A month ago I went to Sand Island to meet Nainoa Thompson. There, I joined G10, the current cohort of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center.
Nainoa is the Executive Director of the Polynesian Voyage Society (PVS) and, as the main navigator of the legendary Hokule’a, he became the first Hawaiian since the 14th century to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages.
Hokule’a is a double-hulled voyaging canoe that the Oceanic people had used to explore the vast Pacific. In a trip to Tahiti in 1978, Eddie Aikau, the brave lifeguard, big-wave surfer, and Hokule’a’s crew member, disappeared after the canoe capsized and he paddled towards shore to look for help.
Nainoa and PVS are now preparing Hokule’a and training its crew for a worldwide voyage. The main goal of this 8-year-circumnavigation sailing venture is to raise awareness to culture revitalization and sustainable lifestyles.
Hawai’i’s people and habitat are extremely sensitive to any minor environmental change. Hokule’a's crew will explain to next generations why Hawaiians and the world population need one another to continue living together.
Children are the main target of this modern saga. This is the right strategy. I heard once from an important city planner that every policy that he had implemented and encouraged children to take ownership, social outcomes resonated profoundly among communities and turned out being perennial.
Kids from all over are expected to get on board. They will be able not only to follow the voyage through conventional media channels but also to actively interact with the crew through social media. In every harbor that Hokule’a docks, the canoe will turn into an exciting laboratory of cultural experiences, simple lifestyles, and sustainable practices.
Hokule’a’s voyage will inspire children outside classrooms and beyond computer screens. The hands-on-experience they are expected to acquire will certainly have lifelong impacts and greatly shift the way that the Digital Generation defines itself and addresses contemporary challenges.
Finding balance between virtual and real contexts, consumerism and simplicity, modernity and tradition are, therefore, the main messages that PVS, Hokule’a, and its crew will bring to every harbor and instill into the heart of every smiling face and curious eyes.
http://www.hokuleawwv.org/
terça-feira, 30 de novembro de 2010
quinta-feira, 25 de novembro de 2010
Lobby and Policy-Making
I have recently had a class about lobbying.
Honestly, my shallow and previous understanding of this activity was to be less community and more “money-oriented”.
Now, I still suspect that money - or "gift exchange"- plays an important role throughout legislature processes but also admit the importance of this activity to reinforce democratic values.
Lobby is commonly defined as having someone advocating a given cause among policy and decision-makers.
Lobbyists are hired based on their procedural knowledge, language ability, and relationships cultivated.
Private companies, for instance, pay them to mitigate damage that a bill may have on profit.
Non-governmental organizations rely on lobbyists to reach legislators by providing factual information on a certain issue. This initiative has proven to be more persuasive than presenting thousands of lists with millions of signatures of angry constituents.
The main point, however, to appreciate the work done by lobbyists is the provision of accurate figures that they introduce to policy-makers in the process of turning bills into laws.
Even well-prepared and hard worker representatives cannot be familiar with every topic they are required to read and vote. Lobbyists, from both sides – in favor and against a given bill – are the ones that decision-makers expect to hear in straightforward testimonies the advantages and disadvantages of a bill from different groups’ standpoints.
As legislators receive organized information, they are able to analyze more critically the issue on display and writing legal compositions that later on will feature more balance among the groups mostly affected by this regulation whenever enforcement is required.
Lobby, therefore, constitutes an activity that the more it is carried out by competent professionals, the more informed decisions public authorities make, and the more communities and other groups enjoy rights protected by the rule of law.
PS. Lobbyists also play an important role in helping local leaders to organize the social network of their communities. They also ensure that decision and policy-makers hear and address collective concerns in a timely manner.
Honestly, my shallow and previous understanding of this activity was to be less community and more “money-oriented”.
Now, I still suspect that money - or "gift exchange"- plays an important role throughout legislature processes but also admit the importance of this activity to reinforce democratic values.
Lobby is commonly defined as having someone advocating a given cause among policy and decision-makers.
Lobbyists are hired based on their procedural knowledge, language ability, and relationships cultivated.
Private companies, for instance, pay them to mitigate damage that a bill may have on profit.
Non-governmental organizations rely on lobbyists to reach legislators by providing factual information on a certain issue. This initiative has proven to be more persuasive than presenting thousands of lists with millions of signatures of angry constituents.
The main point, however, to appreciate the work done by lobbyists is the provision of accurate figures that they introduce to policy-makers in the process of turning bills into laws.
Even well-prepared and hard worker representatives cannot be familiar with every topic they are required to read and vote. Lobbyists, from both sides – in favor and against a given bill – are the ones that decision-makers expect to hear in straightforward testimonies the advantages and disadvantages of a bill from different groups’ standpoints.
As legislators receive organized information, they are able to analyze more critically the issue on display and writing legal compositions that later on will feature more balance among the groups mostly affected by this regulation whenever enforcement is required.
Lobby, therefore, constitutes an activity that the more it is carried out by competent professionals, the more informed decisions public authorities make, and the more communities and other groups enjoy rights protected by the rule of law.
PS. Lobbyists also play an important role in helping local leaders to organize the social network of their communities. They also ensure that decision and policy-makers hear and address collective concerns in a timely manner.
sábado, 20 de novembro de 2010
Decision-Making, Politics, and "Self"
I am highly skeptical of decision-making in politics.
I do not believe that the bulk of people that run for a public position or vote for a bill only base their decisions on the rhetorical discourse of community values and altruism.
The people who claim to be shy but decide to run for a position in Congress, for example, are more psychologically complex than blunt community oriented messages conveyed. Policy-makers that firmly believe that their votes are always independent - always abide by their conscience - ignore the great influential power of unconsciousness. This is extremely dangerous.
Unconsciousness blinds politicians and constituents to the complex reasons for idiosyncratic reactions and actions. Totalitarian states are good examples.
Principles and ethics - as well as instinction - are elements that shape our “selves” and have to be taken into account so that we can understand what is behind “survival decisions” made by the ones who are elected and work under mandates and public supervision.
Roy Lee and Terence Mitchell in the paper “The Self in Decision Making and Decision Implementation” remember us that decision-making processes are more intuitive and subjective than linear and descriptive.
The methodology of “Subjective Expected Utility”, which is the subtraction of expected positive consequences for expected negative consequences resulting in the maximization of expected utility of a decision, does not fully explain politicians’ behavior.
The “Image Theory (IT)” that Lee and Mitchell propose are more comprehensive since this approach assumes that final decisions, even the ones backed by a large sum of scientific and statistical indicators, are usually made by gut-feelings.
All of us picture ourselves in specific time and place in the future before making sound decisions. People who aspire to take over public offices are not different.
Self, trajectory, projected, and action help us understand how public authorities contradict themselves when claiming that their legislative votes are purely self-conscious, independent, and always collective and future oriented.
Self is our set of principles. Trajectory, the agenda of goals. Projected, the timetable; and action, the roster of plans.
Let’s analyze the components of IT in the context of environmental issues.
Supposing that “preserving the environment for future generations” is the principle, that “deforestation, clean energy, and national parks” the trajectories, “ten years” the projected time, and “taxes and regulations” the actions.
Having these elements in play, how does the IT of this politician look like? How does this image end up affecting personal and collective unconscious decision-making process?
A tip to answer these difficult questions is asking why, what, and how.
Why does this politician have created this IT?
What do constituents think about that?
How does s/he benefit from decisions based on the image created?
Once we formulate these answers we take a step forward to become more cautious about political speeches, less easily convinced, and more analytical before altruistic rhetoric.
“Survival”, finally, seems to be a simple biological concept to grasp but in the context of “self” reveals how many contradictory motivations are behind every political decision.
I do not believe that the bulk of people that run for a public position or vote for a bill only base their decisions on the rhetorical discourse of community values and altruism.
The people who claim to be shy but decide to run for a position in Congress, for example, are more psychologically complex than blunt community oriented messages conveyed. Policy-makers that firmly believe that their votes are always independent - always abide by their conscience - ignore the great influential power of unconsciousness. This is extremely dangerous.
Unconsciousness blinds politicians and constituents to the complex reasons for idiosyncratic reactions and actions. Totalitarian states are good examples.
Principles and ethics - as well as instinction - are elements that shape our “selves” and have to be taken into account so that we can understand what is behind “survival decisions” made by the ones who are elected and work under mandates and public supervision.
Roy Lee and Terence Mitchell in the paper “The Self in Decision Making and Decision Implementation” remember us that decision-making processes are more intuitive and subjective than linear and descriptive.
The methodology of “Subjective Expected Utility”, which is the subtraction of expected positive consequences for expected negative consequences resulting in the maximization of expected utility of a decision, does not fully explain politicians’ behavior.
The “Image Theory (IT)” that Lee and Mitchell propose are more comprehensive since this approach assumes that final decisions, even the ones backed by a large sum of scientific and statistical indicators, are usually made by gut-feelings.
All of us picture ourselves in specific time and place in the future before making sound decisions. People who aspire to take over public offices are not different.
Self, trajectory, projected, and action help us understand how public authorities contradict themselves when claiming that their legislative votes are purely self-conscious, independent, and always collective and future oriented.
Self is our set of principles. Trajectory, the agenda of goals. Projected, the timetable; and action, the roster of plans.
Let’s analyze the components of IT in the context of environmental issues.
Supposing that “preserving the environment for future generations” is the principle, that “deforestation, clean energy, and national parks” the trajectories, “ten years” the projected time, and “taxes and regulations” the actions.
Having these elements in play, how does the IT of this politician look like? How does this image end up affecting personal and collective unconscious decision-making process?
A tip to answer these difficult questions is asking why, what, and how.
Why does this politician have created this IT?
What do constituents think about that?
How does s/he benefit from decisions based on the image created?
Once we formulate these answers we take a step forward to become more cautious about political speeches, less easily convinced, and more analytical before altruistic rhetoric.
“Survival”, finally, seems to be a simple biological concept to grasp but in the context of “self” reveals how many contradictory motivations are behind every political decision.
terça-feira, 16 de novembro de 2010
Narratives, Institutions, and the Environment
I watched last Wednesday, November 10th, two short documentaries. As images appeared, I asked myself the following question: what is the role of narratives, institutions, and the environment in contemporary societies?
Narratives are powerful. They can either change behavior by inspiring and mobilizing communities or reinforce beliefs rooted in historical patronage and subservient relations.
In the documentary “Sliding Liberia”, two passages struck me. When a young Liberian revealed that watching a boy “sliding” waves had inspired him and the whole community to fight for change and when a lady affirmed that Liberia did not need politicians but foreign visitors.
The idea behind the first statement is that inspiration comes mainly from watching people who look alike doing great things. The social identification that a community has with an individual that presents similar physical and cultural backgrounds is higher than in relation with aliens, as defined Tajfel in his social identity theory. That is why a local boy surfing rather than a visitor resonates more profoundly in communal hearts and minds.
The second point, the one expressed by the lady who said that institutions are needless, revealed the noble belief that Liberians have on shaping the future. However, this passage, if interpreted radically, poses a threat to social stability by not encouraging the establishment and reform of local institutions. Extrapolating, hopelessness in local leadership may end up conceding political power to foreigners from who are expected to introduce better practices and bring in strong currencies.
Change comes from inside. The people who live in a piece of land have priceless connection to indigenous values, tradition, and history. If the process is inverted, insiders passively expect benevolences from outsiders or outsiders mistakenly end up believing that they are uniquely responsible for insiders’ well-being. In both cases, if local communities do not mobilize, internal - mainly economic and cultural - problems tend to aggravate. The dependency mindset that permeates the decisions of people from colonized countries partially explains this logic. This detrimental rationale is addressed when organized changes come from within the borders, as defended by Taiaiake Alfred in "Wasáse".
The second documentary ”180 South” also made me wonder on the issue of narrative and its role in shaping perspectives mainly in the relationship between settlers and colonized, humans and nature.
Once again, like Robinson Crusoe’s tale, the storyline of a navigator adrift and later in a remote island running into an indigenous beauty who shows him the hidden natural treasures of an isolated society and the purity of living in close connection and energy exchange with the environment portrays a view of the Eden, the idyllic setting of Adam and Eve.
On the one hand, this narrative reinforces the negative aspects of urban societies by contrasting the lives of an adventurer urban guy with of a beauty rural girl. On the other, it implies that one has to be isolated to lead a life free from daily rat race stress most prevalent in urban agglomeration.
In the second documentary, I also enjoyed the citation to the book “Collapse”, from Jared Diamond, affirming that the reason for Eastern Island people had ended their civilization was the overexploitation of natural resources. Also, that industrialized societies seemed not to have learned from past mistakes since we have not yet come up with sustainable living systems.
Concerning this passage what struck me was the confusion between nature and the
environment. Nature forces are independent from human actions. Life and Rapa Nui continued existing once humans destroyed themselves, as professed the evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould. The environment, for its part, is the outcome of an intrinsic relation between humans and surroundings. Our decisions end up affecting, for better or worse, our lives. Humans do not have control over nature, only over the environment. As Diamond said, Rapa Nui civilization collapsed because there was a great environmental - not natural - disequilibrium.
Finally, these two documentaries showed me once again the importance of organizations like Surfrider Foundation in raising awareness and building a prosper future by mobilizing communities to positively act towards environmental issues and by creating empirical narratives that inspire next generations. Change is grassroots: We plant, water every day, for our grandchildren to reap and taste sweet fruit tomorrow.
Narratives are powerful. They can either change behavior by inspiring and mobilizing communities or reinforce beliefs rooted in historical patronage and subservient relations.
In the documentary “Sliding Liberia”, two passages struck me. When a young Liberian revealed that watching a boy “sliding” waves had inspired him and the whole community to fight for change and when a lady affirmed that Liberia did not need politicians but foreign visitors.
The idea behind the first statement is that inspiration comes mainly from watching people who look alike doing great things. The social identification that a community has with an individual that presents similar physical and cultural backgrounds is higher than in relation with aliens, as defined Tajfel in his social identity theory. That is why a local boy surfing rather than a visitor resonates more profoundly in communal hearts and minds.
The second point, the one expressed by the lady who said that institutions are needless, revealed the noble belief that Liberians have on shaping the future. However, this passage, if interpreted radically, poses a threat to social stability by not encouraging the establishment and reform of local institutions. Extrapolating, hopelessness in local leadership may end up conceding political power to foreigners from who are expected to introduce better practices and bring in strong currencies.
Change comes from inside. The people who live in a piece of land have priceless connection to indigenous values, tradition, and history. If the process is inverted, insiders passively expect benevolences from outsiders or outsiders mistakenly end up believing that they are uniquely responsible for insiders’ well-being. In both cases, if local communities do not mobilize, internal - mainly economic and cultural - problems tend to aggravate. The dependency mindset that permeates the decisions of people from colonized countries partially explains this logic. This detrimental rationale is addressed when organized changes come from within the borders, as defended by Taiaiake Alfred in "Wasáse".
The second documentary ”180 South” also made me wonder on the issue of narrative and its role in shaping perspectives mainly in the relationship between settlers and colonized, humans and nature.
Once again, like Robinson Crusoe’s tale, the storyline of a navigator adrift and later in a remote island running into an indigenous beauty who shows him the hidden natural treasures of an isolated society and the purity of living in close connection and energy exchange with the environment portrays a view of the Eden, the idyllic setting of Adam and Eve.
On the one hand, this narrative reinforces the negative aspects of urban societies by contrasting the lives of an adventurer urban guy with of a beauty rural girl. On the other, it implies that one has to be isolated to lead a life free from daily rat race stress most prevalent in urban agglomeration.
In the second documentary, I also enjoyed the citation to the book “Collapse”, from Jared Diamond, affirming that the reason for Eastern Island people had ended their civilization was the overexploitation of natural resources. Also, that industrialized societies seemed not to have learned from past mistakes since we have not yet come up with sustainable living systems.
Concerning this passage what struck me was the confusion between nature and the
environment. Nature forces are independent from human actions. Life and Rapa Nui continued existing once humans destroyed themselves, as professed the evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould. The environment, for its part, is the outcome of an intrinsic relation between humans and surroundings. Our decisions end up affecting, for better or worse, our lives. Humans do not have control over nature, only over the environment. As Diamond said, Rapa Nui civilization collapsed because there was a great environmental - not natural - disequilibrium.
Finally, these two documentaries showed me once again the importance of organizations like Surfrider Foundation in raising awareness and building a prosper future by mobilizing communities to positively act towards environmental issues and by creating empirical narratives that inspire next generations. Change is grassroots: We plant, water every day, for our grandchildren to reap and taste sweet fruit tomorrow.
segunda-feira, 8 de novembro de 2010
Politics and Planning
Most politicians are crisis managers. They wait for events to emerge – or streams converge, as Jill pointed out - before deciding to move forward. A reason for this strategy is boosting popularity by addressing issues that the press has been largely covering and the population is very sensitive about. This public act aims to reduce the political cost of advocating for structural changes by preventing constituents from seeing leaders as demagogue futurists or careless administrators towards actual and urgent social issues.
The recent mine event in Chile illustrates the idea above. After spending many days trapped underground, the life of the 30 miners started being scrutinized by the national and international media. The event soon attracted a large TV audience and readers and viewers started following the news like avid soap opera fans. On the rescue day, journalists from all over packed the benches located around the mine. Once the operation successfully finished, the president promised to carry out an extensive reform of the labor conditions to guarantee that no more labors would risk their lives at work sites. The popularity of the president went sky high as the Chileans applauded this “noble” - and political timing - effort.
However, other professionals who work for the collective good consider that politics is more than providing immediate responses to crisis. Public administration is about planning and anticipating disasters that are likely to cause social damage. These types of leaders usually tap into statistics, scientific studies, and narratives to raise awareness for latent problems and, as a result, to reduce the political cost of addressing a problem that has not yet deeply affected the social well-being or hit the news.
City authorities of Hamburg in Germany are literally rising up the city based on the likelihood of sea-level rise. These policy-makers have convinced the electorate that large investments today in infrastructure would avoid greater problems tomorrow. The political instrument for this initiative without putting at risk the political power of the legislator was partnering with the media to raise awareness and come up with different scenarios to the issue. The people of Hamburg, therefore, were convinced that they would be better-off if investments were not put off.
In conclusion, politicians are expected to be crisis managers as well as urban planners. The population pays taxes to make sure that current issues will be addressed but also that predictable problems are addressed. I once heard from an authority the following: “In Hawai’i, be prepared, in October, natural disasters always happen”. S/he forgot, however, to define the problem and the preparation for these disasters. We, public administrators, are expected to have these answers.
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011536.html
The recent mine event in Chile illustrates the idea above. After spending many days trapped underground, the life of the 30 miners started being scrutinized by the national and international media. The event soon attracted a large TV audience and readers and viewers started following the news like avid soap opera fans. On the rescue day, journalists from all over packed the benches located around the mine. Once the operation successfully finished, the president promised to carry out an extensive reform of the labor conditions to guarantee that no more labors would risk their lives at work sites. The popularity of the president went sky high as the Chileans applauded this “noble” - and political timing - effort.
However, other professionals who work for the collective good consider that politics is more than providing immediate responses to crisis. Public administration is about planning and anticipating disasters that are likely to cause social damage. These types of leaders usually tap into statistics, scientific studies, and narratives to raise awareness for latent problems and, as a result, to reduce the political cost of addressing a problem that has not yet deeply affected the social well-being or hit the news.
City authorities of Hamburg in Germany are literally rising up the city based on the likelihood of sea-level rise. These policy-makers have convinced the electorate that large investments today in infrastructure would avoid greater problems tomorrow. The political instrument for this initiative without putting at risk the political power of the legislator was partnering with the media to raise awareness and come up with different scenarios to the issue. The people of Hamburg, therefore, were convinced that they would be better-off if investments were not put off.
In conclusion, politicians are expected to be crisis managers as well as urban planners. The population pays taxes to make sure that current issues will be addressed but also that predictable problems are addressed. I once heard from an authority the following: “In Hawai’i, be prepared, in October, natural disasters always happen”. S/he forgot, however, to define the problem and the preparation for these disasters. We, public administrators, are expected to have these answers.
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011536.html
Equality and Aristotle
Aristotle understands that justice depends on “treating equally what is equal and differently what is unequal, to the extent of the inequality”.
I am not sure whether the Greek philosopher’s proportional equality concept inspired John F. Kennedy but when the US President coined the term “affirmative action” in 1961 he was translating into policies the Aristotelian aphorism.
In the context of African American Civil Rights Movement, Kennedy’s speech aimed the mitigation of racial discrimination.
Race, color, religion, sex, and nationality were then recognized as prevalent stereotypes in institutional and individual decision-making processes that prevented certain groups from having the same access to opportunities than other people.
The US government, thus, allocated few slots for capable representatives of these marginalized groups at educational and governmental institutions. Other countries followed suit.
Canada incorporated the law into the federal legislation embracing even further the country’s famous multicultural approach towards women, the disabled, and indigenous groups.
Brazilian tertiary institutes, largely dominated by Caucasians, earmarked some vacancies exclusively for Afro-descendants.
New Zealand reinforced the revival of local culture by implementing a wide array of political and educational actions to train policy-makers and teachers in Maori language.
The ones who criticize the “unequal treatment to unequals” not only ignore positive implications deriving from the actions mentioned but also claim that affirmative action results in reverse discrimination.
The establishment that politically and economically represents the equal class, however, fails to acknowledge their own biases and prejudices towards certain groups and how “blind spots” end up affecting the welfare of the society as a whole.
Inequality leads to acute social tensions and a contemporary “Tragedy of the Commons” looms large if bounty and burdens are not collectively shared.
Aristotle, therefore, raises a relevant point to public administrators from which society expects the implementation of policies that promote less equality “de jure” and more “de facto”.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equality/
I am not sure whether the Greek philosopher’s proportional equality concept inspired John F. Kennedy but when the US President coined the term “affirmative action” in 1961 he was translating into policies the Aristotelian aphorism.
In the context of African American Civil Rights Movement, Kennedy’s speech aimed the mitigation of racial discrimination.
Race, color, religion, sex, and nationality were then recognized as prevalent stereotypes in institutional and individual decision-making processes that prevented certain groups from having the same access to opportunities than other people.
The US government, thus, allocated few slots for capable representatives of these marginalized groups at educational and governmental institutions. Other countries followed suit.
Canada incorporated the law into the federal legislation embracing even further the country’s famous multicultural approach towards women, the disabled, and indigenous groups.
Brazilian tertiary institutes, largely dominated by Caucasians, earmarked some vacancies exclusively for Afro-descendants.
New Zealand reinforced the revival of local culture by implementing a wide array of political and educational actions to train policy-makers and teachers in Maori language.
The ones who criticize the “unequal treatment to unequals” not only ignore positive implications deriving from the actions mentioned but also claim that affirmative action results in reverse discrimination.
The establishment that politically and economically represents the equal class, however, fails to acknowledge their own biases and prejudices towards certain groups and how “blind spots” end up affecting the welfare of the society as a whole.
Inequality leads to acute social tensions and a contemporary “Tragedy of the Commons” looms large if bounty and burdens are not collectively shared.
Aristotle, therefore, raises a relevant point to public administrators from which society expects the implementation of policies that promote less equality “de jure” and more “de facto”.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equality/
Politics and Churchill
When Jill said at the beginning of last class, “this political module expects to prepare you to understand how politicians operate by taking into account their principles or interests”, I immediately recalled Churchill’s hidden strategy against Hitler during WWII.
In the book “Churchill’s Deception”, Louis Kilzer gathered documents to affirm that millions of lives could have been saved if Churchill had agreed to sign a peace treaty with Germany.
Churchill had not only declined the Nazi proposal but had also not given any guarantee that would not take advantage of a possible civil war that would certainly emerge in case German generals ousted “der Führer” from power.
“Sir Prime Minister” had vivid remembrances of German troops controlling neighboring territories at the time of WWI armistice. Churchill reckoned that this “imaginary victory” made Germans believe they had actually defeated their adversaries and, therefore, a second one would be later necessary to prove that Germans should not have signed the unjust and excessive Treaty of Versailles.
Having this in mind, Churchill blatantly ignored Hitler’s efforts to sign a bilateral peace agreement expecting that Germany would become weaker by having no other option than fighting in two fronts. As a result of this strategy, belligerents extended WWII for few more years stealing millions more lives, especially in the former Soviet Union.
The ones who argue that Churchill made the right decision usually point out the end of a Nazi state and intolerance towards minorities whereas the ones against the English Prime Minister highlight that lives were unnecessarily lost and England, even being in the winner side, would no longer enjoy the prestige of a 19th century empire.
But my question considering this scenario is: How public administrators and everyone who deals with politicians on a regular basis can identify principles and interests that are deliberately disguised?
I believe that had Hitler been aware of the insights “Clearing the Past” and “Struggling for Power” elucidated by James Redfield on “The Celestine Prophecy” he would have quickly grasped the reason for Churchill’s blank responses and, more importantly, the dominating British Empire nostalgia.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1839087.Churchill_s_Deception
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13103.The_Celestine_Prophecy
In the book “Churchill’s Deception”, Louis Kilzer gathered documents to affirm that millions of lives could have been saved if Churchill had agreed to sign a peace treaty with Germany.
Churchill had not only declined the Nazi proposal but had also not given any guarantee that would not take advantage of a possible civil war that would certainly emerge in case German generals ousted “der Führer” from power.
“Sir Prime Minister” had vivid remembrances of German troops controlling neighboring territories at the time of WWI armistice. Churchill reckoned that this “imaginary victory” made Germans believe they had actually defeated their adversaries and, therefore, a second one would be later necessary to prove that Germans should not have signed the unjust and excessive Treaty of Versailles.
Having this in mind, Churchill blatantly ignored Hitler’s efforts to sign a bilateral peace agreement expecting that Germany would become weaker by having no other option than fighting in two fronts. As a result of this strategy, belligerents extended WWII for few more years stealing millions more lives, especially in the former Soviet Union.
The ones who argue that Churchill made the right decision usually point out the end of a Nazi state and intolerance towards minorities whereas the ones against the English Prime Minister highlight that lives were unnecessarily lost and England, even being in the winner side, would no longer enjoy the prestige of a 19th century empire.
But my question considering this scenario is: How public administrators and everyone who deals with politicians on a regular basis can identify principles and interests that are deliberately disguised?
I believe that had Hitler been aware of the insights “Clearing the Past” and “Struggling for Power” elucidated by James Redfield on “The Celestine Prophecy” he would have quickly grasped the reason for Churchill’s blank responses and, more importantly, the dominating British Empire nostalgia.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1839087.Churchill_s_Deception
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13103.The_Celestine_Prophecy
Geopolitics and China
Hillary Clinton is in Honolulu – again.
What brings the head of the State Department to the islands since she was here last January? Moreover, why Obama administration hastily chose Honolulu to host the next APEC?
Indifferent to geopolitics and veiled interests, a friend of mine, an experienced local real estate agent, may have the answers. He told me recently: “I sold cash four houses last week. This has never happened before. Plus, the investors paid 15% more than the market price. If you skim the last name of owners of Waikiki condos, you will be surprise to see that almost half of them are Chinese.”
In this context of increasing investments coming from the Middle Kingdom, what is the responsibility of public administrators? Learn Mandarin? Study Confucianism principles? Or advocate for policies and business models that further attract and diversify long-term foreign direct investments (FDI)?
Orville Schell, the director of the Center on US-China relations at the Asia Society, answers the last question by stating that planners and public authorities must take action now to avoid Chinese FDI ending up somewhere else than within US borders.
Perhaps this partially explains why Hillary is back – apart from the breeze, of course.
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/oschell21/English
What brings the head of the State Department to the islands since she was here last January? Moreover, why Obama administration hastily chose Honolulu to host the next APEC?
Indifferent to geopolitics and veiled interests, a friend of mine, an experienced local real estate agent, may have the answers. He told me recently: “I sold cash four houses last week. This has never happened before. Plus, the investors paid 15% more than the market price. If you skim the last name of owners of Waikiki condos, you will be surprise to see that almost half of them are Chinese.”
In this context of increasing investments coming from the Middle Kingdom, what is the responsibility of public administrators? Learn Mandarin? Study Confucianism principles? Or advocate for policies and business models that further attract and diversify long-term foreign direct investments (FDI)?
Orville Schell, the director of the Center on US-China relations at the Asia Society, answers the last question by stating that planners and public authorities must take action now to avoid Chinese FDI ending up somewhere else than within US borders.
Perhaps this partially explains why Hillary is back – apart from the breeze, of course.
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/oschell21/English
Politics and The Massie Case
A local friend suggested “Shoal of Time” from Gavan Daws to make me familiar with the Hawaiian history.
I just finished reading subtopic “The Honolulu Martydom”, pages 317-327, which describes the well-known Massie case.
As lines passed by, I asked myself the following question based on Jill’s class last night on “Scope of Conflict”:
“Would this police case have had a different turn out if the Star Bulletin and Iolani Palace were controlled by ethnic groups other than the former “status quo”?
I strongly believe that if visibility, elasticity, and fluidity were at the hands of Ahakuelo’s, Ida’s, and Chang’s groups, the life of Kahahawai would have been saved.
A summary of the case can be found at:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Oct/14/op/op03a.html
I just finished reading subtopic “The Honolulu Martydom”, pages 317-327, which describes the well-known Massie case.
As lines passed by, I asked myself the following question based on Jill’s class last night on “Scope of Conflict”:
“Would this police case have had a different turn out if the Star Bulletin and Iolani Palace were controlled by ethnic groups other than the former “status quo”?
I strongly believe that if visibility, elasticity, and fluidity were at the hands of Ahakuelo’s, Ida’s, and Chang’s groups, the life of Kahahawai would have been saved.
A summary of the case can be found at:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Oct/14/op/op03a.html
Politics and Kant
As political module started as well as the discussion of the role of government in our societies, I have reflected on the main idea of “Critique of Pure Reason” from Immanuel Kant.
The Prussian philosopher from the 18th century for long pondered on the relation between knowledge and experience.
Rationalists believe that knowledge is acquired by pure reason whereas empiricists state that knowledge relies on experience.
Kant builds a bridge between this endless debate.
Pure reason indeed expands understandings and experience plays an important role when it comes to interpreting reality.
In this context, our mind organizes information and constructs thoughts based on temporal progression, time and space perceptions, and causation.
These human skills, however, only allow us to interpret phenomena. We cannot grasp noumena, things-in-themselves.
Being aware of our cognitive limitations, what is the role of governments and public administrators?
According to Kantian theses, we should utilize our mental faculties for coming up with solutions for social problems that require a balance between pure reason and experience.
For instance, a task force addressing housing issues cannot rely solely on experiences from other localities but should also encourage inputs originating from rational insights.
The latter is what I recognize as “da Vinci’s spark”.
I have seen many cities around the world unsuccessfully trying to address urban problems based exclusively on best practices and lessons learned from other places.
I have also witnessed the failure of projects of million dollars due to lack of creativity and innovation.
It seems to me that one of the great challenges of public administrators is drawing a line between knowledge and experience and be able to walk over it without losing balance and falling off.
As Kant said “reason without applying it to experience will only lead to illusions while experience will be purely subjective without first being subsumed under pure reason”.
PS. A summary of Kant’s “pure reason” ideas can be found at:
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/section1.html
The Prussian philosopher from the 18th century for long pondered on the relation between knowledge and experience.
Rationalists believe that knowledge is acquired by pure reason whereas empiricists state that knowledge relies on experience.
Kant builds a bridge between this endless debate.
Pure reason indeed expands understandings and experience plays an important role when it comes to interpreting reality.
In this context, our mind organizes information and constructs thoughts based on temporal progression, time and space perceptions, and causation.
These human skills, however, only allow us to interpret phenomena. We cannot grasp noumena, things-in-themselves.
Being aware of our cognitive limitations, what is the role of governments and public administrators?
According to Kantian theses, we should utilize our mental faculties for coming up with solutions for social problems that require a balance between pure reason and experience.
For instance, a task force addressing housing issues cannot rely solely on experiences from other localities but should also encourage inputs originating from rational insights.
The latter is what I recognize as “da Vinci’s spark”.
I have seen many cities around the world unsuccessfully trying to address urban problems based exclusively on best practices and lessons learned from other places.
I have also witnessed the failure of projects of million dollars due to lack of creativity and innovation.
It seems to me that one of the great challenges of public administrators is drawing a line between knowledge and experience and be able to walk over it without losing balance and falling off.
As Kant said “reason without applying it to experience will only lead to illusions while experience will be purely subjective without first being subsumed under pure reason”.
PS. A summary of Kant’s “pure reason” ideas can be found at:
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/section1.html
Economics and Innovation
I picked up friends at the airport last Friday and spent part of the time stuck in traffic wondering how Chris’ classes would help partially address this public problem.
Today I came across this online debate over “light rail transit in Honolulu” and ended up writing the text below. Looking forward to hearing from your perspectives.
Cheers,
http://www.808talk.com/2008/06/19/start-or-stop-light-rail-transit-in-honolulu-you-decide/comment-page-1/#comment-259531
I have seen on freeways many cars with only the driver in them. I wonder what it would be if drivers had given a ride to other commuters and half of these vehicles occupying every centimeter of public areas would have stayed home. There would certainly be more space allowing traffic to flow faster. The question, however, is: How to encourage drivers to give rides to other people? Which structure would be necessary to implement this idea? Can technical issues be addressed?
My answer for these questions is “Yes”. There is a way to encourage drivers to give rides. The system required is significantly less costly than investments in public transportation systems. Technical problems would be solved by tapping into state-of-the-art technology and providing training to police officers. The solution is the combination of tax incentives with an extensive network of smart park meters.
A short narrative illustrates this proposal.
John gives a ride to Paul in the morning. Before getting into John’s car, a park meter reads Paul’s and John’s cards. On the way, John picks up Maria. Maria’s and John’s cards are also read by a close meter. John arrives downtown and drops off Paul. Paul’s and John’s cards are read by another smart park meter. Maria’s card is also read after being drop off in front of the building where she works. John arrives at his office and checks online how many kilometers he has saved by preventing two cars being out on the streets that morning and how much he has contributed to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and global rising temperatures. Finally, John checks how much credit he has just earned and predicts further financial gains through tax reductions in the next fiscal year or monthly deposits in his bank account.
Today I came across this online debate over “light rail transit in Honolulu” and ended up writing the text below. Looking forward to hearing from your perspectives.
Cheers,
http://www.808talk.com/2008/06/19/start-or-stop-light-rail-transit-in-honolulu-you-decide/comment-page-1/#comment-259531
I have seen on freeways many cars with only the driver in them. I wonder what it would be if drivers had given a ride to other commuters and half of these vehicles occupying every centimeter of public areas would have stayed home. There would certainly be more space allowing traffic to flow faster. The question, however, is: How to encourage drivers to give rides to other people? Which structure would be necessary to implement this idea? Can technical issues be addressed?
My answer for these questions is “Yes”. There is a way to encourage drivers to give rides. The system required is significantly less costly than investments in public transportation systems. Technical problems would be solved by tapping into state-of-the-art technology and providing training to police officers. The solution is the combination of tax incentives with an extensive network of smart park meters.
A short narrative illustrates this proposal.
John gives a ride to Paul in the morning. Before getting into John’s car, a park meter reads Paul’s and John’s cards. On the way, John picks up Maria. Maria’s and John’s cards are also read by a close meter. John arrives downtown and drops off Paul. Paul’s and John’s cards are read by another smart park meter. Maria’s card is also read after being drop off in front of the building where she works. John arrives at his office and checks online how many kilometers he has saved by preventing two cars being out on the streets that morning and how much he has contributed to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and global rising temperatures. Finally, John checks how much credit he has just earned and predicts further financial gains through tax reductions in the next fiscal year or monthly deposits in his bank account.
Economics and Decision-Making
"Reference Class-Forecasting" is a model created by Daniel Kanehman, 2002 Nobel prize awardee for studies on Behavioral Economics.
Like the concepts learned in Economic Module, Kanehman's methodology help public administrators make better decisions by providing tools to correct false predictions generated by overoptimism.
To come up with a down-to-earth forecast, one has to go through five steps.
First, identify a similar example and then compare similarities and differences of every variable.
Second, organize the outcomes of this example - reference - by distributing extremes, median, and clusters.
Third, make predictions of your venture - this is the time when overoptimism usually takes over - and place them in the reference outcome distribution.
Fourth, create a forecast scale for various events.
Fifth, place your prediction in the scale created and adjust irrationality in order to work based on and towards realistic objectives.
More about this decision-making process methodolgy at:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3630.html
Like the concepts learned in Economic Module, Kanehman's methodology help public administrators make better decisions by providing tools to correct false predictions generated by overoptimism.
To come up with a down-to-earth forecast, one has to go through five steps.
First, identify a similar example and then compare similarities and differences of every variable.
Second, organize the outcomes of this example - reference - by distributing extremes, median, and clusters.
Third, make predictions of your venture - this is the time when overoptimism usually takes over - and place them in the reference outcome distribution.
Fourth, create a forecast scale for various events.
Fifth, place your prediction in the scale created and adjust irrationality in order to work based on and towards realistic objectives.
More about this decision-making process methodolgy at:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3630.html
Communication and Innovation
As Christine mentioned twice the word "innovation" yesterday
and I just received an email from a friend suggesting links
and a book about this topic,
forward his message.
Cheers,
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from.html
PS. In short, bring together experts
so that they can connect, share, and find creative solutions
to complex problems.
PS. Edge is also a great site to tangle ideas.
http://www.edge.org/
and I just received an email from a friend suggesting links
and a book about this topic,
forward his message.
Cheers,
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from.html
PS. In short, bring together experts
so that they can connect, share, and find creative solutions
to complex problems.
PS. Edge is also a great site to tangle ideas.
http://www.edge.org/
Prebisch and Economics
Following-up on last class, I'd like to touch on the dependency theory created by the Argentinian economist Raul Prebisch.
His country had specialized in exporting beef and Argentinians were clearly better-off while tapping into their natural and labor competitive advantages.
After the Great Depression, however, the US, the main client, drastically reduced the import of beef.
As trade stopped and fellow "hermanos" relied largely on a single commodity for attracting strong currencies, the economy plummeted.
Now clearly worse-off, Argentinians and their main economist, hitherto a great supporter of Ricardo's theory, changed position.
From now on they stated that developing countries should diversify their export basket of products by promoting industrialization.
High import and export rates, great amount of subsidies and controlled exchange rates were few macroeconomic tools used by Latin American leaders for protecting national economies and incentive state enterprises.
Brazil, for example, took for granted Prebisch's every word and ended up experiencing the second great economic growth worldwide from 1930 to 1990. Argentina's economy had also established its plants by La Plata basin.
Although protectionism mechanisms helped diversify the economy, products and services began losing competitiveness in the international market.
Public administrators in Latin America realized then that a strong regulated market prevented national economies from importing more efficient machinery in order to come up with innovative production systems.
At the same time, state companies have proved to be fairly less competitive and burdensome financially than multinational conglomerates from the developed world.
Quickly falling behind the rich, poor nations struggled in the 1980s and 1990s, years known as "lost decades".
Late 1980s, Argentinians tried to stimulate the economy by following International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s advice, The Washington Consensus, and opened up its economy again, heavily reduced taxs and subsidies, converted one peso to one dollar, and Maradona's fans turned out being better off once again.
However, early 2000s, and after experiencing a rapid deindustrialization process and not carrying out any significant political reform, Argentinians were hit by a financial collapse that ousted four presidents from office in one month.
Fellow "muchachos" were clearly worse-off again.
Meanwhile, Brazil had not followed IMF free trade dogma as strictly as neighbors and that is why we were not as badly hit as our soccer rival by a domestic financial crisis.
However, the giant of South America, although had privatized some inneficient state companies, had not done either any political reform to make the State better prepared to respond to the great competitiveness of the international market of goods and services.
Right now Brazil's economy hits the news as an example of resilience after 2008 US Housing financial crisis and Argentina is still trying to catch up with living standards late 1980s.
The lessons I take from these dramatic macroeconomic experiences are that free market is indeed a powerful phenomenon and mechanism for creating wealth and bringing in cutting edge technology but I also understand that governments play a crucial role in allocating resources efficiently and selecting national competitive advantages as well as ensuring that political reforms take place and national agencies meet contemporary challenges.
Tsu, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Richelieu, Metternich, Clausewitz, Bismarck, Kissinger, Gaulle, Morgenthau, and Bull dream with a world of order and peace but, in every opportunity, urged public administrators to keep a realistic approach towards the international market since in the context of fierce competition for scarce resources decision-makers prioritize sovereignty and national security over ideology and ethical concerns.
PS. This is a brief article containing Prebisch's ideas.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/ess_dependencia.html
His country had specialized in exporting beef and Argentinians were clearly better-off while tapping into their natural and labor competitive advantages.
After the Great Depression, however, the US, the main client, drastically reduced the import of beef.
As trade stopped and fellow "hermanos" relied largely on a single commodity for attracting strong currencies, the economy plummeted.
Now clearly worse-off, Argentinians and their main economist, hitherto a great supporter of Ricardo's theory, changed position.
From now on they stated that developing countries should diversify their export basket of products by promoting industrialization.
High import and export rates, great amount of subsidies and controlled exchange rates were few macroeconomic tools used by Latin American leaders for protecting national economies and incentive state enterprises.
Brazil, for example, took for granted Prebisch's every word and ended up experiencing the second great economic growth worldwide from 1930 to 1990. Argentina's economy had also established its plants by La Plata basin.
Although protectionism mechanisms helped diversify the economy, products and services began losing competitiveness in the international market.
Public administrators in Latin America realized then that a strong regulated market prevented national economies from importing more efficient machinery in order to come up with innovative production systems.
At the same time, state companies have proved to be fairly less competitive and burdensome financially than multinational conglomerates from the developed world.
Quickly falling behind the rich, poor nations struggled in the 1980s and 1990s, years known as "lost decades".
Late 1980s, Argentinians tried to stimulate the economy by following International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s advice, The Washington Consensus, and opened up its economy again, heavily reduced taxs and subsidies, converted one peso to one dollar, and Maradona's fans turned out being better off once again.
However, early 2000s, and after experiencing a rapid deindustrialization process and not carrying out any significant political reform, Argentinians were hit by a financial collapse that ousted four presidents from office in one month.
Fellow "muchachos" were clearly worse-off again.
Meanwhile, Brazil had not followed IMF free trade dogma as strictly as neighbors and that is why we were not as badly hit as our soccer rival by a domestic financial crisis.
However, the giant of South America, although had privatized some inneficient state companies, had not done either any political reform to make the State better prepared to respond to the great competitiveness of the international market of goods and services.
Right now Brazil's economy hits the news as an example of resilience after 2008 US Housing financial crisis and Argentina is still trying to catch up with living standards late 1980s.
The lessons I take from these dramatic macroeconomic experiences are that free market is indeed a powerful phenomenon and mechanism for creating wealth and bringing in cutting edge technology but I also understand that governments play a crucial role in allocating resources efficiently and selecting national competitive advantages as well as ensuring that political reforms take place and national agencies meet contemporary challenges.
Tsu, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Richelieu, Metternich, Clausewitz, Bismarck, Kissinger, Gaulle, Morgenthau, and Bull dream with a world of order and peace but, in every opportunity, urged public administrators to keep a realistic approach towards the international market since in the context of fierce competition for scarce resources decision-makers prioritize sovereignty and national security over ideology and ethical concerns.
PS. This is a brief article containing Prebisch's ideas.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/ess_dependencia.html
Strauss and Communication
As we have discussed "cognitive dissonance", "empathy conversation", "personal rifts", "cultural contexts", and "commited openess" in various forms of communication fields I recalled the classes of Levis-Strauss, the French anthropologist who adapted the linguistic concept of structuralism to human rationale.
Strauss stated that our daily conversations are dependent upon identifying similar and contrast points in relation with our counterpart's words and emotions.
Similarities and differences constitute the basis of our personal structures and end up shaping respective cultures.
Strauss assumed that this binary/dichotomous intellectual process is universal and synchronic, independent from historical evolution.
What personally strikes me in this Strauss's theory is the quest for depicting human behavior through universal rules rather than compartmented by cultural lenses/analyses.
Strauss passed away last year at the age of 100 years old.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/04/levi.strauss.anthropologist/
PS. My favorite Strauss' book is "Tristes Tropiques". Although little confusing, I highly recommend to the ones interested in reflecting on seminal ideas.
Strauss stated that our daily conversations are dependent upon identifying similar and contrast points in relation with our counterpart's words and emotions.
Similarities and differences constitute the basis of our personal structures and end up shaping respective cultures.
Strauss assumed that this binary/dichotomous intellectual process is universal and synchronic, independent from historical evolution.
What personally strikes me in this Strauss's theory is the quest for depicting human behavior through universal rules rather than compartmented by cultural lenses/analyses.
Strauss passed away last year at the age of 100 years old.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/04/levi.strauss.anthropologist/
PS. My favorite Strauss' book is "Tristes Tropiques". Although little confusing, I highly recommend to the ones interested in reflecting on seminal ideas.
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