What’s it all about?

 

Pinky: Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?

Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world.

This is a work in progress. Intended to serve as a scaffolding for thought and research. I am worried that we (humanity) have made such big strides ahead in technology but so little in our understanding about the big issues in life as Why, What and How?

Here we go!

The question is:

Why humanity doesn’t live in peace and prosperity?

Why humanity doesn’t live in everlasting peace and prosperity if we have already mastered the technological means and have access to the resources for that?

 

Possible answers:

 

Is it a greedy clique of corrupt politicians and business people who conspire against us to protect their undeserved profits because they know of no other way to safeguard their privileges other than instigating division, conflict, war and chaos?

If that is true – how powerful are they?

How can we stop them from doing that and prevent anyone from doing that in the future?

 

Or are our institutions the culprit?

Is it their failure to allocate resources and distribute profits fairly while safeguarding against those who plan to disturb the peace to gain unfair advantage?

Why is humanity stumbling from war to war for no particular reason using ever more sophisticated instruments to kill and maim fellow human beings?

 

Why?

 

Why does our justice system seem eager to punish severely petty crimes but keen to ignore major ones?

 

Those are obvious questions that anyone can relate to. What bothers me that there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on how are we going to go about resolving those issues before humanity self-destructs? I know: Democracy, Free Markets, Rule of Law! Truth is – regardless of the validity of those they don’t seem to work.

Why?

 

Where is the theoretical, philosophical, ethical, legal knowledge that we need to develop to overcome these obstacles and what are those obstacles?

One possible answer could be – our institutions do not have the built-in accountability devices to guard against them being highjacked by corrupt people who misuse them for undeserved gains.

 

For me a first step would be better understanding of what’s happening because personally it has been more and more clouded with the years.

 

First, I thought communism was good and capitalism bad.

Then, capitalism is good and communism bad.

 Democracy and market forces should take care of that….

 

 

And that seemed to be so true because then we won the Cold war – Soviet style communism crumbled under its own stupidity eager crowds dismantled the Berlin war and turned the pieces of the hated barrier into souvenirs – under the sounds of Pink Floyd singing “break down the wall…” Then the US bombed the Serbs!

Then NATO didn’t disband and kept going for no obvious reason. Then the Chinese communist system managed to bring their country out of poverty to the leading position in the world economy.

Then America is in multi trillion-dollar debt…

I still believe that it’s not by the benevolence of baker and shoemaker that we enjoy prosperity and that we have those inalienable rights.

What I don’t know is – what went wrong?

 

I know Marx does – he was confident that it was the ownership of the means of production that was the problem but while that does seem to be true with China’s success and the recent economic crisis triggered by US financial institutions it doesn’t seem to explain everything. Communism did fail in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Therefore, I am starting this blog hoping in a series of essays to manage to get maybe if not straightforward answers – to at least build a scaffolding that will help me scramble up to the shoulders of those giants and be able to see further (or perhaps to the tops of their heads?).

 

What’s in it for you?

Not much.

I am doing this mostly for myself. Why making it public?

If my thoughts help you in your own quest for knowledge – please, tell me – your encouragement may add a plank or pillar to my scaffold as I may help you build yours.

In general, I believe that understanding the fascinating and disappointing reality we live in will help enjoy it more and for longer.

 Last, but not least, is space travel.

What does space travel have to do with all this – you may ask…

It’s obvious – space travel is the latest and most exciting adventure of humanity. If anything is going to pull us out of the swamp of hate and division that we are drowning in is the unifying vision of a common quest. It may also provide purpose and employment for all those talented inventors, engineers and technicians who are now preoccupied with creating fancy tools for destruction. So my aim is to travel to space and in between now and then work to promote space travel for civilian purposes as a a worthy endeavor that will save humanity and civilization and may prove a useful substitute for the dangerous and wasteful arms race

 amazon.com/Mish-Mash-Elli

So that’s my plan to take over the world. I know it may sound kind of naïve or even dodgy but that’s all I can think of for now and… you never know.

 

North Korea - What Now?

What will happen in North Korea?

The regime seems far less stable than the Arab dictatorships or even the USSR by the end of the 80s.
For there is no doubt that North Korean regime will collapse most probably sooner than later and in any case not later than the end of this decade if not in the first half of it.
The problem is how the world or the major interests involved will deal with it. If there are any particular plans they don't seem to be public if they exist at all so I will feel free to speculate.
Questions to be answered:

First, what could happen?
Second, who are the major players and what are their interests?
Third, what can they do to promote them or what can be expected that they may do?

Possible answers to the first question – possible developments :

1. Russian scenario. A Gorbachev style move towards reforms starts well but ends in Yeltsin type chaos of crime and corruption until the Putin type strongman regulates corruption in favor of his clique and puts the losers in jail
2. Chinese scenario. Deng Xiaoping style reforms lead to improved living standards while preserving the rule of the communist party and postponing the inevitable collapse.
3. East German scenario. South Korea absorbs North Korea and the North Korean communist elite melts into obscurity.

Additional questions stemming from the proposed answers to the first question:

• Which is the preferred scenario?
• Which is the most probable one?
• Which is the most dangerous?

Answer to the second question – major stakeholders :

1. The people of North Korea – interested in survival, development, democracy and opportunities
2. The communist elite of North Korea – interested in preserving their privileges
3. South Korea – interest in dealing with the military threat from the North and reunification.
4. China – interested in stability in Korea to prevent destabilization of its regions bordering Korea.
5. Japan – interested in removing the threat from North Korea and a host of problems.
6. USA – a peaceful Korea will reduce the need for US military presence but open opportunities for trade.
7. Russia – has shown remarkable indifference for a country so close and the importance accorded by the government to the development of the Russian Pacific region so close to North Korea.

So far all stakeholders (with the notable exception of the sovereign – the people of North Korea) have pledged to work with the elite in North Korea to facilitate a smooth transition. Russia has warned against “provocations” by North Korean neighbors probably meaning that the Russian government won't tolerate a repeat of the Libyan scenario.
That may be the most sensible foreign policy in response to the contingency of the moment but what should the main stakeholders do to secure the promotion of there strategic interests in the future?
And what those interest may be? (I am aware that the concise list provided here is far from complete and may be even off the mark.)