More thoughts on world poverty | Jill Rees: Welcome Press

* More thoughts on world poverty

Posted on April 6th, 2008 by jill. Filed under Creative Writing.

Sometimes poverty is decided by relating the GDP to the survival rate for children and longevity. Recently however there have been some discrepancies. Hans Rosling analyises world poverty and individual nations’ progress throughout the last one and a half centuries, since industrialisation. He omits to investigate those instances where health and welfare overtake economic wealth, and he fails to look forward to the new idea of wealth which is in terms of sustainability and low carbon emissions. Welfare increasingly will be related to tbe well-being of populations, in terms of longevity, mortality, health, welfare and living standards.

He correctly points out that education, while an important factor in national progress, is not the aim. Democracy, he says, is secondary when you are struggling to live each day, although it is nice to vote if you have the free time! What is the aim of development? He begins to touch on this. The aim he says is of course human rights, but mostly the aim is CULTURE, because culture is what actually makes life worth living.

He obviously has too much time on his hands, because if you click on this link you will see the most amazing proof that culture is what most impresses people. All I can say is WOW THIS MAN IS A GOD. Click now, don’t waste any more time.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/140

Tags: Africa, Creative Writing, development, economic, Hans Rosling, health, infant mortality, poverty, TED, welfare

Tags: Africa, development, economic, Hans Rosling, health, infant mortality, poverty, TED, welfare

One Response to “More thoughts on world poverty”

rees Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Thanks for this Jill. I’d never noticed it before. I’m going to pass it on to some people at work with a view to incorporating the information display methods for data. It’s a very interesting and thought provoking piece.
You can run the software here if you like.

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Buddhist Quotes

“An important reason why fighting against evil in Buddhism is a part of our
Buddhist practise is that if we fail to do so, we become accomplices to
evil. In relation to this frightening reality, the Daishonin cites the Great
Teacher Nan-yüeh, who says that those who turn a blind eye to evil will fall
into hell along with those people who actually commit that evil (WND-1,
747). ‘Failing to do good is the same as doing evil’–this is the undying
credo of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founding president of the Soka Gakkai.

“Evil friends function to intensify others’ ignorance or darkness–that is,
heighten the workings of the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness
in their lives. That is the fearful nature of such negative influences.
Allowing evil to go unchallenged, therefore, ultimately spells suffering and
pain for many people. As long as Buddhism is a philosophy that teaches the
inherent dignity of human life, it is crucial that its practitioners fight
resolutely against those tendencies that promote disrespect for human life,
discrimination, and the destruction of life.”

— Daisaku Ikeda

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Jill Rees: Welcome Press

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