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it all goes wrong with power
Apr. 3rd, 2006 07:36 amI was connecting a whole lot of things I'd been thinking about lately -- talks I'd heard, conversations I'd had with friends, news items, and stuff I'd read and realised that the old saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is so right.
Last night I listened to the Big Ideas radio series. Last night's talk was heart-rending. Canadian Stephen Lewis spoke about the causes of the problems with Africa (he is UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, a commissioner of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation). Hearing of the way incredibly wealthy reaganomics idealogues used absolute power to crush small, weakened countries was horrifying. Admittedly these people thought they were helping those countries by imposing "monetary reforms" upon them, but the brutality of the impositions and the way they for decades refused to look at the massive evidence that they were having the opposite effect to what their theories dictated is mind boggling. Millions of people died and continue to die because a small number of people have absolute power. The program repeats on Tuesday at 1pm, or you can listen to it online with (ugh!) RealPlayer at http://abc.net.au/rn/bigidea/
Also on Sunday I listened to Background Briefing which was about Argentina's recent restoration of a healthy economy through doing the opposite of what the right-wing economic rationalists preached. Unfortunately though, there are signs that president Kirchner may be getting drunk on power, is subverting the media, and stacking political candidates in his favor. With more and more power it is feared that he will eventually repeat the same old cycle of destruction. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/
And there is the recent news that employers haven't wasted any time after our illustriouslying little rodent prime minister tore up protection for employees. Already employees are being fired and re-hired on low wages. But of course "it won't lead to lower wages". Bastards.
It all goes wrong when you give one person power over another.
Last night I listened to the Big Ideas radio series. Last night's talk was heart-rending. Canadian Stephen Lewis spoke about the causes of the problems with Africa (he is UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, a commissioner of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation). Hearing of the way incredibly wealthy reaganomics idealogues used absolute power to crush small, weakened countries was horrifying. Admittedly these people thought they were helping those countries by imposing "monetary reforms" upon them, but the brutality of the impositions and the way they for decades refused to look at the massive evidence that they were having the opposite effect to what their theories dictated is mind boggling. Millions of people died and continue to die because a small number of people have absolute power. The program repeats on Tuesday at 1pm, or you can listen to it online with (ugh!) RealPlayer at http://abc.net.au/rn/bigidea/
Also on Sunday I listened to Background Briefing which was about Argentina's recent restoration of a healthy economy through doing the opposite of what the right-wing economic rationalists preached. Unfortunately though, there are signs that president Kirchner may be getting drunk on power, is subverting the media, and stacking political candidates in his favor. With more and more power it is feared that he will eventually repeat the same old cycle of destruction. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/
And there is the recent news that employers haven't wasted any time after our illustrious
It all goes wrong when you give one person power over another.