hi wim,
>(wim says:)Elliot seems to concentrate on the limited world of the 15%
>which may seem
>to be on the verge of 'technology [making] human effort to provide for
>needs
>such as food and electricity almost nil'. There less 'quest for pie' is
>needed. He also suggests that the 85% (e.g. the majority of the Indian
>population) would also be better off NOT striving for 'Britain's standard
>of
>living', BUT for 'the freedom for individuals to pursue Quality both in
>work
>and in free time'.
Elliot:
Well, your right about my focus on "first world" nations. But i didnt mean
to imply that indians should not strive for a higher standard of living.
They should not strive for a society with all the absurdities, excesses and
wastes (material and intellectual) of a first world country, striving for a
society with commerical bombardments at every turn and products sold by the
color of their packaging and not the Quality of their production (some, not
all are sold this way in america atleast). But im all for aleviation of
suffering and starvation, for nice warm homes and a glass of brandy by a
fire in the evening, the Quality of goods need not decrease, but the
quantity of useless (or not efficently useful for Quality's sake) gadgets in
first world countries should decrease.
And a note. Ideas, once created, can be shared widely. material is cheap.
why does india not have the technology (ideas + material) needed to access a
standard of living beyong utter poverty. I suggest the answer is the profit
motive, few dollars would come from the increased Quality the sharing of
ideas and material could produce. So indian engineers come to america to
try and gain some cash, and steel sits in american storehouses unused (ok,
so material isnt a huge problem, but it is in efficent for it to sit when it
could be reinforcing weak buildings or producing food for the hungry
masses), and indian peasants arent educated to build, use or understand
technology. Profit, or lack of it is the reason for this, not because
indians are to stupid or lazy to do it for themselves.
Elliot
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