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Here is a stunning visualization of the fines some big companies have had to pay in the recent past. It's scary to think what they are getting away with.
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Slavery is worse than ever. I've heard this recently, but it wasn't until I heard this TED Talk, and it just hit me. Why is this not a bigger deal, why could I just accept this before, why aren't people more outraged? I don't know, but I'm going to do something. To start I'll give some money, but I've got to do something more, or tell more people. I don't know who is doing the best work, but here are a couple sites I found. Any other suggestions? http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/ http://www.ijm.ca/ Currently listening to The Willpower Instinct, and not only does it have some good tips for increasing your willpower, it also points out that our current North American culture is setting us up to fail. All of our distractions and decisions that we have to make throughout the day (not only make us unhappy as Barry Schwartz has pointed out) are draining our willpower reserve, and setting us up to not only cheat on our diets and spouses, but also make bad decisions at work. And those drained the most may be those making the most important decisions, government officials, CEOs, etc. Great book so far, check it out.
The reason I say it has our back is because the EA would attempt to reduce the decisions, and make it easier to focus on the important things. You would have someone else figuring out your best cell phone plan, car insurance, you wouldn't worry about where to fill up, and you would have a better handle on where and what to eat. I don't know how it would all work, but a goal of the EA is to do this, so that's why I say it has our back. I'm reading the book Practical Wisdom, by Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe, and it's details how we've lost our way as a society. We are rarely doing the right thing. For example, bankers used to be service providers, who looked out for their clients, now they are people who are trying to make the most money off their customers, and if that means putting them in detrimental financial situations, so be it. This is just one example the book details a lot more, in everyday life as well as business. It's all based on Aristotle's ideas around Practical Wisdom, and maintaining the essence of our jobs (being a banker to help people, not take as much money from them as possible). And they outline that our loss of practical wisdom is detrimental to our individual happiness as well as the society's ability to function. And!, a big And here, they say the way back is to create social environments where people are encouraged to do the right thing, rather than going against the grain, being an uncanny outlaw as they call it. There will always be a few people who do the right thing and fight for what's right, but they will not fight forever, they will get tired and give up. So we need to make companies where doing the right thing is encouraged, and that is what this Employment Agency is all about. It gives people the security to stand on their morals and not fear getting fired, so they can be the outlaws, so it will foster the outlaws until they can turn companies around. And companies which the EA starts will be like this from the beginning. Here is a good summary from a blogger At the beginning of the last chapter he says that this idea doesn't make sense to his students, or other people he tells it to, unless he relates it to friendships. He says that people don't get the need for Practical Wisdom (the need to foster societies where we don't do all we can in order to make the most money, but rather work towards doing that which we set out to do in the first place. e.g. a doctor who's primary goal is to help the sick rather than see as many patients as possible.) until they see what it takes to be a friend. They see it takes a lot of work to be a good friend, it takes a lot to know what your friends need, how to read them, and there will be ups and downs, heartaches and joys. But the better you get at it the more joy you have. This is life, we need to work hard to be good at it. We need to practice and keep pursuing the goal, and we will be rewarded. This could be the key to describing the idea of this sites idea, the Employment Agency to achieve Spontaneous Cooperation. "the wiser we are in what we do, the happier we are" - Schwartz & Sharpe "the purpose in life is human flourishing" - Aristotle I thought this was interesting. I think a lot of people dismiss the idea of farming because they couldn't imagine hard labour being something they want to do. But this article
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1241115--young-city-born-women-buck-ontario-s-aging-farmer-trend and the book 'Better Off', seemed to show otherwise. People seem to forget that hard work can feel very rewarding. I just heard this term for the first time, it's not a new idea, but it's awesome that it's getting new terms, and that there is a foundation trying to promote it. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is on the case, and they have this blurb about the shift away from ownership. and the role of collaborative consumption.
Sounds awesome, keep shifting and collaborating people!! Apparently Buckminster Fuller was able to sum up everything he knew in a nice 42 hour talk. Lucky for us the internet archive got a hold of the video so we can watch it at our leisure. http://archive.org/details/buckminsterfuller
transcripts http://bfi.org/about-bucky/resources/everything-i-know Check out what this teacher is doing with his students, he's greening America, making jobs, and improving the lives of his students, their families and their communities. A true inspiration!! I've spent some time trying to get all my thoughts down and keep it to a reasonable length. I will keep touching it up, but I think I'm pretty much done the bulk of the site. Let me know what you think!
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February 2019
AuthorI'm always finding interesting videos and articles, so I thought I'd share them. Categories |