socialist or other variety of >>> "progressive" government should do in a mostly poor, rural, peasant >>> society. Promote education and industrialization? >>> Wouldn't that >>> undermine the economic and social bases of existing life? >> >>as Bill says, consult the people. > >Well of course. But if we're seriously worried about mass poverty in >the "Third World" - the 2 billion living on <$2/day by the World Bank >definition & count - then that means raising productivity and >incomes. Raising productivity and incomes means education, >technological development, and the disturbance of existing social >structures. Saying "consult the people" can be a way of dodging the >difficulties of that.
I didn't mean to be flip. But, step one, as you note, is education, a component of which should be educating about what the possibilities are. Then, you get feedback from people as to what they would like to see. Tell them the trade-offs, as far as you know, and let them decide by themselves. Not to be overlooked are the mechanisms necessary for not only coming to know the opinions of the people, but allowing them to share with each other. How does one do that in an impoverished nation? Seems that you need this in place, or thought through, before you can proceed. Bill
