an article by Tetiana Pavlova, Roman Pavlov and Oleksandra Kolomoichenko (Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, Ukraine) and Elena Zarutska (University of Customs and Finance, Dnipro, Ukraine) published in International Journal of Ethics and Systems Volume 34 Issue 4 (2019)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to consider the complementarity of ethics and law with regard to the problem of their common existence in society through the identification of common and different characteristics in the philosophy of I. Kant.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the observation that in modern society ethics and law remain the main social regulators and their co-existence requires the definition of their interaction and complementarity. Also, as this problem is closely related to issues of freedom and obligation, it is necessary to show their role in ethics and law.
Findings
The results show that the complementarity of ethics and law is due to the obligation that unites them, and the categorical imperative is the only postulate of ethics and the rights to execute, which allows a person to always remain worthy of his name. Ethics also has the meaning of legal capacity, and law means the recognition of people moral independence by public authorities. Thus, the law must protect a person not only from arbitrariness on the part of other people but also from the state power.
Originality/value
This paper uses a philosophical approach, the utility of which is that ethics and law are studied as elements of normative regulation system of the society in terms of the phenomenal and noumenal nature of a man. It is proposed to consider ethics and law not only as different social regulators, which have their own specifics but also as complementary elements of a single social being, which should exist together and not attempt to substitute one another.
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Monday, 16 December 2019
Monday, 16 September 2019
What does self-actualization mean in different cultures?
a post by Matt Davis for the Big Think blog
Critics complain that Maslow's hierarchy of needs focuses too much on the West. Yet other cultures often have similar ideas about personal development.
Critics complain that Maslow's hierarchy of needs focuses too much on the West. Yet other cultures often have similar ideas about personal development.
- When Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs, he focused entirely on students, peers, and historical figures, all of whom were from the West.
- This led many critics to argue that his model of human development and the concept of self-actualization were not universal; they merely reflected Western ideas about development and self-improvement.
- Other cultures ranging from Blackfoot Native Americans to the Chinese have similar ideas that run parallel to self-actualization. What are they, and how do they differ?
Just to remind myself, and you, of Maslow's Hierarchy
Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Identity, beliefs, and political conflict
a column by Nicola Gennaioli and Guido Tabellini for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
In recent decades, the political systems of advanced democracies have witnessed large changes, often in reaction to economic shocks due to globalisation and technology.
This column uses insights from the social psychology of groups to explain how when large shocks hit, new cleavages in society emerge. This causes individuals to shift their beliefs about themselves and others in the direction of new social stereotypes. If globalisation clusters society in a nationalist versus cosmopolitan cleavage instead of the traditional left versus right, this may dampen demand for redistribution despite potential increases in income inequality.
Continue reading
In recent decades, the political systems of advanced democracies have witnessed large changes, often in reaction to economic shocks due to globalisation and technology.
This column uses insights from the social psychology of groups to explain how when large shocks hit, new cleavages in society emerge. This causes individuals to shift their beliefs about themselves and others in the direction of new social stereotypes. If globalisation clusters society in a nationalist versus cosmopolitan cleavage instead of the traditional left versus right, this may dampen demand for redistribution despite potential increases in income inequality.
Continue reading
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Social capitalism: Incorporating sustainability factors into macroeconomic analysis
a column by Yashaswini Dunga, Nancy Hardie, Stephanie Kelly and Jeremy Lawson for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
As climate change worsens and the forces of populism gather, there is a strong argument for moving beyond narrow economic measures of national progress.
This column presents a new indicator of progress that integrates environmental, social, and governance factors into growth analysis. Results show that the countries that have been able to blend economic dynamism with environmental, social, and governance dynamism are mostly developing economies. These countries often fly under the radar of traditional macroeconomic analyses.
Continue reading
As climate change worsens and the forces of populism gather, there is a strong argument for moving beyond narrow economic measures of national progress.
This column presents a new indicator of progress that integrates environmental, social, and governance factors into growth analysis. Results show that the countries that have been able to blend economic dynamism with environmental, social, and governance dynamism are mostly developing economies. These countries often fly under the radar of traditional macroeconomic analyses.
Continue reading
Monday, 31 December 2018
There was no relationship between obesity and poverty — until high-fructose corn syrup
a post by Derek Beres for the Big Think blog
A new study out of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville traces a disturbing correlation.
In 1841, Orlando Jones patented alkali starch extraction, a process that separated corn starch from kernels in what is known as wet milling. One year later, Thomas Kingford opened the first commercial wet milling plant in the States. Corn, an agricultural product dating back at least 6,000 years to the Oaxaca region of Mexico, was a natural fit for this process given its abundance. It would take another two decades for chemists to realizes corn starch could be used as a sweetener.
Continue reading
A new study out of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville traces a disturbing correlation.
- Before 1990, there was no noticeable correlation between obesity and poverty.
- Within a quarter-century, impoverished regions showed a massive uptick in obesity and type 1 diabetes.
- Researchers chart the relationship between "food deserts" along with obesity levels.
In 1841, Orlando Jones patented alkali starch extraction, a process that separated corn starch from kernels in what is known as wet milling. One year later, Thomas Kingford opened the first commercial wet milling plant in the States. Corn, an agricultural product dating back at least 6,000 years to the Oaxaca region of Mexico, was a natural fit for this process given its abundance. It would take another two decades for chemists to realizes corn starch could be used as a sweetener.
Continue reading
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Exploring the growing link of ethnic entrepreneurship, markets, and Pentecostalism in London (UK): An empirical study
an article by Ayantunji Gbadamosi (University of East London, UK) published in Society and Business Review Volume 10 Issue 2 (2015)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to unravel how membership of Pentecostal fellowships aids the entrepreneurial activities of African-Caribbean (AC) members. While many issues about the entrepreneurial engagements of AC people have been discussed in the literature, there are far less studies documented about the link of these activities to faith, especially in the context of Pentecostalism.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the interpretive research paradigm, a total of 25 tape-recorded, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with AC entrepreneurs who are members of Pentecostal faith-based organisations in London, and pastors in this same sphere. Sixteen of the respondents are entrepreneurs running and managing their businesses, seven are pastors and the remaining two fall in both categories, as they are both entrepreneurs and still serving as pastors in churches in London. Rather than merely serving as gatekeepers for information, the pastors are active participants/respondents in the study.
Findings
The paper highlights the challenges confronting the AC ethnic entrepreneurs, but also suggests that those in the Pentecostal faith are motivated and emboldened by the shared values in this religion to navigate the volatile marketing environment. It unveils participants’ faith in God as their key business survival strategy. It also shows the unwavering confidence of the respondents that this religious stance results in outstanding business successes like increase in sales and profits, competitive edge, divine creativity and innovation, opportunity recognition, networks, institutional support and other factors that underpin entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study unpacks the thickly blurred link between Pentecostalism as a thriving religious orientation among the AC ethnic group in the UK and their entrepreneurial engagements.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to unravel how membership of Pentecostal fellowships aids the entrepreneurial activities of African-Caribbean (AC) members. While many issues about the entrepreneurial engagements of AC people have been discussed in the literature, there are far less studies documented about the link of these activities to faith, especially in the context of Pentecostalism.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the interpretive research paradigm, a total of 25 tape-recorded, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with AC entrepreneurs who are members of Pentecostal faith-based organisations in London, and pastors in this same sphere. Sixteen of the respondents are entrepreneurs running and managing their businesses, seven are pastors and the remaining two fall in both categories, as they are both entrepreneurs and still serving as pastors in churches in London. Rather than merely serving as gatekeepers for information, the pastors are active participants/respondents in the study.
Findings
The paper highlights the challenges confronting the AC ethnic entrepreneurs, but also suggests that those in the Pentecostal faith are motivated and emboldened by the shared values in this religion to navigate the volatile marketing environment. It unveils participants’ faith in God as their key business survival strategy. It also shows the unwavering confidence of the respondents that this religious stance results in outstanding business successes like increase in sales and profits, competitive edge, divine creativity and innovation, opportunity recognition, networks, institutional support and other factors that underpin entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study unpacks the thickly blurred link between Pentecostalism as a thriving religious orientation among the AC ethnic group in the UK and their entrepreneurial engagements.
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
The brains behind spirituality
We must enrich our idea of what it means to believe in order to fully understand the role of spirituality in society
an article by Jonathan Rowson (director of the RSA’s Social Brain Centre) published in RSA Journal (Summer 2013)
Immanuel Kant said that the impact of liberal enlightenment on our spiritual life was such that if somebody were to walk in on you while you were on your knees praying, you would be profoundly embarrassed. That imagined experience of embarrassment is still widely felt in much of the modern western world, not merely for religious believers, but for the silent majority who consider themselves in some sense ‘spiritual’ without quite knowing what that means. This sense of equivocation is felt when we hear the term ‘spiritual’ referred to apologetically in intellectual contexts. Consider, for instance, ‘the mental, emotional or even spiritual qualities of the work’, or ‘the experience was almost spiritual in its depth and intensity’.
Continue reading
an article by Jonathan Rowson (director of the RSA’s Social Brain Centre) published in RSA Journal (Summer 2013)
Immanuel Kant said that the impact of liberal enlightenment on our spiritual life was such that if somebody were to walk in on you while you were on your knees praying, you would be profoundly embarrassed. That imagined experience of embarrassment is still widely felt in much of the modern western world, not merely for religious believers, but for the silent majority who consider themselves in some sense ‘spiritual’ without quite knowing what that means. This sense of equivocation is felt when we hear the term ‘spiritual’ referred to apologetically in intellectual contexts. Consider, for instance, ‘the mental, emotional or even spiritual qualities of the work’, or ‘the experience was almost spiritual in its depth and intensity’.
Continue reading
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Security, respect and culture in British teenagers' discourses of knife-carrying
an article by Marek Palasinski (Based at Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, UK) published in Safer Communities Volume 12 Issue 2 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of English adolescents' views on knife-carrying and offer a potential framework for challenging their implicit tolerance of the phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 25 adolescents from three large English cities (London, Birmingham and Manchester) was interviewed about knife-carrying at seven youth community centers and their narratives were analyzed by drawing on the classical discourse analysis and the concept of narrative repertoires.
Findings
The adolescents constructed the social and legal consequences of knife-carrying as normal, trivial and inevitable.
Research limitations/implications
Talking to a stranger with a voice recorder about the sensitive subject of knife-carrying appeared to be problematic, which probably had an inhibitory effect despite the conversational warm-up and assured anonymity.
Practical implications
Cautioning against creating common sense associations between knife-carrying and irresponsibility or deviance, the paper emphasizes the need for the focus on the low controllability and unpredictability of the knife.
Originality/value
The paper presents scholars and outreach workers with an intimate glimpse of how personal responsibility for knife-carrying and its potential consequences could be diminished by removing the agency from the carrier and rhetorically placing it in society.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of English adolescents' views on knife-carrying and offer a potential framework for challenging their implicit tolerance of the phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 25 adolescents from three large English cities (London, Birmingham and Manchester) was interviewed about knife-carrying at seven youth community centers and their narratives were analyzed by drawing on the classical discourse analysis and the concept of narrative repertoires.
Findings
The adolescents constructed the social and legal consequences of knife-carrying as normal, trivial and inevitable.
Research limitations/implications
Talking to a stranger with a voice recorder about the sensitive subject of knife-carrying appeared to be problematic, which probably had an inhibitory effect despite the conversational warm-up and assured anonymity.
Practical implications
Cautioning against creating common sense associations between knife-carrying and irresponsibility or deviance, the paper emphasizes the need for the focus on the low controllability and unpredictability of the knife.
Originality/value
The paper presents scholars and outreach workers with an intimate glimpse of how personal responsibility for knife-carrying and its potential consequences could be diminished by removing the agency from the carrier and rhetorically placing it in society.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
The cost of our ageing society
The International Longevity Centre – UK News Release
Governments must do more to reduce the long term cost of ageing to the public purse argues a new policy report from the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK).
The cost of our ageing society, sponsored by Milliman, highlights the projected financial impact of the cost of the world’s ageing population.
In the report, ILC-UK calls on governments across the world to consider linking eligibility ages of state pension to life expectancy and do more to ensure that the labour market is accessible to older people.
ILC-UK also argues that governments need to ensure pension systems are sustainable, allow for greater risk-sharing, and are less vulnerable to longevity risk. It also urges governments across the world to consider how to create better conditions for health care innovation and development.
ILC-UK believes that governments need to prepare for uncertainty noting that “Policy makers today are being asked to prepare for a future about which there is a serious degree of uncertainty and therefore sustainable policies will be the ones which can adapt to unexpected changes.” It argues therefore that addressing the needs of ageing populations will require ongoing investment in research and data collection.
ILC-UK argues, however, that policy interventions must recognise the contribution that older people make to society and the economy. ILC-UK also points out that individual countries will need to ensure there are safety nets for those who cannot work longer.
The cost of our ageing society draws heavily on the European Commission’s 2012 Ageing Report and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Fiscal Sustainability Report, July 2012. ILC-UK summarises the latest projections on longevity and the cost of ageing across the world.
I’ve given up after 15 minutes of going round in circles.
Governments must do more to reduce the long term cost of ageing to the public purse argues a new policy report from the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK).
The cost of our ageing society, sponsored by Milliman, highlights the projected financial impact of the cost of the world’s ageing population.
In the report, ILC-UK calls on governments across the world to consider linking eligibility ages of state pension to life expectancy and do more to ensure that the labour market is accessible to older people.
ILC-UK also argues that governments need to ensure pension systems are sustainable, allow for greater risk-sharing, and are less vulnerable to longevity risk. It also urges governments across the world to consider how to create better conditions for health care innovation and development.
ILC-UK believes that governments need to prepare for uncertainty noting that “Policy makers today are being asked to prepare for a future about which there is a serious degree of uncertainty and therefore sustainable policies will be the ones which can adapt to unexpected changes.” It argues therefore that addressing the needs of ageing populations will require ongoing investment in research and data collection.
ILC-UK argues, however, that policy interventions must recognise the contribution that older people make to society and the economy. ILC-UK also points out that individual countries will need to ensure there are safety nets for those who cannot work longer.
The cost of our ageing society draws heavily on the European Commission’s 2012 Ageing Report and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Fiscal Sustainability Report, July 2012. ILC-UK summarises the latest projections on longevity and the cost of ageing across the world.
- In the UK: age-related spending is projected to rise from an annual cost of 21.3% to 26.3% of GDP between 2016/17 and 2061/62, a rise of 5% of GDP (equivalent to a rise of around £79bn in today’s money).
- In the EU: age-related spending is projected to rise from an annual cost of 25% to 29.1% of GDP between 2010 and 2060, a rise of 4.1% of GDP. However, a scenario which assumes greater resources devoted to development within health care projects that age-related spending in the EU could rise to as much as 29.8% of GDP, annually, by 2060.
- spending on public pensions (state pension, benefits and public service pensions) is projected to rise from an annual cost of 8.9% to 10.8% of GDP between 2016/17 and 2061/62, a rise of 1.9% of GDP (equivalent to a rise of around £33bn in today’s money).
- spending on health care is projected to see the largest rise of all elements of age-related spending, rising from an annual cost of 6.8% to 9.1% of GDP between 2016/17 and 2061/62, a rise of 2.3% of GDP (equivalent to a rise of around £36bn in today’s money). The rise in projected spending on health care in the UK mirrors the increase in the ageing population.
- spending on long term care is projected to rise between 2016/17 and 2061/62 by 0.9%, from an annual cost of 1.1% to 2% of GDP, a rise of 0.9% of GDP (equivalent to a rise of around £14bn in today’s money).
I’ve given up after 15 minutes of going round in circles.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
European research, social innovation and successful cooperativist actions
an article by Ramón Flecha (University of Barcelona, Spain) published in International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences volume 4 Issue 4 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to focus on one innovative way through which the European research is contributing to provide scientific evidence about actions that have been demonstrated to successfully reverse the closed cycle of inequality in which many citizens get caught.
Design/methodology/approach
The Communicative Methodology (CM) was applied, combining quantitative and qualitative methods and including the voices of all social agents involved.
Findings
Through the successful actions approach, the INCLUD-ED project has identified five Successful Cooperativist Actions (SCAs) which have been proven to work in the current economy. Aiming at studying the transferability of the SCAs, the project has analysed how these actions are developed in the case of the Mondragon Corporation and La Estrella and La Milagrosa neighbourhoods of Albacete, the poorest neighbourhoods in Spain.
Practical implications
The CM promotes the inclusion of the social groups that are researched achieving results of high value for society. This article contributes with SCAs to economy and society, providing venues to overcoming social and economic exclusion.
Originality/value
Focusing on the role of the economic sector in tackling the different levels of inequalities from a multidisciplinary perspective, this paper addresses the diverse needs of the general public, scientists, as well as politicians. The implementation of SCAs has been demonstrated to improve different contexts contributing to the inclusive and sustainable growth.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to focus on one innovative way through which the European research is contributing to provide scientific evidence about actions that have been demonstrated to successfully reverse the closed cycle of inequality in which many citizens get caught.
Design/methodology/approach
The Communicative Methodology (CM) was applied, combining quantitative and qualitative methods and including the voices of all social agents involved.
Findings
Through the successful actions approach, the INCLUD-ED project has identified five Successful Cooperativist Actions (SCAs) which have been proven to work in the current economy. Aiming at studying the transferability of the SCAs, the project has analysed how these actions are developed in the case of the Mondragon Corporation and La Estrella and La Milagrosa neighbourhoods of Albacete, the poorest neighbourhoods in Spain.
Practical implications
The CM promotes the inclusion of the social groups that are researched achieving results of high value for society. This article contributes with SCAs to economy and society, providing venues to overcoming social and economic exclusion.
Originality/value
Focusing on the role of the economic sector in tackling the different levels of inequalities from a multidisciplinary perspective, this paper addresses the diverse needs of the general public, scientists, as well as politicians. The implementation of SCAs has been demonstrated to improve different contexts contributing to the inclusive and sustainable growth.
Monday, 24 September 2012
Stagnating incomes for the middle, more hardship for the poorest
by Richard Exell via Touchstone from the TUC
Sometimes official statistics throw a light on a completely separate issue and that’s the case with today’s personal finance figures from the government’s Measuring National Well-being project.
This programme dates back to the time when David Cameron wanted to establish his progressive credentials and aims to measure ‘well-being’. I’d guess that most commentators are going to note that average families’ incomes have stopped rising, but the figures also show how a controversial benefit change is going to hit the poorest hardest.
Continue reading here
Hazel’s comment:
I live in a relatively deprived area of the south Midlands and the hardship is noticeable. It’s not so bad for those of us who have a pension coming in regularly but the benefits for those of working age do not allow people to have a balanced diet and still pay the bills for heating and light.
And now the TUC says it will get worse. I try so hard to keep this blog apolitical but …
Sometimes official statistics throw a light on a completely separate issue and that’s the case with today’s personal finance figures from the government’s Measuring National Well-being project.
This programme dates back to the time when David Cameron wanted to establish his progressive credentials and aims to measure ‘well-being’. I’d guess that most commentators are going to note that average families’ incomes have stopped rising, but the figures also show how a controversial benefit change is going to hit the poorest hardest.
Continue reading here
Hazel’s comment:
I live in a relatively deprived area of the south Midlands and the hardship is noticeable. It’s not so bad for those of us who have a pension coming in regularly but the benefits for those of working age do not allow people to have a balanced diet and still pay the bills for heating and light.
And now the TUC says it will get worse. I try so hard to keep this blog apolitical but …
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Making organisational ethnography
an article by Tony J. Watson, (Nottingham University Business School) published in Journal of Organizational Ethnography Volume 1 Issue 1 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the “manifesto” for organisational ethnography being put forward in the first issue of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography.
Design/methodology/approach
The author draws upon several decades of personal experience of field research and ethnographic writing, in and around organisations, to suggest ways in which this type of research and publication can be advanced.
Findings
It is wise to see ethnography as much more than a research method; it is a way of presenting research – research which can be carried out using a variety of investigative methods in addition to the essential activity of intensive field research. To work fully within the spirit of ethnography, it is vital to set organisational activities within the broad societal order of which they are part. Ethnographic researchers should consider undertaking “everyday ethnography” (seeking ethnographic insights in the course of their daily lives) as an element of their studies.
Originality/value
The paper provides a clear and bold guide to the nature and practice of organisational ethnography based on extensive research and writing experience in the field.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the “manifesto” for organisational ethnography being put forward in the first issue of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography.
Design/methodology/approach
The author draws upon several decades of personal experience of field research and ethnographic writing, in and around organisations, to suggest ways in which this type of research and publication can be advanced.
Findings
It is wise to see ethnography as much more than a research method; it is a way of presenting research – research which can be carried out using a variety of investigative methods in addition to the essential activity of intensive field research. To work fully within the spirit of ethnography, it is vital to set organisational activities within the broad societal order of which they are part. Ethnographic researchers should consider undertaking “everyday ethnography” (seeking ethnographic insights in the course of their daily lives) as an element of their studies.
Originality/value
The paper provides a clear and bold guide to the nature and practice of organisational ethnography based on extensive research and writing experience in the field.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Re-moralising or De-moralising?
The Coalition Government’s approach to ‘problematic’ populations: Editorial
Kate Brown and Ruth Patrick (School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds) published in People, Place and Policy Online Volume 6 Issue 1 (2012)
Bringing you an editorial from a journal (which is not always possible without sitting and copy-typing) presents me with a problem: editorials do not have abstracts so my usual copy and paste, tidy up the format and then post the result doesn't work.
I've got round it by copying the first couple of paragraphs and providing you with the URL for the HTML version. NOTE: The link to the PDF for this does not work.
Full text (HTML)
Probably quite useful as it provides links to all the other articles in this issue.
And finally:
for the second time this week I am reminded of a quote from a work of fiction. “The Rivan Codex” by David and Leigh Eddings provides background information for both the Belgariad and the Mallorean fantasy novels and is probably best read after the other 12 books!
Anyway, to this quote:
Kate Brown and Ruth Patrick (School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds) published in People, Place and Policy Online Volume 6 Issue 1 (2012)
Bringing you an editorial from a journal (which is not always possible without sitting and copy-typing) presents me with a problem: editorials do not have abstracts so my usual copy and paste, tidy up the format and then post the result doesn't work.
I've got round it by copying the first couple of paragraphs and providing you with the URL for the HTML version. NOTE: The link to the PDF for this does not work.
The relationship between ‘morality’ and social policy has been a preoccupation of the Coalition Government in the UK since it came to power in May 2010. Social unrest has intensified this interest as well as playing a role in reinvigorating longstanding public debates on the ethics of social welfare. Speaking in the aftermath of the riots and looting which took place in August 2011, the Prime Minister framed the problems in terms of a crisis of moral standards: ‘some of the worst aspects of human nature tolerated, indulged - sometimes even incentivised - by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally de-moralised’ (Cameron, 2011).
Full text (HTML)
Probably quite useful as it provides links to all the other articles in this issue.
And finally:
for the second time this week I am reminded of a quote from a work of fiction. “The Rivan Codex” by David and Leigh Eddings provides background information for both the Belgariad and the Mallorean fantasy novels and is probably best read after the other 12 books!
Anyway, to this quote:
When a philosopher delivered a formal remonstrance to Emperor Ran Borune XXII about the immorality of fomenting war and untold human suffering in Arendia simply for Tolnedran advantage, the Emperor replied blandly, ‘But this is politics, dear fellow, and has nothing to do with morality. One would always be wise to keep the two completely separate. Morality deals with what we might like to do, but politics deals with what we must do. There’s no connection between them at all.’
Monday, 27 February 2012
Basic figures
Just five pages long, the latest of the quarterly series Basic figures on the EU from Eurostat, dated Spring 2012, brings together data on a small number of key indicators in the economic and social fields.
Publication page
Publication page
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Powerlessness corrupts
I recently “re-found” this short essay by Richard Reeves and thought to share it with you in the context of the powerlessness of people to overcome the effects of the recession on their lives.
via Demos Greenhouse by Richard Reeves
Lord Acton famously wrote in 1887 that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. (Actually his Lordship's full name was John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, which takes some beating.) But Acton was thinking about power over others – and in particular arbitrary, unaccountable power. Like Cicero, Rousseau, Harrington, Mill and Madison, Acton feared the consequences of all forms of slavery, not only for the slave but the owner, too.
Autonomy – self-government – is something else. The power to set and alter the trajectory of your own life is not corrupting, but liberating. That's why Demos searches for and communicates ideas to give people more power to shape their own lives. I hate the term “empowerment”, because it presupposes that it is the job of others (the well-educated élite) to improve others: there are few more patronising phrases than “I am here to empower you”. Similarly, discussions of the “devolution” of power start from the presumption that power should ordinarily be held by the officers of the expert state. Any dispersal of power has to justified on economic or efficiency grounds. This is entirely the wrong way round. Witness the conservative alliance of the British Medical Association and UNISON opposing progressive government plans to extend pilots giving people with long-term health conditions their own budgets. But power, like jam, is best spread around. Our starting point should be that power lies in the hands of people, with every step towards centralisation strongly justified in terms of better outcomes for the disenfranchised individuals and communities.
Our vision is a democracy of free citizens, with an equal stake in society. Attaining these goals requires progress along four axes, which guide Demos’s work: more capable citizens; public institutions which enhance independence; opportunities for citizenship; and security. A society of powerful citizens will be better for all. The most disadvantaged in our society are those who lack a sense of power over their own destinies, who live at the mercy of others. The powerless end up detatched from society, politics and community. In the end, it is not power which corrupts, but powerlessness.
via Demos Greenhouse by Richard Reeves
Lord Acton famously wrote in 1887 that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. (Actually his Lordship's full name was John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, which takes some beating.) But Acton was thinking about power over others – and in particular arbitrary, unaccountable power. Like Cicero, Rousseau, Harrington, Mill and Madison, Acton feared the consequences of all forms of slavery, not only for the slave but the owner, too.
Autonomy – self-government – is something else. The power to set and alter the trajectory of your own life is not corrupting, but liberating. That's why Demos searches for and communicates ideas to give people more power to shape their own lives. I hate the term “empowerment”, because it presupposes that it is the job of others (the well-educated élite) to improve others: there are few more patronising phrases than “I am here to empower you”. Similarly, discussions of the “devolution” of power start from the presumption that power should ordinarily be held by the officers of the expert state. Any dispersal of power has to justified on economic or efficiency grounds. This is entirely the wrong way round. Witness the conservative alliance of the British Medical Association and UNISON opposing progressive government plans to extend pilots giving people with long-term health conditions their own budgets. But power, like jam, is best spread around. Our starting point should be that power lies in the hands of people, with every step towards centralisation strongly justified in terms of better outcomes for the disenfranchised individuals and communities.
Our vision is a democracy of free citizens, with an equal stake in society. Attaining these goals requires progress along four axes, which guide Demos’s work: more capable citizens; public institutions which enhance independence; opportunities for citizenship; and security. A society of powerful citizens will be better for all. The most disadvantaged in our society are those who lack a sense of power over their own destinies, who live at the mercy of others. The powerless end up detatched from society, politics and community. In the end, it is not power which corrupts, but powerlessness.
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