Arquivo para a ‘Economia’ Categoria
Taxes, profit and tithing
15
Aug
Whenever a crisis appears on the horizon, the
most common temptation is to overload society and the issue of taxation is on the agenda not only in Brazil, but worldwide.
For benefits to be incorporated into civil life, the state needs taxes, but they should not serve as perks of the state since it is a service provided to society, and taxes incorporated into costs and prices distort and can strangle investments, savings public and private and inhibit export.
The problems in the country are enormous, the most common is double taxation (taxes on services that are already taxed, road fees for example), but governments are insatiable, they need to feed the plentiful tables of those who sustain them in power.
Profit must be thought of as having three purposes, the maintenance of social services that also serve companies, goods and social security that serve all citizens, especially workers, and the growth of the company itself and the country in investments.
Finally, the contribution to the cultural, social and religious interests of specific groups can be seen both as a society, to which everyone freely opts, and as a compulsory one, provided that there is a prior agreement for this.
The important thing is to understand that fraternal relationships, which are spontaneous, differ from obligatory ones, which imply a type of society that, once broken, the bond is lost, and this must be the case of tithing, spontaneous donation and action “between friends”.
In the philosophical field, Paul Ricoeur wrote about these relationships between partner and neighbor (Le socius et le Prochain, 1954) and
Those who doubt that this is biblical, I recommend reading Mt 17,25 when asked if they paid the temple tax: Peter replied: “Yes, pay”. Upon entering the house, Jesus came forward and asked, “Simon, what do you think: Who do the kings of the earth collect taxes or fees from: children or strangers?” to which Peter replied of the strangers, but Jesus, in order “not to offend” ordered that the taxes be paid.
The three behaviors are not far apart: dishonest profits, high tribute, and temple taxes.
Dangers of expanding war
14
Aug
While on the front of Russia and Ukraine the danger
that the war will spread to all continents is more and more real, the coup d’état in Niger, in the sub-Saharan region that already has other conflicts and ruptures with democracy, is at the limit and the nations themselves African women threaten to intervene.
This region, where Chad, Mali and Niger are located, is one of the poorest regions in the world with high rates of infant mortality, illiteracy and low life expectancy, however the wealth of minerals attracts interest in these countries of Russia and France .
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have approved the military intervention in Niger, as the recently democratically elected president Mohmed Bazoum has been ousted and is under house arrest.
At the meeting, President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Quattarao stated that the intention is for the military operation to begin “as soon as possible” so we will have a new war front on another continent, while the climate between South and North Korea increases tension in the east.
In Argentina and Ecuador, during the electoral period tensions increase, the Argentine surprise was the victory of the anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei of Libertad Avanza, while within the proposal Juntos por el Cambio, of Macrista tendency (ex-president Macri) Patricia Bulrrich of the Proposal Republican won Hora Rodrigues Larreta, there is still the candidate Sergio Massa, government economist, with little chance for the economic ruin of Argentina.
In Argentina, analysts estimate that the economic decline has made society bet on new proposals, with the risk that new things always carry, it is not clear what they will do, the elections will take place on October 22nd.
In Ecuador, the death by assassination of the candidate Fernando Villavicencio, of the Construye Movement, shows the action of paramilitary groups in politics, this Sunday (13) the movement announced the new candidate Christian Zurita, but tensions of political violence continue.
It is necessary to relaunch the principle of self-determination of peoples, respect for sovereignty and democracy in countries and limit military interventions and their actions in the field of politics.
Exodus: historical and divine realities
25
Jul
The history of Ancient Egypt is generally
divided into the Old Kingdom, from the great pyramids of the pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus, built near Memphis, the capital of Egypt at the time, then the Middle Kingdom (2100 BC to 1580 BC), the biblical character is born at the end of this period, and the New Kingdom (1580 BC to 715 BC), when they begin to face invasions until they are defeated by the Assyrians (6 70 BC).
In the biblical narrative one can divide the: first (1,1-15,21): coexistence in Egypt from Joseph to Moses; second (15.22-18.27): theophany and journey in the desert to Sinai; third (19-40): option for the divine proposal (Moses is called to lead the Exodus) and the covenant on Sinai.
It is interesting to observe the sequence that is repeated in the period of Abraham: leaving Ur in Mesopotamia, walking to Canaan, the alliance with Abraham (Gen 17:15-17) and the call to God in the offering of his son Isaac and the formation of the 12 tribes of Israel and the sale of Joseph to the Egyptians.
It is important to analyze the 10 plagues in Egypt in this biblical-historical context, a famous papyrus found in 1909 of an Egyptian called Ipuwer (or Ipuur which according to the scholar A. H. Gardiner was a typical name of the period 1850 BC -1450 BC), written in the form of a poem complains that women now have “furniture”, and girls have “mirrors” while the rich man lives in rags.
The papyrus is important for its connection with the biblical narrative, mentioning slaves fleeing Egypt and rivers of blood, but scholars speak of the Minoan eruption, which occurred during this period on the island of Santorini, near the island of Crete, which devastated a Minoan settlement.
The waves produced may have reached Egypt at the time, but the effect on the Nile delta is questioned by most fishermen, but the Ipuwer papyrus has a narrative close to the biblical one regarding the events in Egypt and, most importantly, narrates the beginning of the fall of the Empire through customs, a period that history calls the New Empire.
The 10 plagues of Egypt in the biblical narrative were: the river of blood, infestation of frogs, lice and flies, plague in cattle, ulcers in people, hailstones, infestation of locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn of families.
As described in previous posts, the people of Israel guided by Moses will cross the desert, reach Canaan after four wars and stay there until a new exile in Babylon.
Egypt after the invasion of the Assyrians mentioned above, later they were dominated by the Persians in 525 BC. and by Alexander the Great in 322 BC, finally by the Romans in 30 BC.
Whether for purely historical reasons, social decay or divine intervention, empires fall from the oppression and tyranny they exercise, but there is a cycle of suffering.
The peace that few desire
17
Jul
While bloody battles unfold without major
advances in the Ukrainian counter-offensive, from side to side, one can see what the war produces: the lack of principles and a growing hatred between the parties involved, which today few countries escape.
On the Russian side, inhumanity towards the troops themselves grows, General Ivan Popov, commander of the 58th. Combined Arms Army, which operates on the Zaporizhzhia combat front, was dismissed by Minister Sergei Shoigu for accusing him of treason and little support for troops in combat, other generals are also away or “resting”.
This is certainly not counterpropaganda, as the mercenary leader also accused him of the same things, and said that troops are being killed for little logistical support.
On the Ukrainian side, after the NATO meeting on July 12th, there is a clear sign for Sweden’s entry into the bloc, we remember that neighboring Finland is already there, as for NATO, it only continues to support and promise future membership, however the minister of England declared that Zelensky should show more gratitude, Zelensky reacted by asking his defense minister who was in the audience if he has good relations with the British Ben Wallace, and then asked him to make a call to him.
What is worrying on the Ukrainian side is the delivery of cluster bombs that are prohibited in international agreements, and that the US proposes to supply to the ally.
Either because of ideological and economic interests, or because they do not believe in an escalation of a third world war, which would be the greatest civilizational disaster of humanity, there is little desire and commitment for peace, some countries and leadership that tried failed to be resilient to the decision and it shows that they, too, have a vested interest in this war.
Sincere and true humanists cannot wish that the escalation of this war continues, and it is not “another war” since it involves heavy interests and threats.
G7 meeting and Russian breakthrough
22
May
Reunited in Hiroshima, the G7 meeting was held: United States, United Kingdom,
Canada, Italy, Japan, France and Germany, to which some countries were invited, including Brazil, Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, Cook Islands (president of the Pacific Islands Forum) and Comoros (president of the African Union), Zelensky’s presence was as a special guest.
The countries reaffirmed their support for Ukraine, condemning the invasion, but Zelensky’s expected meeting with Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva did not take place, concretely on the war, only American support promising more funding for weapons.
On the battlefield, Russia registered an advance in Bakhmut with the support of the mercenary group Wagner, who were praised by Putin, but the real takeover of the region is still controversial, Ukraine claims that there are still battles in the surroundings, in short, the war will continue and not s and knows in fact the limits it will still have.
The Ukrainians had celebrated the interception of the fearsome hypersonic missiles, and only one hit the country’s soil, it is still uncertain what kind of counteroffensive will be carried out, the Battle of Bakhmut may just be a bait already taken by Russia, the fighters and powerful tanks have not yet been used.
What is worrying is that on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides there is a real danger of the use of chemical and even nuclear weapons, Zelensky said that he would win the war before “that event” and on the Russian side there is open talk of the battle of Armageddon, Russia condemned the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
In the diplomatic field, little progress has been made, Russia wants the territories it has already conquered, including Mariupol and a strip of eastern Ukraine, in addition to Crimea, which has been considered territory under Russian administration since 2014.
Hypersonic missiles with nuclear charges, increased army recruitment, food security and China’s alignment are concerns.
The scenario is still one of war and there has not been a more emphatic proposal for peace, the world continues with fears of a wider war.
What is actually the current war
17
Apr
Increasingly, the Russia-Ukraine war is revealed with the clear contours of the
interests of great empires in conflict: on the one hand, Russia, which did not accept the reduction of its territory and influence after the end of the Second World War, on the other, NATO as an arm of capitalist forces and their world influence.
In fact, the great emerging empire is China, and it has roots in the great cultural revolution, an attempt made by Mao Tse Tung, the first leader of the Chinese revolution, but the attempt to industrialize the country by taking people out of the countryside in the 50s was a failure causing more than 20 million people to starve to death.
The opponents led by Liu Shao-Chi, in 1959, removed Mao, his family and his allies, who were isolated within the Chinese Communist Party, and promoted a re-education of the population, preparing a new industrial revolution, this time attracting capital and companies from abroad. , cheap labor and the idea that it could be an opening to capitalism, Hong Kong was until recently not controlled by China, boosted this model.
Speaking about what would be the desired peace for Russia, Putin declared that it would be a “new world order”, and in it talks with China are involved and explain Russia’s recent military maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean near Japan, the Kuril Islands which is disputed by Japan.
It was a clear nod to the partnership with China, although it, together with Brazil, is trying to form a third bloc to negotiate peace, because the Brics are closer to Russia, and this includes India and South Africa, which are also part of this economic bloc. .
On the western side, the Scandinavian countries: Finland, Sweden and Norway carried out joint maneuvers with NATO forces, the geopolitical picture is drawn with a dangerous warlike picture.
There is a fracture in the European bloc, as Macron says that France will not be a “vassal” of the American allies, however it can also be a force for the third “peace” bloc.
A peace without surrender and without winners seems the only possible way out, difficult but possible.
Leaked documents and rhetoric of tension
10
Apr
A leaked document that would contain alleged US secret information about
the war between Ukraine and Russia may contain part of the information true and some false, according to US military sources, the assessment of the death toll in the war in Ukraine would be false.
Newspapers like The New York Times, on the other hand, assess that it is an effort by Moscow to provoke more disinformation than news already known as the anticipated deliveries of weapons, as well as the formation of troops and battalions according to war strategies, however this already shows that there are some gaps in US intelligence in the effort to support Ukraine.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, “We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the department is looking into the matter.”
The US Department of Justice opened investigations into these disclosures, which also included information from important allies such as Israel, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
American rhetoric and Western leaders continue to assert that Russia has committed war crimes, including the “deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia, condemned by the Hague court, while Russian rhetoric continues to be one of insecurity at its borders.
What the documents reveal, although without precise data, is a probable Ukrainian offensive next month, Finland’s official entry into NATO creates another frontier of conflict and some Russian response is also expected there.
In terms of peace, the Brazilian proposal to cede Crimea, which was already Russian territory before the war, in exchange for the resumption of territories occupied in the current war, was not accepted by Ukraine.
So both Russia and Ukraine seem to be taking the war to the limits of attrition, the death of countless soldiers and the economic consequences that have begun to appear in the world economy.
China has hit back at rhetoric that it is not making enough effort for peace, saying the “West are not in a position to dictate what we should do”, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told Izvestia.
The hope that negotiations can move forward from countries outside the conflict remains.
Civilizing passion: crisis and clearing
07
Apr
It is not the first civilizational crisis that humanity is going through today, if 
it has roots in the thought that developed a form of national and chauvinist polis, empires are the multinational expression of this way of looking at nations, this however has an aggravating factor: the possibility use of nuclear and biological weapons of mass extinction.
Because a passion comparing it with the passion of Jesus, we have already outlined the issue of innocence and the tragic and legal aspects that it involves throughout last week, Brazil experienced this week a drama in the city of Blumenau the death of innocent children, the world aspect is the one that from ideological conceptions and visions of the world promotes a limitless crisis, this is the passionate side (in the photo Bucha´s tragedy, Ukraine).
The entry that we announced at the beginning of the week, of Finland in NATO creates a large border area of NATO with Russia allowing a land war in an area where it is sensitive and there are remnants of recent historical intolerance, the so-called “winter war” from 1939.
If Russia takes what it calls a “countermeasure” and it could be in the military field, since in the economic and trade field there is nothing that could be more serious than the current situation between nations, military retaliation triggers a dangerous trigger. that will have a response from NATO.
A clearing is possible, the one that Heidegger claimed in the midst of these hostilities, the clarity that there will be no unilateral victories, the war with Ukraine itself does not seem to have a possible end this year, unless there is a round of peace negotiations.
China would take an offensive position in its resumption of the island of Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory, Iran is increasingly closer to Russia and a good part of Latin America currently has governments that are more to the left, in short, this complicated world scenario may be the reason to open a clearing in the middle of the forest of hatred and hostility that opens up at every step of the war.
It will be a great passion of humanity, like all suffering, this one on an unimaginable scale after a trauma and then a reflection when seeing the enormous losses that the situation involves, it will undoubtedly be in a possible tragic situation never seen before, a new “clearing” of civilizing consciousness .
Peace is always possible, it is always possible to avoid the loss of innocent lives if there is prevention.
Thought from on High and Communion
06
Apr
What kind of knowledge is this that encompasses knowledge “from above”,
beyond the human, but without contradicting it, Morin’s response and others such as Martin Buber, Emannuel Lévinas and Paul Ricoeur seem to lead to the same point, to go towards the Other without reservation.
Two mystical falsifications are possible in this direction, one that denies conscience and respect for the Other, those who appeal to a false Christian religiosity, the Bible is clear: “If anyone declares: “I love God!”, but hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John, 4:20-21), but there are those who cry out for the extreme opposite of the materiality of faith, to these the biblical answer is also clear: “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4 ,4), curiously opposes and does not dialogue.
Curious because the vision of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples, his great memorial and his eternal presence in his materiality (flesh and blood), is the cause of much controversy and divergence, both true that he broke the bread, and true who declared his divinity.
Thinking things from above cannot fail to have its concreteness, its materiality, you see that bread is not wheat, but wheat transformed by human hands into bread, just like wine.
It does not fail to have the most sacred and divine aspect when asking the disciples to do this in his memory and in his name, thus it is renewed and divinized by the human hands that repeat it.
How to understand communion without the presence of the Other, without dialogic with the opposite, without this paradox of understanding that even with opposition, new horizons are possible, as advocated by the hermeneutic circle, which asks that preconceptions be left “in parentheses” before .
We have a vision of truth, logic and rationality, but true communion is only possible with a step further, the belief that something divine also belongs to the Other, to the different and the opposite of my worldview, there is no communion without this , there is only tolerance.
I have always asked myself why wars, hunger, misery, injustice among men, my answer today is that there is no true communion among men, perhaps some small tolerance, some respect that hides true interests, perhaps a respect that is even human but not divine.
welcome to polycrisis
04
Apr
This is the part of title of the article by Adam Tooze, professor of history at Yale
University (USA) written in the Financial Times in 2022 that drew a lot of attention: pandemics, droughts, floods, mega storms, forest fires, war in Ukraine and high prices of fuel and food, as is typical of the magazine and of today’s world, the economic aspect stands out.
But Edgar Morin’s polycrisis went deeper, the author recognizes the origin of the term, but is unaware of what Edgar Morin and many other philosophers actually think, who point to the most fundamental root of these evils: our way of thinking. thinking and the vision of the world that we create from it and implant in our societies.
The term cited by Morin was said for the first time in 1990, but in an interview with Le Monde on April 20, 2020, the French educator updated the word: “The health crisis triggered a chain of crises that were linked together. This polycrisis or megacrisis extends from the existential to the political, passing through the economy, from the individual to the planetary, passing through families, regions, states. In short, a tiny virus in an overlooked village in China has unleashed a world of disruption.”
In his view, the polycrisis crossed our ways of being, living together, producing, consuming and being in the world, challenging us to think about all our paradigms, much of what he wrote talks about new methods such as hologramatic and the danger of hyperspecialization of science that leads “to a new obscurantism” that is our inability to see the whole in modernity.
It is true that we are going through other crises, but Tooze’s article shows the implications of the war in Ukraine and the pandemic in accelerating these crises (see the Map), in the pragmatic aspect of the economic it is clear, in the spiritual and ontological aspect it is still not so clear , but it may be clearer soon.
