Arquivo para a ‘Economia’ Categoria
Perspective of war and intoxication of the spirit
19
Feb
The tone and actions of a non-stop war are
expanding, there are few nations and voices that are not under what the century-old philosopher Edgar Morin calls “collective intoxication”, and calls for there to be resistance capable of reacting to all the lies spread .
The commander of NATO forces, Chris Cavoli, announced an army of 90 thousand men, and an exercise called Steadfast Defender 2024, which should take place in May, with 50 ships, from aircraft carriers to destroyers, 80 fighters, helicopters and drones participating. and more than 1,100 combat vehicles, including 133 tanks and 533 infantry vehicles.
Russia misleads and says it would not invade Latvia and Poland, it took the city of Avdviika (photo) once and for all, one of the strategic fronts and where the war is most violent, Zelensky minimizes the loss by stating that he retreated to “save lives”, however the war remains bloody.
In an interview this Sunday (18/02) Putin says that Ukraine “is a matter of life and death” for the country, the death of opponent Navalny had repercussions throughout the world and will be a watershed for those who clearly support a regime warlike and authoritarian.
In the Gaza strip, the city of Rafah with millions of Palestinian refugees remains under Israeli threat, a hospital was invaded because there was news that “hostages were there”, but they were not found, only weapons and with the invasion patients in the ICU died.
There are international calls for Israel not to put civilians at risk, the majority of whom are taking refuge in Rafah, and Egypt has built a huge wall so that they cannot flee to Egypt and this puts thousands of women, children and other civilians at risk. who are there and have nowhere to escape.
Negotiations become more difficult with each Israeli action and the involvement of Iran and other Arab countries becomes more inevitable every day, it will be on this front that a possible 3rd. war will occur, the resistance of the spirit claimed by the century-old philosopher and educator Edgar Morin must fight against fanaticism and hatred that only spread death and war.
In a previous interview published in the Italian newspaper La Reppublica, Morin had said: “all war embodies Manichaeism, unilateral propaganda, war hysteria, espionage, lies, the preparation of increasingly deadly weapons, errors and illusions, unexpected events and surprises”, it takes a resistance of the Spirit for Peace.
Hypocrisy and power
06
Feb
In the analysis of political and ideological currents,
the notion and problem of hypocrisy is neglected, so it is possible to defend democracy by defending autocratic attitudes, by combating corruption, to justify elements of active and passive corruption, in fact, the active one which is the fact of offering illegal compensation (and it is not said what is illegal) and passive is when a public official receives undue compensation (when possible) from third parties.
The term hypocrisy in ancient Greek (hypocritás) is similar to the current one, it is when a social actor intentionally acts in a simulated way, in acts or words, that hide how he thinks or how he actually acts, the rule today is to say the opposite to confuse public opinion.
As a term used by contemporary authors, I remember Machiavelli, as critics of political reason, and Foucault, who sees it as a central element of power relations, although his analysis moves to the psychological field.
Byung Chul-Han’s psychopolitics moves to the media field, the author believes that the power of digital media facilitates this type of relationship, although he does not directly call it hypocrisy, but gives an interesting recipe in his book “What is power”, “The modern loss of faith, which does not only concern God and the beyond, but reality itself, makes human life radically transitory”, so there is nothing perennial, since everything changes.
The basis of modern hypocrisy is to induce man to believe in a life of ease, what Byung Chul-Han calls an excess of positivity, pain and sacrifice have been abolished, “We forget that pain purifies. The culture of enjoyment lacks the possibility of catharsis. Thus, we suffocate it with the residues [Schlacken] of positivity, which accumulate beneath the surface of the tanning culture.”
This makes man happier, the answer is the opposite of what society promises, depression, bipolarity and boredom are contemporary diseases, “Depression is the illness of a society that suffers under an excess of positivity”.
Men and women, freed from this society of performance, exercise, and despiritualized asceticism, without suspicious and persecutory attitudes, become more affable: “Ordinary men and women, given the opportunity for a happy life, will become more gentle and less persecutory and inclined to view others with suspicion.”
It is possible to reestablish mutual trust, healthy relationships, empathy and fraternity, making society healthier and less conflictual.
Han, Byung-Chul. (2018) What is power?. NY; Wiley.
Resistance or catastrophe
30
Jan
So says the article by the century-old thinker and
educator Edgar Morin, in the article for the Italian newspaper La Reppublica, we are “heading towards probable catastrophes”.
And he asks: Is this catastrophism? This word exorcises evil and gives an illusory serenity. The polycrisis that we are experiencing across the planet is an anthropological crisis: it is the crisis of humanity that cannot become Humanity, the word polycrisis has already been used by the author in other contexts: that of thought, the ecological and social crisis, now he adds one anthropological, other authors say the age crisis of the anthropocene.
He, like other authors, pointed to this crisis, but believed that a change of direction was possible, now it seems too late, “we don’t know if the world situation is desperate or really desperate”, it doesn’t mean with or without hope, like or without despair , we have to move on to a Resistance, and now different from that of the 2nd. war in which France was occupied by the Nazis (photo), now the world is occupied by polarization and hatred.
The facts and situations drag us into an unprecedented war, “we are condemned to suffer the struggle between two imperialist giants with the possible warlike intervention of a third”, as the author says, “the first resistance is that of the spirit, which must be capable of resisting the intimidation of all the lies spread as truth and the contagion of all collective drunkenness”, calls for a spirit of sobriety and of those who believe, of faith and hope.
Today we must know how to resist hatred and contempt, “it requires the effort to understand the complexity of problems without ever giving in to a partial or unilateral vision. It requires research, verification of information and acceptance of uncertainties” wrote Morin.
This “resistance also implies the coordination of associations that are dedicated to solidarity and the rejection of hate. Resistance would thus prepare young generations to think and act through the forces of union, fraternity, life and love.”
It’s not about finding justice in some kind of hate, but hating the hate itself, it’s not about cheering for this or that side of the war, but making war on war itself.
The resistance that Morin calls for must involve all people of good will and solidarity among those who truly know the consequences of such a war, beyond speech.
War in Balochistan
22
Jan
I believe that most people ignore the
existence of this region, which makes up 44% of Pakistan’s territory, it was bombed by Iran last week (16/01), in response Pakistan bombed Iran, starting a conflict that could escalate between the countries, in the same week that it bombed targets in Syria and Iraq.
According to Pakistan, the missiles on Thursday (18/1) targeted “terrorist hideouts” and killed 9 people, all of this means that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps army has taken action, as tensions between the Houthis and the US grow. in the red sea.
Something little publicized, but which is strategic in the world economy, is the economic route that starts in Gwadar in Balochistan to Kashgar (China), China has invested in land routes.
The region of Baluchistan (map) has more than 12 million inhabitants, is rich in gold ore and is considered a kind of “lawless land”, but more than economic interest, what the war awakens there is the alert and the readiness of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that signals against Israel in tension in the Gaza Strip.
The war in Ukraine also worsens tensions, the harsh rhetoric of Macron’s French government, which stated that “Russia cannot win the war” hardens NATO tensions with harsh attacks on several Ukrainian cities causing chaos in the country.
The narratives seek to justify to the right or to the left what is obvious: the civilian population suffers, on a larger scale the world population if a recession comes, relations from economic to social worsen and peace becomes increasingly distant.
There are no justifications for a “just war”, if in the past rigid territorial divisions and the “wealth of nations” (a classic by Adam Smith, which Marx read to write Capital) were a reality, today only the justification of power and of greed justify neocolonialism.
One breaks with the truth, with common sense and even with reason, in order to justify a logic of power, as Plato said in antiquity: “If a city of good men were to arise, it is likely that people would fight to escape. of power, as we now struggle to obtain it, and it would become evident that, in truth, the authentic ruler must not aim at his own interest, but at that of the governed” (Plato, The Republic).
Wars, narratives and cruelty
18
Dec
It was scary that in times of pandemic there were
groups, people and even leaders who cared little about the sudden death of people who were infected by the COVID-19 virus. An increase in solidarity and compassion was to be expected, but it did not happen.
Now with the wars that are escalating and reaching countries that orbit around ideologies, they awaken a feeling of hatred, revenge and terror that borders on psychopathy, not having sympathy for the brutal death of a human being, whoever it may be, has a certain psychopathy.
There is no shortage of narratives, even apocalyptic fatalism, as if human evil was justified by some sincere religious feeling, everything that is not love and compassion should never be linked to a divine connection or a sincere humanitarian feeling.
Chinese social media giant Tik Tok released data on fake accounts that spread disinformation about Russia’s war with Ukraine last Wednesday (12/13) in an attempt to “artificially amplify pro-Russian narratives,” the report says verbatim .
The site directed videos to Ukrainian, Russian and European users, falsely labeled as official news outlets, seeking to confuse the real data of the war.
Also regarding the war against Hamas, the data released is not always what witnesses, not only pro-Palestinian, but also bodies present for humanitarian aid in Gaza, report that there are deaths of civilians and cruelty also against the population, which is not all Muslim and not pro-Hamas, does not in any way mean justifying Hamas’ terrorist acts, but simply establishing the truth.
Fortunately, the conversations between the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana (photo), despite there being no agreement on the disputed territory of Essequibo, the dispute was agreed in the diplomatic field without involving military forces, we hope that the word will remain.
The United States once again moves maritime forces close to North Korea due to intercontinental ballistic missile fire, which caused an immediate American reaction.
The year-end scenario is worrying due to the forces involved, so far countries such as Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Syria and Yemen, potential allies against Israel, remain in diplomatic threats, while Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt still remain in conflict. diplomatic pressure, an all-out war in the region would be catastrophic and trigger a global war.
Ukraine without progress, Hamas in trouble and Guyana
11
Dec
Winter is just beginning and Ukraine lives in
constant bombings made by drones in Kiev, on the front few advances the so-called counteroffensive did not happen due to Russia’s strategy of installing mines on the combat front, Ukraine’s only advance was crossing the Dnipro river In the North, little or nothing is done in the field of negotiations.
With the dominance of Russia and the decline in aid to Ukraine, not only in Western countries, but also in the USA, where promises of support are blocked in congress, the number of nationalist governments is growing and that plan to maintain national reserves than support an external war, Finland and Sweden, which fear a Russian attack, reinforce their arsenal, and in Finland’s case the border was closed.
With an attack in the middle of the war, Hamas saw Israel withdraw from the truce negotiations and the war resumed, there is no prospect of peace and the Arab countries tried to approve a UN resolution of truce, but the United States, Israel’s ally, vetoed it. .
Hamas continues to suffer heavy losses with Israel present massively in the north of the Gaza strip (photo), certainly the leaders must be out of the country, but its military structure in Gaza is being destroyed, even the complex of tunnels built that gave Hamas security and mobility, some made under hospitals that they used as human shields.
The danger that Hamas did not count on was the strategic and military support from the USA, but the opposition from Iran and some Arab countries, where there are groups similar to Hamas, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, in recent years, is increasingly strong. Now Hassan Fadlallah, the group’s political leader, said that Israel’s air strikes are a new escalation of war against the group.
There are more than 70 small conflicts across the globe, they are not forgotten here, we talk about coups and violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the east there is always tension between China and Taiwan, but in the escalation of a third war Venezuela’s willingness to invade comes into play. the Essequibo region, today belonging to Guyana, which is rich in oil.
Brazil has already sent troops to the border, at the moment it is just about preserving the national territory, however Lula oscillates between support and criticism of Maduro who approved a popular consultation on the subject, the United States sent planes to the region in a military exercise air force in support of Guyana.
The good news is that there is a round of dialogue scheduled for next Thursday (14/12) between Guyana and Venezuela, but for Guyana there is no question of giving up part of its territory, the Essequibo region represents more than 70% of the territory and is rich in oil.
The water problem
22
Nov
One of the serious differences between developed
and developing countries is the serious global crisis in water resources, which has a direct correlation with social inequalities.
In regions where water shortages are at critical levels, such as some Arab countries and even Latin America and mainly on the African continent, where the average water consumption per person is nineteen cubic meters/day, or fifteen liters/person may seem exaggerated, but baths and washing utensils and clothes should be considered.
Just for comparison purposes, in New York there is a consumption of clean and drinkable fresh water of two thousand liters/day per person, of course this is an exaggeration, clothes and utensils are washed with drinking water.
According to Unicef, less than half of the world’s population has access to drinking water, irrigation accounts for 73% of water consumption and 21% goes to industry, only 6% is for domestic consumption while one billion and 200 million people ( 35% of the world’s population) do not have access to treated water.
One billion and 800 million people do not have adequate basic sanitation services and thus the realization that ten million people die as a result of intestinal diseases transmitted by water, a basic resource for life, water is neglected.
Giving drink to those who are thirsty is not a catchphrase, it is a vital necessity
Concrete actions against poverty
21
Nov
At first glance, the solutions may seem simplistic:
injecting capital and distributing goods to the poor, but in the medium- and long-term concrete measures and public policies are needed.
The human resources necessary to produce, combat and help in extreme cases of poverty are necessary and this means production, as if there were very advanced equipment, but without people who know how to operate it, advanced in this case is distribution.
We need to improve human resources, or rather our humanity around serious social security problems, given the state of misery at quite high values for a world that may have problems with shortages of food, sugar for example due to warming and grains due to wars.]
The numbers are high, in Brazil data published in the press state 32 million people, in Argentina in crisis the newspapers claim 40% of the population, and injecting resources is little if there are no medium and long-term projects that are sustainable.
In the past, reconstruction plans for post-war Europe required an injection of capital, as the available labor force was adequate. This was the period in which the World Bank was created, whose name was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BIRF) , the result was achieved, but it is necessary to know that Europe exploited the colonies, in fact this was a hidden conflict.
The funding resources in the so-called “third world” through the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) have not achieved great results and every now and then there are countries in crisis, with high inflation and loss of resources in the productive sectors.
Poverty has increased and continues to increase, for two reasons: growth in poorer regions is greater than in rich countries, without a policy of full employment and greater income distribution, and the lack of ability to adjust to new conditions of technological change widen the gap between poor and rich countries.
Therefore, concrete public policies are necessary to reduce poverty and train human resources and establish policies to combat poverty on a global scale, if there is so much money for weapons (see the prices of planes, ships and ammunition for wars), why wouldn’t there be for the fight against poverty?
This problem is what worsens political polarization, a lack of plans to combat poverty in the short and medium term.
A story from history
31
Oct
This is the name of the first chapter of the book
Terra-Pátria (Ed. Sulina, 1995) by Edgar Morin, the author’s attempt at the time was to understand the various civilizing processes to guide the world towards a moment in which we would all see ourselves as citizens of the same house.
He writes there: “But, however diverse they may have been, they constituted a fundamental and primary type of Homo sapiens society. For several tens of millennia, this diaspora of archaic societies, ignoring each other, constituted humanity” (page 15) and this seems very current.
History “merciless towards defeated historical civilizations, was atrocious without remission in the face of everything prehistoric. The founders of the culture and society of Homo sapiens are today definitive victims of a genocide perpetrated by humanity itself, which progressed to parricide” (page 15), punctuating 10 thousand years in Mesopotamia (the Semites), four thousand years in Egypt , going east “from the Indus and into the Haung Po valley in China” (pg. 16) 2,500 years ago.
This early history is “the emergence, growth, multiplication and struggle to the death of States among themselves; it is conquest, invasion, enslavement, and also resistance, revolt, insurrection; they are battles, ruins, coups d’état and conspiracies […]” (pg. 16) and which seems to be repeated today.
Then this story “began to become ethnographic, polydimensional. Today, the event and eventuality, which erupted everywhere in the physical and biological sciences, appear in the historical sciences”, in which what Edgar Morin calls “homo sapiens-demens” appears.
This “homo sapiens-demens. I should consider the different forms of social organization that emerged in historical time, from Pharaonic Egypt, Periclean Athens, to contemporary democracies and totalitarianisms, as emergences of anthropo-social virtualities” (pg. 17), I return to this reflection because what should be rethought, repeats itself as a cruel cycle.
The author states: “Today, the destiny of humanity poses to us with extreme insistence the key question: can we get out of this History? Is this adventure our only future?” (p. 17).
Morin’s wise and prophetic spirit announces: “Thus, a multiple fermentation, in different points of the globe, prepares, announces, produces the instruments and ideas of what will be the planetary era” (pg. 18), but with serious and civilizational threats.
Your essential question remains: “can we get out of this History?”, it takes wisdom and a historical understanding that seems to escape the great world leaders.
MORIN, E. and Kern, A.B. Terra-Pátria. Trans. by Paulo Azevedo Neves da Silva. Brazil, Porto Alegre: Sulina, 2003.
Eclipses of the civilizing process
13
Oct
Harmony between peoples, acceptance and
tolerance of differences, dialogue and diplomacy on conflicting issues seem to be further away than ever, like an annular eclipse, it obscures the light and lets only a ring of fire pass through, and as they are There are several points of light sources, there are also regions of shadows that will be confused, looking like night.
Various research shows that this happens to birds when faced with an eclipse, they see that it is getting dark and they behave as they do at dusk, they reduce their activities, withdraw and almost go to sleep, as the eclipse is quick, then they return to normal activities.
These are civilizing processes, there are periods of darkness and it seems like it could be an endless night, but after this moment seeing the mistake of “sleep” during the twilight, they rediscover life and return to normal activities, in the human case with a new perspective of Peace and tolerance, of course, always leave terrible marks: innocent deaths, destruction and misery.
We could have prepared a party, a concert and harmony between peoples, there was no shortage of educators, prophets and futurists who tried to design this scenario, but men always have free will, in our case, we can choose between the eclipse and the twilight and the day.
Eclipse because whether by natural forces or by divine intervention, those who believe desire and wait for this day, even if millions of innocent people perish, the desire for the triumph of good, common sense and peace among men is always an irreversible path, even if they suffer.
There is a biblical parable that depicts this scenario well, a man was preparing a party and as the guests did not come (they chose other paths), he sent for men on the street, but among them there was also one with inappropriate attire (anti-party attitudes) and asked to be removed, says the reading (Matthew 22, 10-12):
“Then the servants went out into the paths and gathered together everyone they found, both bad and good. And the party room was full of guests. When the king entered to see his guests, he noticed a man who was not wearing a party attire and asked him: ‘Friend, how did you come in here without your party attire?’ “.
“Then the servants went out into the paths and gathered together everyone they found, both bad and good. And the party room was full of guests. When the king entered to see his guests, he noticed a man who was not wearing a party attire and asked him: ‘Friend, how did you come in here without your party attire?’ .
The civilizing process is like this, whoever will win a conflict situation, everyone will lose and in the end those who were on the margins of the conflict process will prepare a new path
Walter, Jennifer. Lunar eclipses have one weird effect on birds. Inverse. March 17, 2022, Available in: https://www.inverse.com/science/lunar-eclipse-bird-flight .
