I have a sketchy idea that "Hunger" is a "Moral" decline.. not a "Resources" or a "Distribution" one..
Do you share that?
Macro Economics are political, while Micro Economics are social.. Geopolitics is often immoral, while Sociopolitics are..
The meant paradox aims to transform Politics into a moral perspective, while elevate the Politics of social practices..
Disposal of crops' surplus is macro/political; while wasted tomato in festival is micro/social..
I can live with La-Tomatina, Oktobarfest, Cité des Citrons, or Adha's waste meat; but I agree on need to denounce the dumping of surpluses, the use crops for alcohol manufacturing, improper processing of sacrifice meat, as well as the electricity consumption to watch extravaganza's and late TV shows..!!
Macro/political economies do not care for interests of various groups, but for generating an equilibrium between resources and supplies.. Nations which dump surplus in a way or another, are not short of supplies.. But nations of true hunger are.. The rich ones should "morally" provide the surplus for the ones in short.. This would introduce a new (morality) factor to the markets; which would disturb the stable equilibrium of "Greed and Control".. which no one dares to; despite the implicit conviction of invalidity..!
Till decades ago, who had a successful business would upgrade the quality of his business, outlet and household.. There were no concepts of "Branching" or "Expansion" as principles of business management were very simple: You have to Manage your own Biz..!!
Then , post WWII; it was the breakthrough concept;: "If You Don't Grow; You Would Decline"; supported by MBAs and Biz Leaders.. Then we continue to hear about "Expansions" phenomenon till date..
Factually; Greed had ridden Expansions.. Fueling the great evolving supply chains.. This is the fact of today's biz world.. It is hard to reverse the history of biz evolution or seduction of multiple profits..
Agreed; that "Transformation" is eventually and inevitably coming, understandably slow.. but on what cost.. Current hardships will continue to ignite increasing unrests..
Moonfleet Eldai
ReplyDeleteSurplus crops from exporting countries get dumped into the sea or set alight to keep the price levels up. Then there's also the tomato throwing festival in Spain. The waste may not eradicate the hunger problem but would definitely help contain it to some degree.
Then of course the frequent pointless wars that occupy land and labor resources under superficial pretexts. particularly in Africa. So yeah, I agree it's a moral decline that precipitates hunger.
Michael Aschenbach
ReplyDeleteThe map implies that there is no hunger in "industrialized countries" which is not true. Yes, the problem is partly, maybe even largely, moral rather than lack of supply.
Moonfleet Eldai
ReplyDeleteThat makes total sense. The micro/social combination can be ameliorated by spreading awareness and therefore you'd benefit the needy within the state. But it's the macro/political one that is harder to reconcile with if you're the decision maker or the consumer at the receiving end. When you think about it, it's in the interest of the farmers if prices are maintained so as to recover the costs of farming & remain competitive in a global market esp if governments don't provide subsidies to farmets. But also it is not so in the interest of people in very poor countries to watch all that food dumped. You see the delimma there. Do you perceive a way through with this ?
Michael Aschenbach
ReplyDeleteThe entire dynamic of the planetary economic system is being re-thought and evolved specifically because of problems of inequity. But it is also true that we see the worst expressions of greed just as we are beginning toward shift to a more conscious and moral framework. Nevertheless, transformation is coming.
Moonfleet Eldai
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that greed and gluttony are addictive and too powerful to overcome
Zahid Hussain Khalid
ReplyDeleteYes Michael Aschenbach, "...we see the worst expressions of greed just as we are beginning toward shift to a more conscious and moral framework. Nevertheless, transformation is coming." The process of transformation is understandably slow.
Michael Aschenbach
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has sensitivity toward what ought to be, what could be, what will eventually be, must feel the horror of how slow it is in coming. But it is that very feeling that things are not right as they are that pulls transformation into being. Slowly but inexorably, more and more people reject greed, violence, and division and call for sharing, peace, and unity. We can see the beauty of the vision of human possibility and we long for a higher way. What I strive for is to balance peace in the present moment with intense focus on efforts toward something better. This is really as natural as brushing one's teeth, tending to one's health, educating one's mind and soul. We are all small, even the greatest business leaders, the transformation emerges out of the sum of many people responding to a divine call. This is how I see it, anyway. What is important is each person's next step. That's all.