Hegel was right when he said that man can never learn anything from history.~George Bernard Shaw

History teaches us the mistakes we are going to make. ~Unknown

In this chapter of People Before Profit, Derber compares globalization to two previous systems: colonialism and the Gilded Age in the United States. Often people equate the Internet and information technology in general with globalization as well as the positive connotations of advanced technology. It is a fact that technological advances have made possible the form of globalization which we are experiencing today; however, we must be careful not to equate them. Colonialism was enabled by advances in shipbuilding, steel, etc. The policies of the Gilded Age were enabled by the telephone and railroads.

We equate the nature of colonialism and the sweatshops of the Gilded Age with a lack of freedom. They were not all bad, in that they overthrew old systems which were just as exploitative (the author did not cite these systems – maybe he will address it later?) and led to subsequent progress in social justice movements and views. The author views globalization as a progressive force and warns against demonizing it or creating nostalgia for the past. After all, the ways of the past were not the “good old days” that we often remember.

For this fourth of July weekend, I had my mom and sister up to visit! We had a blast. Well, I can at least speak for myself. :-) On the evening of the third, we put my grill to good use – it has been getting used quite a bit recently, which makes me quite happy. We grilled chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and asparagus wrapped in bacon. Delicious! And some of my friends brought cole slaw and spinach-artichoke dip.

The weather on the fourth was pretty pitiful, so we didn’t see a full-fledged fireworks display; however, I discovered that the Fourth of July is an amazing time to see a movie! The theaters were empty, so we could laugh as loud as we wanted! I took my sister to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was her first modern 3D movie, so she was pretty amazed. (I had seen Avatar when it came out.) I’m not sure what my favorite part was, but Barbie and Ken’s interactions usually had me laughing – haha.

No one around here appreciates clothes. ~Ken

And Mr. Potato Head defending the Mrs.:

Nobody removes my wife’s mouth but me! ~Mr. Potato Head

There was also an enjoyable short film at the beginning entitled “Day & Night”. I thought it was a very interesting and creative animation – it reminded me of some paintings that I’ve seen before, where the background is an element of the foreground. As it’s kind of hard to describe, here’s the trailer:

Mom, my sister, and I also played a lot of Guesstures, Apples to Apples, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Party 8. My other sister and her husband, and my dad and brother weren’t able to make it up this time around – so hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see them sometime soon!

All great truths begin as blasphemies. ~George Bernard Shaw

I began reading a book entitled People Before Profit by Charles Derber recently. Derber is a professor of sociology at Boston College. This book caught my eye about a month ago as I was browsing the shelves at Barnes and Noble. I had been thinking about my economic views, and have began to question the foundations of some of the views that I currently hold. Many people talk about the economy as measured by GDP, and let economic indicators drive political and business decisions. It is my hope that economic success on a worldwide scale and personal happiness on a worldwide scale will go hand-in-hand; however, I hear and read stories all the time about the conditions of workers in third world countries who are subjected to treatment that would not stand in the United States. I find it unfortunate that injustice occurs under the auspices of globalization, which has been pronounced by many to be the solution to poverty in many countries. So in my effort to understand globalization as it is and to develop a coherent view on what I believe the order of the world should be, I picked up this book. When I write about it, I will undoubtedly mix my opinions in with the opinion of the author. (Is meaning derived from the perception of the reader or the intent of the author! Haha.)

Scope and Aim

This book discusses globalization and presents the case for change. It will present a form of limited democratic world government alongside national governments controlled by their own citizens. It will discuss what it means for business to be accountable on an international scale. It will also present the case for collective security in an international community.

Globalization Now

The author sees globalization as placing the profit incentive first, as being influenced heavily, if not controlled, by the United States and organizations like the World Trade Organization. He also links it to values of consumerism.

To Keep in Mind

The author seeks to remove himself as far as reasonably possible from several of his own influences to present a balanced case. He realizes and notes that his viewpoint is through American eyes. He has been highly critical of corporations in the past, but does not believe that abolishing them (or globalization) is necessary. He also recognizes that globalization and terrorism are independent entities that interact – terrorism and globalization both existed in forms before terrorism became a salient issue.

This topic is of great importance now, and the author calls it a “Constitutional moment.” It is a time when the worldwide rules have not been formed yet, and are still being conceived. Just as the founders of the United States had a great responsibility to spell out a solid, cohesive, and adaptable system of government, we have a great responsibility to create an economic system where all men can participate with dignity.

When you gonna update your blog, foo? ~Philip White

Satisfied?

I had a couple of good friends from my time in Rochester, Minnesota, down to stay the weekend at my place. They got here Friday evening and left this afternoon.

We went out to see the movie, The Losers (Trailer), Friday night. It was an average movie, I thought. It was entertaining, but sometimes it seemed that the characters’ actions were a step removed from their apparent motivations. Sometimes, there would be a small skip in time that wouldn’t have seemed possible under normal conditions; for example, the enemies often seemed to give up way too easily. They’ll stand and shoot, but they won’t chase. Considering the power that the bad guy is supposed to have at his fingertips, it sometimes seems implausible that the good guys could get away and stay hidden so well. Entertaining all around, but not one of my favorites.

Yesterday, we went to the half-price bookstore in town, which was a lot of fun as well. I picked up a copy of Freakonomics. I’ve already read it, but it was dirt cheap, and I already owned the second book in the series. I also picked up a copy of People Before Profit, which I haven’t read yet. It looks like a book about the future of globalization. I just thought it looked interesting – I suppose I’ll find out soon! I decided to pass up a book about stem cell research for now. It looked like a scientific and historical view of stem cell research (both adult and embryonic). Maybe one day I’ll pick it up as it has the potential to become such a salient issue in the future.

We went to Hu Hot at the Lindale Mall yesterday. It was pretty good; however, it was more pricey than the other Mongolian grill place I went to recently. Granted, it’s all-you-can-eat. However, I was pretty stuffed after the first time through. The guys sang me Happy Birthday. It gave another group enough courage to sing Happy Birthday to their mom, too. (My actual birthday is May 1).

After that, we headed over to another friends house yesterday night and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I found myself laughing a lot! That friend has a pretty sweet home theater projection set up in his basement and has over 350 DVDs! So I know where I’m going when I want to watch a movie. It was the first time I’d been over to his house since I got here, so I got to meet his pet rabbit and check out his wood carving project as well.

Fun times.