Arquivo para a ‘Economia’ Categoria
The virus and its lessons
18
Mar
Suddenly the society that couldn’t stop, the “tiredness society” of the mind-boggling
rhythm, of daily shows, has to resume a vision that you don’t know anymore, stop or at least slow down, stay at home, live with family members that are almost weird.
The fact is that the universe, nature and in it human nature has its laws, and these can be beyond a Big Bang, we can be inside a bubble and whose laws come from “outside” it.
I saw a hashtag go off and was surprised first, but then I gradually understood, mainly young people used #stayfuckatHome in response to “StayAtHome, of course it is not easy for those who never had this cultivated habit, now having to face it.
I was unable to measure both hashtags with the tools, but the universe conspires and makes us stop and stay at home, because events are canceled, there is nothing to do on the street, even the shops give their stop signs, and of course who continue to think on the economic side.
Well we must save the economy, even if it means a rapid explosion of a virus, in short the universe has taught its lesson, it is not the economy that lives for man, but the man who lives for there to be economy, and if it has its own laws, that they do not contradict nature and man, it seems that we have a checkmate.
The lessons for the online universe are twofold, on the one hand, face-to-face resumes a course that should never have left, the face-to-face relational world and fraternal circles and on the other the need for relationships that are public or private to have adequate online tools.
Conflict exists at both ends, nor do we make satisfactory face-to-face relationships, are elusive, authoritarian or worse, indifferent, and we don’t even know how to behave in the online world (the virtual exists before the internet and the digital universe), and always who criticize use it badly and do not understand the “logic” of this universe that asks for relations different from those in person.
Now we have to schedule online meetings, use chats and videos and finally we will go beyond religious and ideological preaching to non-face-to-face relationships that are in fact “relationship”, because virtual comes from the Latin “virtus” which is similar to “potential” either saying we must “cultivate” the virtual to become a real relationship (virtue comes from virtus), the face-to-face does not guarantee the “relationship”.
The great lesson, there will be many others, is that we must share and share responsibilities to overcome the pandemic crisis, which is already social and economic, and depends on the attitude of each one.
An incomplete ontology: the affirmation of Being
21
Feb
The Wheel of Fortune is chance because the logic of laissez faire, chance brought to
the economy, is also the logic of the affirmation of Being, in the classic sense; Being is and Non-Being is not, there is no becoming.
Non-Being is also Being, the affirmation, the will to Power, takes with it the logic of war, dualism, Manichaeism and its destiny is war, the difficulty of understanding the Other, the dialogue made as a form of hypocrisy , because in the end, it is the negation of the Other and the affirmation of Being, in the logic “we have the truth”, even if it is said in a religious way, it is its negation.
The impossibility of coexistence, from where physical violence arises, even psychological and moral violence, the unconscious desire to demoralize and undermine the Other, which is in this non-Being logic, and thus the moment that passes is lived in a false way, as fleeting and with the sense of maximum affirmation of the Being.
It seems crazy to say that non-Being is also, but it is precisely in its exercise that we deny war, we deny conflict as necessary, we make dualism become sincere dialogue and we can enter the logic of the Other and discover a complement of Being, while not-Being.
To affirm that the Non-Being is destroys the logic of power, exclusion, conflict, because it allows the Other to exist, denies psychopolitics because there is no need for the “psychic” oppression of the Other, to affirm the Same, the mirror, even which exercised collectively, is a selfish knot and tied exclusively to its own power and pleasure.
So say contemporary speeches about philosophy, which fill audiences and praise philosophers and eloquent religious: “you came to win, assert yourself, say you are the best”, etc.
The complete ontology is also opposed to religious fundamentalism and the Pharisaic, because it is also exercised as a non-Being, says the evangelist Mateus on the Master’s teaching to his disciples (Mt 5.38): “You have heard what has been said (yet the it is in our day): I look for another and tooth for tooth !, But I say to you: “do not face that it is evil” On the contrary, if someone slaps you on the right face, it also offers you the left! ”, here it is the “hidden” logic of non-Being.
From darkness to light
24
Jan
The relationship between tradition and change is greater than you can think, even Marx went to study English economists, German idealism and
French politics to think about his change, it is a fact that this thought today is already part of tradition, so what will be the new ?
We started the week talking about Buzzwords, however the big change that happens nowadays is in the aspect of production and consumption the digital change, the market and the hurryers already use the word “digital transformation”, a strong buzzword, however it is not about ignore it, but understand in the context of the changes that are taking place.
All the tones of the change agree that one must think about collective forms of work, of thought, however what is called collective is in different social, economic and even religious niches, it is a “us” closed in groups and currents of thought .
Tradition seeks the center, where power and wealth are, change seeks the periphery.
However, it is from the crisis that the light is born, it is curious that the Bible prophecy, as well as the text of Matthew (Mt 4,15): “Land of Zabulon, land of Neftali, way of the sea, region on the other side of the Jordan River , Galilee of the pagans! ”Speaks of a people and a land far from religion and where Jesus went to gather his first disciples, because the“ religious ”were Pharisees.
And dialogue with tradition, yes, Jesus will dialogue with Pharisees all the time, what lesson can be taken for the contemporary world and its cultural and spiritual crisis.
The new needs “new wineskins”, so new wine in a new barrel, but the culture of wine is not disregarded but improves its appreciation and production, it is not a new process, but a planting in new soil, in fertile land and where hearts are open.
World and the Post 2015´s Agend
11
Jul
When the UN organized its Post 2015 Development Agenda, it appeared that civil
society organizations were moving towards a greater focus on poverty and hunger, urban planning and education, nuclear disarmament and women’s empowerment, others subjects related to the person, the struggle for greater perks and powers, the return of nationalism moved in the opposite direction.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in September 2014 “Our world needs more wind and solar energy. But I believe in an even stronger source of energy, people’s power”, the path seemed safe and was not, one can now evaluate the error.
The numbers that preceded the conservative turnaround were still “very unequal” in Latin America, Eduardo Frei affirmed that the Chile that governed from 1994-2000, with several initiatives that promoted democracy and social justice, had reduced poverty by 38.6% to 7.8% of the population, and extreme poverty from 13% to 2.5%, but by 2015 Latin America had another profile, despite GDP growth from 2015 to 2018 (photo above).
It was still a region “more unequal” than another, of its 600 million inhabitants still 167 million lived in poverty and 71 million in extreme poverty, this contrast reveals a dangerous and deep social gap, according to the own Frei in 2015.
Regarding the future, Frei affirms that the struggle against poverty and inequalities demanded another effort on an ethical basis, and at this crossroads, it would be time for governments to give greater impetus to the “moral movement” that did not happen.
Juan Somavia, former Director of the International Labor Organization, said in the post 2015 agenda that a good basis for negotiations would be: “the document reflects an extremely ambitious vision with its 17 goals and 69 indicators centered on the concept of sustainable development focused on people and eradicating poverty, “saying that UN political support was critical.
In 20th birthday of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which was adopted in 2000, said that the problem of poverty eradication was echoed by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) : productive employment and social integration have been excluded, and it is not mere coincidence. And social integration is a broader concept when we think of global citizenship.
Earth-planetarism, a planetary worldview
09
Jul
We have already mentioned that the worldview depends on a vision of the
cosmos and life itself, there is still a citizen worldview, Edgar Morin called the land-fatherland and what I call earth-planetaryism. Seeing the planet as Patria, as “common house” in the religious mystical vision, as Gaia in a mythological view, incorporate this view, for the planet itself, living beings including animals and plants and cultures that are the citizenship of living peoples in the Planet.
Broaden a cosmos-planetary view of the Earth they inhabit. In Edgar Morin’s book he traces in chapters 2 and 3 what this planetary identity would be, and at the same time reveals an exhaustion and planetary agony, there is something that involves beyond the traditions and cultural issues at stake, the worldview depends on how man sees himself as a whole, and this implies an advanced worldview, which admits the new telescopes, which made the Copernican revolution, which are now the new media.
Terraplanism is the most extreme side of this view, but attachment to an earlier view of quantum physics, black holes, the view of a multi-verse implies that the planetary cosmovision is still enlightened and idealistic, stuck to an idea of citizenship , of state and of planet that already is much surpassed, and agonizes in successive crises. In the book by Morin and Anne Brigitte Kern, they point out that the key phenomenon to understand this crisis of planetary proportions is “moral, psychic and intellectual underdevelopment” (Morin and Kern, 2011, 115), including development, and the proliferation of holistic “hollow” ideals and of mutilated visions, the loss of the global, the fundamental and the responsibility “(ibid.).
Broadening this vision requires abandoning pseudo-planetary principles that are Eurocentrists, third-worldists, imperialists and neocolonizers present in the “saviors of the homeland” are left or right, generally unrelated and limited worldview.
A new planetary vision, which respects nature itself, demands a vision of an even wider universe that was thought by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and the Enlightenment, the eternal dualism materialism x idealism, the imperial religiosity of some religions.
Lack of wisdom to the humble and humility to the wise, it is time to rethink the thought, as Edgar Morin wanted, a time of transdisciplinarity of multi-verse (several universes).
MORIN, E., KERN, A.B. Terra Pátria (Earth homeland.) Trad. Paulo Neves. 6th. edition, Sulina Publishing, Brazil, 2011.
This presentation of the Edgar Morin in SESC in São Paulo Brasil, he talks about this subject:
Pause time: can we
26
Nov
There is still a remnant of November and December already appearing on the horizon,
everyone is waiting for something we should always do: pause, wait and meet with friends and family, the question is: do we succeed?
Looking at the world, the dark signs continue, bigger than liquids, because if something were really changed from the solid to the liquid, it would even be desirable because something is moving, but it seems like the sameness, everything is going to look the same.
The protests against Macron and his taxes, is not so different from Portugal or Brazil, the state is huge and weighs on society, who will pay the bills, and the retirees will be the ones who will pay the bill? uncertainties and a single thing really clear: crisis of time.
There are signs of a revival, a word used by the philosopher Martha Nussbaum, I would say yes, but just where the heaviest criticism falls: the globalized world, the internet and the “solid” state that is taking a darker, dangers right.
I participated in a 100 year event of Priest Manuel Antunes, this transdisciplinary man, was the theme of a lecture written with a friend in his work Repensar Portugal, said that it was necessary to seek in politics, the “temperate zones” where human nature is more comfortable, but the 2018 sample is from more radicalized regions, in the bad sense of the term.
It is necessary to pause, even when forced and in discomfort, to look at the future so that it is possible to have hope, peace and a closer approach of the peoples, the national radicalism is perverse, Europe sews a possible agreement for the exit of England from the block , the so-called Brexit.
The US ends the end of the year with the dreamed Trump Wall, and Mexicans pushing across the wall, proving that it was not a solution but the announcement of a crisis.
New governments to the right in Brazil and Colombia, the left in Mexico wins after many years of a party monopolizing power, while Nicaragua and Venezuela parade catastrophic left-wing governments, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay are in temperate zones.
Thinking about a more integrated world, climate issue and income distribution has become more difficult, what can be expected is a vigorous reaction of human thought, man has always been able to face the challenges that have appeared, perhaps the retreat is a resumption
Web Summit in Lisbon
08
Nov
One of the biggest events of the Web was this week, it was a side event, I could only 
follow videos and news, undoubtedly the biggest star was the founder of the Web Tim-Berners Lee who already has a great new project, although he has spoken between the lines.
He started an interview, which in fact he spoke at will without many questions saying the beginning of the Web and how his growth was also surprising for him, he told technical details like “I wrote the code of the first server and the code of the first browser, it was called WorldWideWeb.app “and was on info.cern.ch.
He then said that his concern is the same as everyone, after 25 years we should deal with: cyberbullying, misinformation, hate speech, privacy issues and said what many are talking about, “What the hell could go wrong?” to the public: “in the first 15 years … great things have happened. We had Wikipedia, the Khan Academy, blogs, we had cats, “he said jokingly, adding:” Connected Humanity should be more constructive, more peaceful, than Humanity disconnected”, but jnt (just not).
“Because we are almost at the point where half of the world will be online”, explained the British engineer was referring to the ’50 / 50′ moment, that is half the connected humanity expected in 50 years, but it should reach this point in May 2019.
After trying to argue the responsibilities of governments and companies, I believe they can happen but they will be slow, he spoke indirectly of his SOLID (Social Linked Data) project, stating that “as individuals we have to hold corporations and governments accountable for what is happening on the internet ” and “the idea is, from now on, everyone is responsible for making the Web a better place, “said encouraging start-ups too to get into this process.
Thinking about the development of interfaces where users know people from different cultures, but above all ensure the universality of the Web, according to Berners-Lee the main aspect should be (speaking indirectly again of SOLID) that the popular intervention at global level and that made the Web “just a platform, without attitude, that should be independent, can be used for any kind of information, any culture, any language, any hardware, software”, linked data may help this.
Tim Berners-Lee presented the #ForTheWeb movement on the same day that his World Wide Web Foundation released the report “The Case for the Web”, the event had a superaudience, more than 30 thousand people, there are several videos, but the Opening Ceremony is one of the most outstanding and has Tim-Berners Lee as well, see on vídeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkzNZKCxM
The will to power and the sacred
19
Oct
It is a fact that Nietzsche’s concepts are strong: in our instincts the ideas of the will for power
are always present, while nothing changes we remain in the eternal return (Ewige Wiederkehr) and we imagine a superman (übermensch), however this is a form of emptying, nihilism.
There are other instincts that bind us to the sacred, the idea of serving and respect for the other (which are the limits to our will), and without them any scope of our social relation can fall into what I will call “social nihilism”, or that is, the emptying of social thought.
Limited to the will to power, it is only our instincts that speak, and the attitudes even in politics become emotional, in love in the bad sense, it is possible to fall in love with the Good.
I place Capital well because it should not be confused with the Manichaean good, by imagining that we are fighting against an often symbolic “evil” (read Paul Ricoeur’s The Symbolic of Evil) we return in “eternal return” to our instincts of power and intolerance.
The point that Nietzsche was right about is that such instincts exist, they lead to the false concept of authority as an iron hand, and these lead to totalitarianisms, even in everyday life, that empty the sense of education, of service, what I call of “social nihilism”.
Linked to the sacred this concept is purified, can become generosity, benevolence and even a theological virtue that is “charity”, and without this “social nihilism” is a way. This is what makes even people with good intention fall into the temptation of the blue fly, power for power, even the disciples who walked beside Jesus had this “temptation”, ask Jesus in your kingdom: “let us sit a right and another to your left “(Mc, 10,37).
Jesus will say that they do not know what they are asking, we would say today they do not know what they choose, the idea of a strong power that solves deep social issues, that depend on a new worldview, to leave the eternal return, depends on the mobilization of the popular will and not of a stronger central power.
Is a temptation also for those who defend the social. It was the idea of a strong state, led by leaders with “charisma”, who led the world to a second world war, the networked society, and the network are people, needs to get out of their “social nihilism”.
It know what it takes to go through sacrifices to change, Jesus asked the apostles who wanted to sit beside him: “Can ye drink the cup that I drink?” Mk 10,38.
The great change we need requires a global citizenship, not a return to Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” time, even though the feeling of nation and people is good
Sustainability and economy
09
Oct
Economic Nobel laureates William Nordhaus of Yale University and Paul Romer of New York 
University, though the entire press is talking only about the weather aspect, has the technology side as fundamental, Romer has made important theses in this area.
I leave the comments on William Nordhaus on “Economics and Policy Issues in Climate Change” for economists and ecologists, I can not assess the scope of their work.
Romer won mainly for his work “Increasing Returns and Long Run Growth” because the joint award is justified by the aspect of sustainability, but his work “Endogenous Technological Change” has equal importance.
Just to get an idea, the technology article has more than 27,000 quotations, because the central thesis that technology helps the development, contradicts the fallacy that technology harms the development and helps the concentration of income, against this also worked Elinor Ostrom (the first woman Nobel laureate in economics), Saskia Sassen and even the Marxist Frederic Jamenson.
The definition requires knowledge of the Solow Grow Growth Model (Jones, 1988), which indicates that exogenous technical progress is understood as external influence, as well as endogenous is what has internal influence, ie central, since the analyzes are endogenously.
This happens for reasons not explained in the model, the endogenous innovation techniques of change assign technical progress to systematic efforts by economic agents, an innovation is clearly not a predicted factor in a system.
The model explains, for example, how many companies could start spending resources by improving technology rather than simply increasing amounts of resources and capital, one might think, but the company will lay off, it is not so.
If the additional costs are only relative to technology they can and are generally smaller than the investments in liabilities and personnel, it is not directly justifying the layoffs, what happens is that the innovation disables some functions, but creates new, often in number equal or even higher and with higher salaries for specialization.
To understand these effects there is a work, what I read for this post, written with Luis A. Rivera-Batiz (pdf), titled. “International trade with endogenous technological change”, in which they use two fundamental sectors in the industry: a research and development sector that produces innovations, and another, manufacturing.
Jones C (1998). Introduction to Economic Growth. W.W. Norton, 1998, 1rst Edition, 2002 Second Edition.
Between ingenuity, innocence and malice
05
Oct
Naïve (ingenus in Latim) comes from ingenuus, that is, free from birth, the naive does not have malice,
it is a quality, especially for children, but of these we must say innocence, there is no acquisition of knowledge and experience, yet a capacity to discern between evil in day-to-day attitudes, those who vote are not innocent.
Perhaps some naïve, but without excuse to cooperate with what is confessedly hateful, disrespectful to the human being whatever race, belief or party, what can be seen is that general disbelief can lead to attitudes that do not perceive malice and cunning.
It is important to keep from childhood some purity of feeling, a belief in life and in people, but it is dangerous if maturity does not come and cruelty is not perceived.
Words, behavior, and even people’s gaze can say a great deal, it is unacceptable, so that adults, who are the people who vote, do not perceive malice. It is a fact that we have reached a point of social, moral and even affective imbalance, which cannot admit is that this justifies violence of some kind, which offends everyone.
Let’s make an option, which should last 4 years, the structure of the country will be decided now.
Any violation of fundamental rights, of opinion, of coming and going, of civil rules will be unacceptable, and will certainly be opposed by many Brazilians who have fought for democracy.
We also hope that a probable second round will bring more debate on the proposal and what the program of the candidates for the second round is, and we will overcome the confusing stage of debates in this first round of the Brazilian election.
May we still look upon the innocence of a child and wish him the best future.
