Socialism / capitalism
"china needs more socialism, and Europe needs more capitalism", a
colleague commented touching on an important issue which is evident to
anyone visiting china these days.. Entrepreneurship, privatization,
liberalizing and opening up the economy are the hot words, and growth
seems to be the new one god..'and - as socialists and communists -
what will you do about the widening income gap ?' is a question that
would get no straight answer from an official in the highly privatized
and rich Zhejiang province as he continues his discussions of plans to
raise the GDP per capita astronomically in the next 5 year plan... We
r in the time of the 12th one I think. The professor comments 'he gave
u the answer... He said 'we r pragmatic''..
'probably worse here', commented two friends who work in the venture
capital industry as I expressed my surprise that the china and the US
might have similar income gaps and disparity between rich and poor
(gini index)
The state, planning, and knowing what is best
Can one person or group know what is - generally - best? This is what
central and ubiquitous planning poses as a fundamental question.. What
about shared decision? What about muting the voices of more
intelligent thinkers, or more informed ones, getting lost in the arena
of power and struggles?but, doesn't a group of coordinated and
powerful leaders have more access and potential to plan and implement
'harmoniously'? All that set aside, we can go up one more level and
ask the fundamental question: is it really important that 'what is
best' gets implemented rather that 'what most people want' , 'what a
group of intelligent people want' , ' what a group of powerful people
want' , or even 'what is simply the most suitable' ?
These are just samples of questions open at this level, far too
complex to be answered simplistically through ideological shortcuts
that demonstrate as a professor called it : 'just laziness'
Working more, working less, culture and economic conditions
So, is working more (or finding it acceptable to work more, and
sometimes in more difficult conditions) a matter of culture, economic
level, social and political demands..? Can we really say that a
certain work ethic is embedded deeper within a culture of collectivism
and respect, or is it simply the 'poorer economy' as a colleague
argued ( and I enthusiastically dismissed) ?
The food and the pork
What is the deal with so much pork, pork feet, pork ears, and pork
bellies? It was everywhere. In restaurants, hotels, storefronts,... I
even thought that there were pork body organs hiding under my bed at
the hotel awaiting the right moment ...
The language
Brilliant to know about a tonal language employing four different
tonalities for every character.. of course i couldn't hear the differences at first. Many possibilities and difficulty,
but more potential for working out the 'right brain' functions ..
Religion
Not much I can discuss here, except my surprise sometimes at the
'externalization' of religion in an eastern culture. The Tao , Lao tzu
and the tai chi are fundamental elements of the philosophical and
religious guiding framework whic predictably embraces many values and
norms perceived in the society
"china needs more socialism, and Europe needs more capitalism", a
colleague commented touching on an important issue which is evident to
anyone visiting china these days.. Entrepreneurship, privatization,
liberalizing and opening up the economy are the hot words, and growth
seems to be the new one god..'and - as socialists and communists -
what will you do about the widening income gap ?' is a question that
would get no straight answer from an official in the highly privatized
and rich Zhejiang province as he continues his discussions of plans to
raise the GDP per capita astronomically in the next 5 year plan... We
r in the time of the 12th one I think. The professor comments 'he gave
u the answer... He said 'we r pragmatic''..
'probably worse here', commented two friends who work in the venture
capital industry as I expressed my surprise that the china and the US
might have similar income gaps and disparity between rich and poor
(gini index)
The state, planning, and knowing what is best
Can one person or group know what is - generally - best? This is what
central and ubiquitous planning poses as a fundamental question.. What
about shared decision? What about muting the voices of more
intelligent thinkers, or more informed ones, getting lost in the arena
of power and struggles?but, doesn't a group of coordinated and
powerful leaders have more access and potential to plan and implement
'harmoniously'? All that set aside, we can go up one more level and
ask the fundamental question: is it really important that 'what is
best' gets implemented rather that 'what most people want' , 'what a
group of intelligent people want' , ' what a group of powerful people
want' , or even 'what is simply the most suitable' ?
These are just samples of questions open at this level, far too
complex to be answered simplistically through ideological shortcuts
that demonstrate as a professor called it : 'just laziness'
Working more, working less, culture and economic conditions
So, is working more (or finding it acceptable to work more, and
sometimes in more difficult conditions) a matter of culture, economic
level, social and political demands..? Can we really say that a
certain work ethic is embedded deeper within a culture of collectivism
and respect, or is it simply the 'poorer economy' as a colleague
argued ( and I enthusiastically dismissed) ?
The food and the pork
What is the deal with so much pork, pork feet, pork ears, and pork
bellies? It was everywhere. In restaurants, hotels, storefronts,... I
even thought that there were pork body organs hiding under my bed at
the hotel awaiting the right moment ...
The language
Brilliant to know about a tonal language employing four different
tonalities for every character.. of course i couldn't hear the differences at first. Many possibilities and difficulty,
but more potential for working out the 'right brain' functions ..
Religion
Not much I can discuss here, except my surprise sometimes at the
'externalization' of religion in an eastern culture. The Tao , Lao tzu
and the tai chi are fundamental elements of the philosophical and
religious guiding framework whic predictably embraces many values and
norms perceived in the society
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