Read other letters about this article

• Friday, March 14, 2008 03:01 AM

  Gross oversimplification

  "officials who are democratically selected by the masses don't really understand -- and perhaps aren't even capable of understanding -- the complex global issues that need to be negotiated. American congressmen, senators and even presidents know how to get elected by capitalizing on delusional fears of gay marriage and illegal aliens, but their constituents don't demand that they master high-level economic or scientific concepts. Chances are, the voters haven't even heard of those concepts, let alone formulated opinions on them. How can even the superclass be accountable to a public that can't (or won't) comprehend what they do?"

  That is a gross oversimplification that the superclass elite are intelligent while elected officials aren't. It's also giving less credit to ordinary citizens than they deserve. If anything, I would blame general social injustice that prevents citizens from receiving high-quality education that would allow them to grasp economic and scientific concepts.

  This book seems to be based on the assumption that powerful and wealthy people are also intelligent and competent. Sure, the Davos people may include the rare scientist or academic, but the majority are CEO's and wealthy tycoons, who may or may not understand advanced economics and science.

  The best experts in political, social and environmental issues seem to be local, specialized agencies or NGOs that are knowledgeable about very specific problems in a small community and have the expertise the alleviate those problems (example: Grameen Bank). Once people are involved in wider issues in large geographical areas, they seem to oversimplify and generalize situations (example: IMF's insistence to requiring the same economic reforms for all countries as a condition for lending money to them).

  Nor are members of the supposed superclass capable of solving civil conflict, ethnic tensions and fights for limited natural resources in the least. Time and time again, these prove to be the biggest impediments to global development and stability, deeply entrenched in problems related to political corruption, local culture and natural resource allocation. Again, solving these issues need close attention from highly specialized third-party groups, rather than an all-encompassing solution generated by a group of corporate leaders and philanthropists.

  —Magritte's pipe Read Magritte's pipe's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel