Can the betterment of a society be based upon charity?

Perhaps, our analysis could be integrated if we acknowledge the interplay between structure and agencies (Giddens), or between base and superstructure (Marx), field and habitus (Bordieu), systems and lifeworld (Habermas), culture and agencies (Aarcher). Yes corrupt attitudes behavior of our civil servants are indeed an integrated part of the problem. But could we guarantee that if all of our civil servants are people of good will, the problem would disappear? This is paralleling the fact that there are always people who say ". . . I did my own charity". But, again, could the betterment of a society be based upon charity? or voluntary individual's good will? Trust nothing for me, and never trust anyone's good will. This is my personal opinion that what we need is a political will to set up a system, a structure (it may specifically relates to rules and resources allocation), which could "force" individuals to help less fortunate or poor people, by serving as civil servant or by giving part of their fortune. It may lead to a less free market, but certainly it's a more fair economic system. Such a system off course would not work if there are no political good will of those individuals who have to reproduse and to maintain the system, or to protect it from, let's say, American neoliberalism viruses or diseases. That's what we mean by the interplay between structure and agencies, or between base ad superstructure.
The interplay off course is a process of becoming, a never ending process . . .

Neoliberalism and Apartheid Economy

Reposting from Thursday, January 24, 2008

Neoliberalism and Apartheid Economy

They are the negros of our "world class economy" . . . the pariahs in our market fundamentalism dreams.

While we are chasing our own version of American Dream, joining the bandwagon of globalization, and pursuing our place in a world-class community, here are pictures of the other side of us all, to whom we -- the market winners and worshipers -- always makes claims that we are hearing them (but never listening), looking at them (without ever seeing), talking to them (yet, without speaking) .
Because we are too far high, in our five-star neoliberalism dreamland . . . we are moving toward (what Richard Freeman puts it) an "apartheid economy" . More and more portion of Indonesian population has been progressively excluded from the economy, by the instrumental rationality of neoliberalism and market forces, marginalized from the never-ending circuit of money-commodity-more money, doomed to become the pariah or decaying sub-population of our fast modernizing Indonesian economy. They've been treated as subhuman, the "negros" in our "world-class economy". Their kids have been separated from the kids of our "world-class schools and universities", they've been denied from the rights for descent and civilized public health services.
The invicible hand of the sacred market made the "unmarketable poor" invicible . . .
They've been evicted from their houses and sidewalks miniscale mall, for the rich need more space for luxurious housing, convenience traffic, and picturesque American-style urban sceneries -- they are forbiden from wandering into our "world-class" malls or shopping arcades that once were public spaces. Their demands, for better wages and treatments, tend to be supressed, and silenced by labeling them as the ghost of long-gone communists movement -- all for the sake of creating a better investment climate.

Indeed, the invisible hand of our market treats them without human face. On the contrary, the invisible hand made the "unmarketable have-nots" invisible. They are the negros of the Indonesian neoliberal seconomy, and are the pariahs in our market fundamentalism grandnarrative.

Despite the rhetoric of the market fundamentalists, facts suggest the persistence of high levels of poverty even though there is more than enough resources to prevent it.
Poverty is a social construction, not an objective reality. This can be taken to means that poverty is socially created and reproduced, it involves interplays among social and political groups on an unlevel power-playing fields. The ways in which control, use and access to the economic resources are instrinsically part of the reasons why so many people down and out on our big cities streets -- and could not (re)gain further access to economic resources.

at Friday, September 19, 2008

Labels: neoliberalism, poverty

New Year's resolutions

This year, I resolve to...
-Stop exercising (It conserve energy)
-Read less books and newspapers  (This will makes me think).
-Watch more  infotainment (Definitely it reduces my overweight IQ)
-Spend more time at work (Surfing the Internet is a must).
-Not jump off a mall (They say it disturbs public order).
-Start to believe in politicians, and bureaucrats (Laughter is the best medicine).
-Never make New Year's resolutions again. Life is beautiful, let it flows.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2010

On beautiful environmental-friendly creature

. . . a man becomes a beautiful environmental-friendly creature if he can limit his thoughts on scientific matters no more than 6 credit unit (SKS) each semester . . .
and uses the rest of his thoughts -- up to 1800 SKS -- on real things, like soccer, including Miyabi thing (if he believe he is forever in his 20s), and most... importantly on how to make peace with his self . Beyond that, a man is nothing else but a toxic expired dairy product (This is serious friend, believe me at 0.05 alpha level, meaning the probability I tell you a lie is only 5%)

A Piece of Tomorrow

A wise man said, you can not visit the house of tomorrow, 

not even in your dreams

But look at these pure-water small faces

Look deep with the eyes of your hearts

You will taste a piece of tomorrow

A taste that helps make you through the journey into your disappearance

Poor Damned fool teacher

I'll be a poor damned fool teacher if my students remain nothing but "my students", speaking cut and paste words from my thoughts . . . for the essence of education is not to produce new generations which are simply a carbon copy of our generation, but to empower new generations with freedom of thoughts, to construct their own thoughts . . . for they dwell in the house of future which we can not visit, even in our dreams

May our Almighty Clown . . .

May our Almighty Clown blesses us with tons of laughters -- forever and a day
Because life is a comedy
Because when sense of humor goes there goes human civilization and civility
Because sense of humor is mankind's greatest quality.
Because sense of humor is a major defense against the increasingly insane world society.

Bach songs

free music downloads | music videos | lyrics

Fundamentalists

. . . secular fundamentalists see themselves as executing the will of History, and religious fundamentalists believe they are commissioned to carry the will of God. They, however, share the same humanity defects. Both of them are all clowns who make their audience too affraid to laugh.
They are absolutists, colorblind creatures who see the world in a binary of black and white, right or wrong, left and right, us and them.
Their basic need, to be always right, is a sign of their vulgar minds

Neoliberalism and Apartheid Economy

Reposting from Thursday, January 24, 2008

Neoliberalism and Apartheid Economy

They are the negros of our "world class economy" . . . the pariahs in our market fundamentalism dreams.

While we are chasing our own version of American Dream, joining the bandwagon of globalization, and pursuing our place in a world-class community, here are pictures of the other side of us all, to whom we -- the market winners and worshipers -- always makes claims that we are hearing them (but never listening), looking at them (without ever seeing), talking to them (yet, without speaking) .
Because we are too far high, in our five-star neoliberalism dreamland . . . we are moving toward (what Richard Freeman puts it) an "apartheid economy" . More and more portion of Indonesian population has been progressively excluded from the economy, by the instrumental rationality of neoliberalism and market forces, marginalized from the never-ending circuit of money-commodity-more money, doomed to become the pariah or decaying sub-population of our fast modernizing Indonesian economy. They've been treated as subhuman, the "negros" in our "world-class economy". Their kids have been separated from the kids of our "world-class schools and universities", they've been denied from the rights for descent and civilized public health services.
The invicible hand of the sacred market made the "unmarketable poor" invicible . . .
They've been evicted from their houses and sidewalks miniscale mall, for the rich need more space for luxurious housing, convenience traffic, and picturesque American-style urban sceneries -- they are forbiden from wandering into our "world-class" malls or shopping arcades that once were public spaces. Their demands, for better wages and treatments, tend to be supressed, and silenced by labeling them as the ghost of long-gone communists movement -- all for the sake of creating a better investment climate.

Indeed, the invisible hand of our market treats them without human face. On the contrary, the invisible hand made the "unmarketable have-nots" invisible. They are the negros of the Indonesian neoliberal seconomy, and are the pariahs in our market fundamentalism grandnarrative.

Despite the rhetoric of the market fundamentalists, facts suggest the persistence of high levels of poverty even though there is more than enough resources to prevent it.
Poverty is a social construction, not an objective reality. This can be taken to means that poverty is socially created and reproduced, it involves interplays among social and political groups on an unlevel power-playing fields. The ways in which control, use and access to the economic resources are instrinsically part of the reasons why so many people down and out on our big cities streets -- and could not (re)gain further access to economic resources.

at Friday, September 19, 2008