tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post1150710505872420907..comments2023-03-25T19:24:00.019-04:00Comments on The Economist's Cookbook: The Holy See in Economics?!?The_Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-79982667238219037142007-06-01T21:55:00.000-04:002007-06-01T21:55:00.000-04:00Dude ... lord Pyration... that was about South Ame...Dude ... lord Pyration... that was about South America...The_Chefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05544443854634465201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-63882823487214018152007-06-01T00:06:00.000-04:002007-06-01T00:06:00.000-04:00'He also warned of unfettered capitalism and globa...'He also warned of unfettered capitalism and globalization, blamed by many in Latin America for a deep divide between the rich and poor. The pope said it could give "rise to a worrying degradation of personal dignity through drugs, alcohol and deceptive illusions of happiness."'<BR/><BR/>No, he's right, because priorities and values are intextricably linked. A society that places acquisition of material wealth as its highest mark of achievement, and advocates wholesale greed, is going to facilitate a culture of mindless consumption that won't be constrained to legal goods and techie toys. Spiritual and intellectual wealth will become a second-rate means of obtaining happiness. We're already seeing this effect in the U.S. and we don't have "unfettered capitalism". We're in a societal decline because materialsm and humanism are competing forces, they just don't play well together. You can emphasize the importance of goods or you can be pro-people, but you can't be both, and the farther the spotlight moves away from people onto material goods, the more apathy, crime, drug abuse, crime, domestic violence, crime, etc. you're going to see. Like ripples in a pond, this lack of humanity extends outwards from the struggle and strife of the lower classes to the wealthy. We're all in this together whether we realize it or not. Gotham City will be the model for major metropolises everywhere before you know it. Where's Batman when you need him?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083572548028483665.post-45504268486805873632007-05-31T16:51:00.000-04:002007-05-31T16:51:00.000-04:00It's obvious to me that South Africa suffers due t...It's obvious to me that South Africa suffers due to never being introduced to the glories of Jacksonian democracy. In fact, the system of election based on popular vote alone echoes the revolutionary unification of Italy. Robespierre was a strict advocate of one person representing one vote, he just didn't know it. I do have a serious question though. Is it necessary that we try and find the origin of problems in South Africa instead of focusing on the problems themselves? Is it like the stock market before the New Deal where Roosevelt wanted to prevent future crashes and avoid quick, unstable fixes? Because what I see is a country suffering from apartheid, hunger and financial instability, so why are we even arguing about whether or not capitalism is the right way to go? Shouldn't we be worried over the apartheid and starvation, or would that be similar to the quick fixes that Roosevelt steered away from? It's an honest question. I'm no economist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com