03-07-2011, 10:57 AM
Greg Burnham Wrote:The education of which I speak isn't all that difficult to accomplish. I am not suggesting "EDUCATION" as in brick and mortar attendance. I'm talking about sharing SIMPLE INFORMATION--stuff that we have known for a century--with those who need to know about it now. If we don't help them to learn how to make their water potable, how to voluntarily limit the size of their families, how to produce more food for themselves, how to be self sufficient and get off of the "debt wagon" that we very artfully taught them about years ago--if we don't do those things then their problems will be bound to become our problems. In my view, those problems are already our problems. We're just too afraid to do the right thing. We bought into Malthusianism over a century ago, coupled it with Darwinism and now live in fear of extinction.
All very idealistic. And patronising to boot.
For a start, you seem to think only the third world countries are travelling on the 'debt wagon'. America's private debt level currently sits at about 53 trillion dollars--dwarfing even America's massive public debt. First world countries are every bit addicted to debt as third world countries. You make the same mistake neoclassical economists make by only considering public debt and ignoring private debt.
Why would third world countries comply with pompous lecturing from first world counties who already consume far more than their fair share of the world's resources? And why should they? Sounds like a solution dreamed up by a right wing think tank.