Sustainable Economics

A enlightening speech from Richard Douthwaite (NGO Director, Economist, Journalist) about the difference between Growth Driven Economics and Sustainable Economics. Part one is here, part two is here.
I have always been convinced that the way the World Economy is driven (based on more growth, more consumption, more people, more pollution, more strain on the natural resources) is madness and I am glad to see that some people agree :) but also that there are alternatives to it.

Vote for me

How the electorate is irrational, from The Economist. Article here.

ANYONE who follows an election campaign too closely will sometimes get the feeling that politicians think voters are idiots. A new book says they are. Or rather, Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University, makes the slightly politer claim that voters systematically favour irrational policies. In a democracy, rational politicians give them what they (irrationally) want. In “The Myth of the Rational Voter”, Mr Caplan explains why this happens, why it matters and what we can do about it.

I like the work bias a lot:
The make-work bias is best illustrated by a story, perhaps apocryphal, of an economist who visits China under Mao Zedong. He sees hundreds of workers building a dam with shovels. He asks: “Why don't they use a mechanical digger?” “That would put people out of work,” replies the foreman. “Oh,” says the economist, “I thought you were making a dam. If it's jobs you want, take away their shovels and give them spoons.”

The Century of the Self

This BBC documentary in 4 parts shows you how groups can be controlled very effectively and democracy can be tricked a bit here and there...


"To many in both politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society in Britain and the United States. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?"

I even found the 4 parts of the documentary on Google Video!
Part 1, here. Part2, here. Part 3, here. Part 4, here.

More info here.

Sicko

Sicko: The truth about the US healthcare system.

Michael Moore's new film is a damning indictment of the way the world's richest country looks after those who fall ill. Andrew Gumbel finds out whether his accusations are justified.

Full article here.

The Triumph of Faith over Experience

The Creation Museum opened in Petersburg, Kentucky, on May 28th. Here impressionable youngsters can watch awesome animatronic dinosaurs interacting with primitive humans, just as Genesis implies they did, shortly after the beginning of time one Monday morning in 4004BC.

The museum's aim is to teach visitors how to answer attacks on the Bible's authority in geology, biology and so on, while providing a “family-friendly experience”. The founder, Ken Ham, raised $27m from thousands of pious donors to build it. The exhibits are as whizzy as any in a theme park. But starting with scripture and trying to force the facts to fit makes for odd science.

The museum says that, if Noah took two of every animal on his ark, he must have had dinosaurs. Could dinosaurs have fitted into a boat only 300 cubits (about 135m) long? “It is likely that God brought young adults. Being smaller, they would be easier to care for.”

Read the whole article here.

Funny Stuff

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