Tuesday, August 31, 2010

One last post to sneak in for August...

"Does a higher gini coefficient – more inequality – lead to more aspiration and motivation for self-improvement among people? Or does it engender more resentment and desperation? What do you think?"

I earned this one by poking the economists in the ribs, a little bit. I think... that this is exactly the kind of question that should be addressed in a presidential candidate debate. Especially if His Excellency the Celebrident of Tanzania actually consents to joining in one. I have been watching The West Wing Season Six and it has been very stimulating in light of the coming general election.

The debates: an integral part of representative electoral democracy, if combined with intellectual meritocracy. Certainly a cornerstone of the democratic ideal by being one of the few ways in which the electorate and the candidates might assess each other as equals. I have heard of a couple of initiatives in this direction- i.e. presidential candidate debates and if I hear of more I will let you know.

Couple of things to look at: a succinct description of The Establishment's behavior in an election year.Then, there is this too: perception is so important, what does it say when 1/4 of Americans answering a poll get it totally wrong? ... balaa. This is worth a laugh - just the latest Frankenbaby born from the union of politics and "art." I also stumbled across this here when thinking about blogging and media and accountability. I really like it when Wikipedia tries to be accurate and comprehensive and yet sensitive and precise. Some discussion on Bottom Up Thinking about the age-old Authoritarian Utility question, a recurrent development theme.

On the election front, there have been a lot of messages on the radio. Some news on the TV. Loud entertainment trucks, vuvuzelas and rally promotions. Same old, same old. Waiting for the good stuff.

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