In the News (from Time Business): “Capitalism needs a fundamental overhaul. …The most rational arguments have pointed out that not only is capitalism the best system yet devised for enhancing the well being of the greatest number of people, but that it is also immensely supple and flexible. But a surprising number of attendees (and these are the world’s most direct beneficiaries of the current system) seems to agree that something is wrong.

“The Arab Spring must end happily. …The powers at the very core of the World Economic Forum are interested in the Arab Spring as a matter of paramount global importance. (That said, among the regular attendees, the Eurozone is of far more interest. At one panel discussion on ‘The Future of North Africa,’ the auditorium was about 10% full. For a ‘Future of the Eurozone’ panel taking place immediately after, it was standing room only.)

“The Eurozone crisis will continue to muddle along, but muddling may be enough. The European finance ministers in attendance are all staying on message: Eurobonds are not happening, austerity measures are the way forward now, greater fiscal union is the end goal, and Greece will not default or leave the Eurozone. Interestingly, for the first time in a long time, most of the policital/policy/media hive mind is cautiously optimistic that the Eurozone may actually be starting to heal itself.

“China is still the star. Brazil has come to Davos in a big way. As has Mexico, and India, and Azerbaijan. But the panels on China are packed, and everybody wants to talk about China, and while the cult of the Chinese technocrat has long been on the rise, we are now reaching the full flower of absolute reverence. American business people speak in hushed tones about the new generation of Chinese leaders as if they are supermen: They are well-educated, worldly, wise, and compared to the haplessness and paralysis that western governments have demonstrated over the past two years, they are paragons of good governance.

“Americans and Europeans are pointing fingers at each other. Why is the global economy not in full recovery? The Europeans complain that none of this would have happened if the Americans had not taxed the global financial system when its housing bubble burst. To which, the Americans respond that that may be true, but they claim to have put their house in order and the only thing that’s holding America’s economy back now is European uncertainty. Then, arguments commence.”

My Comment: So far, most important is to demonstrate to the world that somewhere the smart guys are concerned about it day and night
[68231]

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With each passing day we feel more and more that we live in a very complex and interdependent world. This is why we speak of the law that affects us all that binds us all together, and this law is called the mutual guarantee.

At first glance this law seems to pertain more to governments or large corporations. But does it also apply to the regular Joe? It turns out that it does, and from year to year we feel this truth more acutely. For example, if there’s a malfunction in one of the European or American banks, its consequences are felt in all countries, and especially in, say, China, which sells all the things it manufactures there. And this, in turn, impacts half the world. In other words, we have become so thoroughly bound by commerce, economy, and finance that we perceive these things as a threat to our existence. Indeed, they determine the availability of food, clothes, energy to supply residential heating, the function of international pharmaceutical companies, and so forth.

Today there isn’t a single country in the world that satisfies all its needs, whereas even 100 years ago all countries were almost fully self-sufficient. It all changed when India became a British colony, and the English decided that it would be easier to import fruits and vegetables from India via the Suez Canal, rather than grow the produce themselves. Instead they began to develop their industry. With time people began to realize that specialization—where everyone manufactures only certain goods —was the way to go.

In contrast, in the past, every individual factory would manufacture absolutely everything, starting with the smallest bolt and ending with the complete machine and all its components (motor, electrical wiring, etc.). Moreover, the same plant also utilized small generators to supply electricity. All these processes took place in the same location. But then began the division of labor: one plant manufactured bolts, another screws, another yet electrical components, and so on. And today every automaker receives their supplies from many different countries.

In recent years this trend was taken even further. Instead of developing the auto industry on their own land, Japan began to build their factories in Europe and America, its target markets. Japan continues to manage the production from afar; what’s more, instead of managing them directly, Japan is doing it via their representatives, which are hired right there on location.

Thus, everything became so mixed together that you can no longer tell who’s producing what. One country’s territory contains factories and gas stations that actually belong to another country. There are corporations with owners in several countries, each of which has its share. The economies of many countries have foreign investors , and the local governments don’t interfere since it’s advantageous to them. Their citizens get jobs, and everybody is happy.

And we thought that everything would continue developing in this direction…
[67799]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode #5, 1/2/12

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In the News (from CNBC): “Young people should work for free for up to two years to gain experience, youth and business leaders said at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday.

“A new UN resolution to enshrine the importance of a couple of years of voluntary work for young people was urged by delegates including Maurice Lévy, chairman and chief executive of Publicis Groupe, as part of a CNBC-moderated debate on how to avert a lost generation of unemployed youth…

“The world needs 600 million new jobs in the next decade to cope with a rising population and the effects of the financial crisis, according to figures released earlier this week by the International Labor Organization.”

Comment: In this way, capitalists want to put the problem of unemployment on the shoulders of society. Moreover, the state should support the unemployed. But the world will not need new workers; on the contrary, unemployment will increase. A person should be engaged, not in useless work, which costs much more than the unemployment benefits, but in what will really help the community: in educating everybody about cooperation and mutual guarantee, which will bring balance with nature and the benefit for the world.
[67981]

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In the News (from BBC News): “Davos is used to bluster from political leaders. But when usually quietly spoken company bosses from all corners of the earth warn of ‘not a crisis, but a disaster,’ when they call something a ‘cancer in society,’ you know we have a problem.

“The world, they say, is ‘sitting on a social and economic time bomb.’ The world is plagued by youth unemployment.

“The numbers are stark: In some countries of the Arab world, up to 90% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed. In the United States the youth unemployment rate is 23%. In Spain nearly 50%. In the UK 22%.

“Worldwide, some 200 million people are unemployed. 75 million are between 16 and 24 and every year about 40 million young people are entering the workforce.

“The business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) know why it matters: Young people who were unemployed for a long time will earn less throughout their whole lives.

“They will be less employable. They won’t have the skills that business needs. They are more likely to have long-term health problems. And it can cause social unrest.

“There’s a term for it: Lost generation. Or as one business school professor puts it: ‘Unemployment sucks. Youth unemployment sucks even more.’

“‘The youth has lost a line of sight to the future.’”

My Comment: Young unemployed people will change the world. When disseminating the method of correction of the world, we must address namely them. The feeling of hopelessness is akin to the search for new things, and they will understand the need to learn from nature.
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Opinion (Nouriel Roubini, an American economist, co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics LLC): “Social unrest, Roubini says, is tied directly to economic uncertainty.

“What is connecting everyone in the world these days, continues Roubini, is economic and financial insecurity, the rise of income and wealth inequality, challenges from poverty, unemployment effects of financial crisis.

“Freakouts about debt loads, moreover, are leading to budget cuts — which, in Europe, at least, are making the recession worse.

“225 million people worldwide are unemployed; 1 in 3 people on the planet are poor or unemployed; 1% of the world’s families own 40% of the wealth; wages as a percent of GDP are at an all-time low; corporate profits as a percent of GDP are at an all-time high; current policies will lead to explosions.

“We’re in a ‘vicious circle’ … fiscal austerity to solve debt problem is making everything worse.

“So, how do we fix this? More unionization; more power to the worker; more investment in education; more investment in ‘human capital; more investment in infrastructure; less austerity; more investment in growth (Europe); redistribution of power in society — power to the working people; deal with massive CEO-to-employee pay inequality with taxation and be courageous with financial regulation.”

My Comment: If this is not implemented on the basis of integral education, no good plans will be realized. After all, they consist of items of “universal mutual guarantee,” which is impossible without the change in the awareness of the new united world.
[68098]

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In the News (from CNBC): “Young people should work for free for up to two years to gain experience, youth and business leaders said at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday.

“A new UN resolution to enshrine the importance of a couple of years of voluntary work for young people was urged by delegates including Maurice Lévy, chairman and chief executive of Publicis Groupe, as part of a CNBC-moderated debate on how to avert a lost generation of unemployed youth.

“The world needs 600 million new jobs in the next decade to cope with a rising population and the effects of the financial crisis, according to figures released earlier this week by the International Labor Organization.”

My Comment: In this way, capitalists want to put the problem of unemployment on the shoulders of society. Moreover, they wish the state to support the unemployed. But the world will not need new workers; on the contrary, unemployment will increase. A person should be engaged not in useless work that costs much more than the unemployment benefits, but in what will really help the community: in educating everybody about cooperation and mutual guarantee, which will bring society to balance with nature and will benefit the world.
[67981]

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Report (World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)): “The world economy is teetering on the brink of another major downturn. Output growth already slowed considerably to an estimated 2.8 per cent in 2011. Based on relatively optimistic baseline assumptions, the United Nations foresees world gross product (WGP) growth of 2.6 per cent for 2012 and 3.2 per cent for 2013. If the European sovereign debt crisis were to spin out of control and the weaknesses in the United States economy interact to create a downward spiral, the world economy could plunge into a double-dip recession. Alternatively, policy coordination that boosts aggregate demand and more directly attacks unemployment could improve prospects for economic growth.”

My Comment: Who said that the rate of economic growth is an indication of a crisis? How much more does it have to grow? Growth needs to be qualitative, not quantitative! It is necessary to stop thoughtlessly producing, selling, buying, and discarding, just to once again produce, sell, buy, and discard. It’s necessary to regulate the planet’s economy to produce whatever is needed to satisfy everyone, and not more than that.

We should stop considering an increase in the production rate as growth; instead growth is our ability to satisfy everyone’s needs for food, medicine, heat, safety, and housing. We need to free people from unnecessary and harmful work and obligate them to dedicate the freed up time to learning about integration, the new rules of the world community—the mutual guarantee. Otherwise, we will face not a second, but a never-ending crisis until we smarten up.
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Opinion (Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund): “The world must act now to prevent a ‘1930s moment’ and a ‘downward spiral’ into economic catastrophe, the International Monetary Fund warned last night

“Mrs Lagarde said: ‘We could easily slide into a 1930s moment, a moment where trust and cooperation break down and countries turn inward, a moment ultimately leading to a downward spiral that could engulf the entire world.’

“Mrs Lagarde added: ‘But what we must all understand is that this is a defining moment. It is not about saving one country or region. It is about saving the world from a downward economic spiral. The longer we wait, the worse it will get. The only solution is to move forward together. Our collective economic future depends on it.’”

Comment: If we admit that the entire world is completely interdependent and, through imposing restrictions on any communication with the non-aligned, oblige all the countries to be integrally connected, which is quite real today, we will be able to establish joint management of the world economy, raise the income of the needy to the level of subsistence, create a system of upbringing of an integral society, and not only overcome the crisis, but also lead people to happiness.
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Opinion (Karl- Heinz Ruckriegel, an economics professor and a happiness researcher at the University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg): “Scientists tend to agree [that money does not buy happiness]. When people have to fight for survival, they are not satisfied with their lives, and a direct correlation between income and satisfaction is observed.

“However, this correlation weakens as income rises over $ 10,000 a year, and after $ 20,000 it is gone completely. That is, when the basic needs are met, a person just gets used to the standard of living, but does become happier; besides, he begins to compare himself with others and cannot calm down.”

My Comment: Undoubtedly, the country’s GDP says nothing about the happiness of its people. Of course, first it’s necessary to ensure that everyone’s income level is sufficient to cover basic necessities. But we do not have to provide more than that; rather, we should teach people how to achieve happiness through unity—this is the fulfillment that nature has prepared for us.

And although we still view this as totally unacceptable and repulsive, we must learn this science of achieving happiness. As a result, we attain eternity and perfection and begin to feel the highest level of Nature.
[67878]

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Opinion (Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of America’s leading strategists, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter): “Nathan Gardels: While China focuses on the long term and plots out its future, the US in particular is beset with a short-term mentality. In effect, we are no longer an ‘industrial democracy’ in the strict sense, but a ‘consumer democracy’ where all the feedback signals – the market, the media, and politics – are short-term and geared to immediate gratification.

“Gardels: How can America’s short-term mentality be changed? Are the West’s political institutions up to the challenge?

“Brzezinski: Yes, if we develop a more effective and longer-range response to the current crisis. …We are so preoccupied with the current crisis and so lacking in a longer-term perspective that we have no strategic vision which would give us some sense of historical momentum.

“Democracy is capable of responding provided we focus on the right aims. The question today is whether democracies can thrive with financial systems that are out of control, that are capable of generating selfishly beneficial consequences only for the few, without any effective framework that gives us a larger, more ambitious sense of purpose. That is the real problem.

“The essential political leadership in Europe – the Germans and the French mainly, along with some others – are demonstrating a sense of responsibility for the future of Europe. They are increasingly determined to shape a political framework which will supplant what Europe has been lately, namely a financial union for some and a politically loose community for all. Inevitably, a genuine political union will take shape in stages and steps, probably beginning through a de facto treaty reached by inter-governmental agreement in the near future.

“We are now entering a phase in which no power is likely to be truly supreme.

“This is why, in my view, the idea of an expanded West – which eventually should include both Russia and Turkey – would be a very important element contributing to greater global stability. An enlarged West – in which the United States plays the role of conciliator and at the same time of balancer in Asia – would be better able to forge constructive policies to cope with global issues than a world in which there is increasing turmoil and conflict with many small players vying for their own self-interest.”

My Comment: We need to pull the financial system from the egoistic hands and use it only for the benefit of society. Otherwise, those in power will kill us.
[67875]

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