Long time since the last update, and I don't even really have anything to say. I sprained my knee for my birthday (Happy Birthday to me) and have been limping and swearing ever since. And I definitely haven't been of a mood to sit at a computer chair for several hours writing a well-researched entry. I really do need to lower the standards I place on myself for this thing. But why start now?
For now though, I'll remain content with a quick list of updates.
The Superbowl came and went. My Eagles managed to do a pretty good job against the thoroughly average and boring, yet somehow unbeatable Patriots, despite a pretty poor coaching job (again) by Andy Reid that got worse as the clock ticked down. I missed the Halftime show (I wouldn't say I'm "missing" it, Bob) as I was driving from Andy's back to my house. All in all, a decent game, all things considered.
That same weekend I also got to drive a 'dozer at my friend Lee's, which was an experience I'd recommend to anyone. The best part: It was driving a dozer at night into an enormous bonfire to keep the pile from spreading. It is possible that there was drinking involved.
I've been watching a series on world economics that is quite interesting. It is told from the fairly biased point of view of the modern free-marketeers, which results in statements like:
But the market reforms worked, bringing prices down and stopping inflation. Some were concerned by the unemployment above 30% and the collapse of several national industries, however, the economy grew strongly.
That is one of the main problems with a market-centric view, is that it ignores the existence of people. If the market is healthy, then things are good, even if there are thousands of displaced workers. I certainly agree in theory that protectionism over national industries is a losing proposition in the long run, and that globalisation isn't only inevitable, it's also essential. But we need a better solution than "If it isn't competitive it dies" because the real people who work in these industries need jobs, and those who have dedicated their lives to one occupation don't rearrange their lives as neatly as it happens on a spreadsheet. It's always the people who's jobs *can't* be outsourced who are so gung-ho: Politicians, Economists, CEOs. It's easy to tell people to learn how to adapt when you yourself don't need to spend over a year without an income, learn completely new skills, and relocate your family. The only adaptation required of a CEO is to have an occasional conference-call at Bangalore local time.
Pure capitalism is state-of-nature survival of the fittest and nothing more. It isn't utopia, it doesn't arrive at the utilitarian greatest good and it is NOT self-regulating. It delivers the best bottom line to the best competitors. The question is: Do we as a species aspire to something better than wolf/moose populations? Aren't we advanced enough to allow something more?
I'll have more to say on this topic in a full article, but its part of what I've been thinking about so I wanted to throw it out there.
Happy birthday! Sorry about your ankle and all, but still, many happy returns of the day, Ish!
It's just a free market week for me. There's your post and I'm starting to look at some structural control theory that utilizes free market ideas to determine how a distributed array of sensors and variable stiffness braces should react to minimize the response of a building to and earthquake.
I'll have some more thoughts on free markets later when I'm not quite so sick. Right now I plan to limp through my three classes today and crawl home... barring that, I'll drive.
I make eyeglasses for my money in a midsized factory in Kalamazoo. No job security. No real future there, as the only real promotions go to the family of the owner. But it's teh best I can do and still have joint custody of my daughter here in the armpit of reality called Kalamazoo. Needless to say, I agree with most of what you are saying in this post, and thought that some of my "economic" background might make my support of your opinion that much more believable. Whatever, I'm babbling cause I'm excited to have found this site!