Jill Rees: Welcome Press

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

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