The other day I was using a new technology. I am a picture framer and the technology I was using was a cloth for cleaning glass. It is odd to think of a cloth as technology. But technically it is a technology. A definition of technology is "The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives". And that is what was occurring.
3M made this cloth, one of the world's most technologically driven companies. They are most famous for their adhesive tapes and glues. What is great about this cloth is that it can be washed and used again and again. In picture framing having clean glass is vital, so it isn't lightly that I praise this cloth because I am fussy about clean glass. I found that with this cloth I could use plain water instead of glass cleaner and get just as good results.
Another technology I am enthusiastic about is LED technology. LED stands for light-emitting diode. So far most of us have only experienced this technology in Christmas lights and in cars. But I am sure that LED bulbs will replace traditional light bulbs in the near future. Many of the traffic lights in our cities are now LED based. This type of lighting technology will do a lot to help conserve energy because it uses 80% less, plus it doesn't generate heat like conventional lighting, thus requiring no additional energy for cooling, saving even more energy. Imagine when LEDs are in full use. The savings! This technology will revolutionize the energy business.
The electric generating industry needs revolutionizing, and overhauling. A few years ago the industry in the United States was deregulated. The thinking back then was that allowing competition to enter the industry would bring down prices, the theory being that more electricity would be produced, thus making it cheaper. But prices have not come down like they did it other deregulated industries. Instead prices have gone up. Electric utilities in the United States have been playing a shell game with consumers, flipping electric utilities and passing on the cost to them. The industry has not been regulated properly. One of the most notorious companies for doing unscrupulous things with energy and overcharging customers was Enron. Perhaps the new technologies for generating electricity, like LEDs, solar cells, wind turbines and batteries, will wrestle some of the power away from utility companies and eventually give us lower prices. If the past is any indication, technological advances will eventually make electricity cheaper. I even heard talk of nuclear batteries some day.
Years ago a survey was taken among scientist asking the question, what has been the most important technological development of the 20th century. The response was, the laser. The laser is probably the most diverse technology ever invented. And imagine, when it was first discovered it was not known what it might be good for. Today it has multiple uses. It is used in fiber optics for communications. Neither the Internet nor capable TV would be possible on the massive scale it is if it weren’t for the laser and fiber optics. Lasers are also used in construction, for measuring distances and laying pipes. Lasers are used in printing newspapers and books. Lasers are used in all kinds of surgery. I understand they are now working on lasers that will link computer chips instead of using wires, which are susceptible to overheating and breakage. What would we do without lasers? For one thing we certainly wouldn't have the Internet and it fountain of information.
Technology has brought about both the modern world and has made the modern world possible. I remember the movie "Brazil: A state of Mind". The movie offered a view of the future, albeit a pessimistic one. But the future it presented was a futuristic version of the 1930s and 40's, so it was distorted. For instance, the telephones pictured in the movie were made to look modern and supposedly up-to-date by having hundreds of wires connected to them, making them bulky and inefficient looking. What impressed me about the movie is that the technological advances were made to look big and bulky, meaning ‘more is more’. Really, though, modern technology does the opposite, making ‘less means more’. That future in the move didn’t look very modern because technological advances took up to much space. The modern world has put a premium on space and resources because those things are not been made any more. In the real world technology has reduces the size of things while at the same time increasing their efficiency. Remember IBM's first computer? It was the size of a small house and used plenty of electricity to run and cool. (At the beginning IBM though it would only sell a few computers a year. It also wondered what computers might be used for.) Technology has also found alternatives and better use of our scare natural resources.
A few years ago I became interested in desalinization. For those countries that are short of drinking water there certainly is plenty of it in the ocean. However, it needs desalinated before it can be used. Recently I learned that Spain has been desalinating sea-water for over 40 years and is the most advanced in this technology, which it has been selling all over the world for years.
Democracy! Where would it be without technology? Technological advances gave us the printing press and the information age. Democracy is impossible without information and communication. Mobility is also important to Democracy. It has given us the freedom to move around and discover the world for ourselves. In communist countries such mobility was forbidden, denying that personal democratic freedom the West took for granted. Technology has certainly given us many modes of mobility. And our traveling has expanded and strengthened Democracy.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
More significance of 9/11
The people who instigated the attacks of 9/11 naively thought they could bring down a civilization, Western Civilization. Instead, the attacks showed the resilience and strength of this Civilization, to survive and carry on. In fact, I am impressed how robustly this Civilization has come roaring back from that disaster, with its cosmopolitism and internationalism. Many thought globalization was domed because this event conceivably could have ended it and spread isolationism throughout the world. The terrorists were hoping for that. The terrorist failed. I believe the fact that Western Civilization has shown such resilience and strength since the attacks signifies and confirms its preeminence in this world.
Another significant development of 9/11 is that it started the Islamic Reformation. Islam has never gone through a reformation in the way Christianity has. I find it interesting that Islam is five hundred years younger than Christianity and that its reformation is starting almost five hundred years after Christianity's.
What was done in the name of Islam on 9/11 by its Islamic perpetrators, and to a further extent by the bombings in London, Madrid and Bali, has provoked an awakening and a reflecting in the Islamic world, on what it is to be Islamic/Muslim. Because of this terrorist act done in their name, Muslims around the world have been looking inwardly and questioning their faith on mass. For the first time in history the Koran is being interpreted, something that in the past was vigorously discourage. The Bible, on the other hand, has been interpreted and debated for centuries. I think it is great that this kind of discourse has begun in Islam.
I think that the discourse started by of 9/11 among Muslims is really the only way of starting the process of democratization in the Islamic world and not through regime change or by military means. It has provoked politicking and independent thinking and self-expression among Muslim lay-people and scholars alike, something that has rarely occurred. This is an excellent start on the road to democracy. This is the way it started in Christianity, through its Reformation, which led to the Enlightenment, which paved the way for Democracy.
Perhaps the Islamic Reformation started before, but 9/11 blew it wide open. The antagonism Islam has endured from some sectors of the Christian world recently, like the Danish cartoon episode and the Pope's comments, has fueled and spurred on this Reformation.
Martin Luther was responsible for staring the Reformation in Christianity in the 16th century. The New York Times had an opinion piece entitled "Looking for Islam's Luther. That essay is what encouraged me to write what I am writing here. It also got me thinking of a falsehood, about the Reformation started by Luther. If anything, the Reformation he started, as we know it, was the result of an unattended consequence. It originally started off as a fundamentalist movement. We generally think of a reformation as an event that tends to liberalize and open things up. But Luther was a traditionalist and his idea of reformation was a way to push the Catholic Church back in time, to its original principles and traditional roots. Luther also thought the Church had become too liberal and wayward. Luther's Reformation was intended to clean up the Roman Catholic Church and put it back on the straight and narrow, not open it up to change and modernization as is what eventually occurred.
Luther was a fundamentalist and so were the perpetrators of 9/11. However, as we see from history, though Luther unleashed a reformation that was intended to restore traditional values in the Church, it had the opposite effect. This reformation did have some desired effects, in that it stopped some of the Church's capricious and corrupt behaviors. But it also had the undesired effect of splintering the Church and ushering in the Enlightenment, which started the development of Democracy. So instead of tightening things up, Luther’s Reformation cause a social upheaval. I think the Islamic/Muslim world is facing a similar prospect from the salvo that was launched on 9/11, which was hoped would push the world back to a more traditional, non-modern time, by its perpetrators. The idea backfired, as it did in Luther's time, The Islamic world is now in a social upheaval and is engaged in soul searching. And more often than not, when such things start things never remain quite the same and things usually change mutually for the better.
Another significant development of 9/11 is that it started the Islamic Reformation. Islam has never gone through a reformation in the way Christianity has. I find it interesting that Islam is five hundred years younger than Christianity and that its reformation is starting almost five hundred years after Christianity's.
What was done in the name of Islam on 9/11 by its Islamic perpetrators, and to a further extent by the bombings in London, Madrid and Bali, has provoked an awakening and a reflecting in the Islamic world, on what it is to be Islamic/Muslim. Because of this terrorist act done in their name, Muslims around the world have been looking inwardly and questioning their faith on mass. For the first time in history the Koran is being interpreted, something that in the past was vigorously discourage. The Bible, on the other hand, has been interpreted and debated for centuries. I think it is great that this kind of discourse has begun in Islam.
I think that the discourse started by of 9/11 among Muslims is really the only way of starting the process of democratization in the Islamic world and not through regime change or by military means. It has provoked politicking and independent thinking and self-expression among Muslim lay-people and scholars alike, something that has rarely occurred. This is an excellent start on the road to democracy. This is the way it started in Christianity, through its Reformation, which led to the Enlightenment, which paved the way for Democracy.
Perhaps the Islamic Reformation started before, but 9/11 blew it wide open. The antagonism Islam has endured from some sectors of the Christian world recently, like the Danish cartoon episode and the Pope's comments, has fueled and spurred on this Reformation.
Martin Luther was responsible for staring the Reformation in Christianity in the 16th century. The New York Times had an opinion piece entitled "Looking for Islam's Luther. That essay is what encouraged me to write what I am writing here. It also got me thinking of a falsehood, about the Reformation started by Luther. If anything, the Reformation he started, as we know it, was the result of an unattended consequence. It originally started off as a fundamentalist movement. We generally think of a reformation as an event that tends to liberalize and open things up. But Luther was a traditionalist and his idea of reformation was a way to push the Catholic Church back in time, to its original principles and traditional roots. Luther also thought the Church had become too liberal and wayward. Luther's Reformation was intended to clean up the Roman Catholic Church and put it back on the straight and narrow, not open it up to change and modernization as is what eventually occurred.
Luther was a fundamentalist and so were the perpetrators of 9/11. However, as we see from history, though Luther unleashed a reformation that was intended to restore traditional values in the Church, it had the opposite effect. This reformation did have some desired effects, in that it stopped some of the Church's capricious and corrupt behaviors. But it also had the undesired effect of splintering the Church and ushering in the Enlightenment, which started the development of Democracy. So instead of tightening things up, Luther’s Reformation cause a social upheaval. I think the Islamic/Muslim world is facing a similar prospect from the salvo that was launched on 9/11, which was hoped would push the world back to a more traditional, non-modern time, by its perpetrators. The idea backfired, as it did in Luther's time, The Islamic world is now in a social upheaval and is engaged in soul searching. And more often than not, when such things start things never remain quite the same and things usually change mutually for the better.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Democracy
I don't think Democracy has been studied enough, about how and why it works. And even though I have been studying it for some time I still find it hard to explain. Much of it seems to be a mystery. Nevertheless, I am going to tell you what I think.
Some people have been naive about establishing Democracy in Iraq. George Bush is one. Another is a noted scholar and teacher of Democracy at Stanford University, Larry Diamond. He eagerly went to Iraq to help establish it. In doing so he felt that he was party to something unique and helping to develop a new frontier. He soon left in despair because he realized that Democracy could not be established in an insecure environment. Iraq is socially, politically and militarily insecure, more so since the war began.
Some people naively think that since America managed to establish Democracy in Germany and Japan after WWII the same can be done in Iraq. Iraq is a different place. Those two countries had some of the basic components for Democracy prior to America’s involvement. Japan and Germany were pretty much socially homogenous nations. Iraq is not. Homogeny is one essential for Democracy taking hold. Also, Germany and Japan were industrially based nations prior to Democracy. Iraq is not. Industrialization pre-organized the populations of those countries and prepared them for Democracy. Industrialization and the culture it spawned, like the middle class and compulsory education, gave the populations in those countries a direct interest in the welfare of their countries, helping to establish the foundation that would later serve in developing Democracy. Autonomous hierarchal social structures such as corporation, unions and religious institutions were also critical in preparing Japan and Germany for Democracy. Those autonomous centers helped cultivated Democracy's future lieutenants. Iraq had no such political power centers waiting in the wings to help launch Democracy. A secular society is also essential for Democracy because it affords a common environment in which it can unfold. Iraq is not a secular society or a society that can easily put its religious differences aside, like Germany and Japan did.
One thing I have noticed is that democracy has a better chance in complex societies. But a thinking seems to suggest the opposite, that less complex societies would be better for Democracy's chances because there is less involved and less to worry about . However, Democracy is not like a machine that functions best with fewer moving parts - the fewer parts the better and the less chance of a break down. There also is a Catch-22 involved here. For instance, how can a nation like Iraq or Haiti who have never done Democracy before hope to achieve Democracy if they lack the complexity Democracy demands? How are nations and societies like Haiti and Iraq supposed to attain the complexities of the modern world if they have always shunned it or are incapable of it, so they can establish Democracy. The complexities of the modern world and Democracy were made for and necessitate each other.
By complex I mean that there has to be a whole host of different activities and self-interests competing and meshing with each other for Democracy to truly work. Iraq is not a very complex society. It does not have corporate and individual interest vying with government, religious and social interests. Even the complexity that is generated between men and women in Western societies, which is almost non-exist in the Middle East, makes a difference. Democracy, in order to really work, requires many masters making many demands on it. The many demands put on Democracy, ironically, are what keep it alert and alive. This is something Bernard Lewis, a scholar of Islam, touched on in his book "What Went Wrong?", meaning what went wrong in Islam. He said that one think lacking in Islamic societies, which discourages the development of Democracy, is polyphony - many voices competing, demanding to be heard and juggling each other. In Islam there aren't many voices speaking out, inquiring and expressing themselves. That is one thing Democracy seems to require and thrives on, polyphony and diversity.
Most people think democracy is just about voting, that is why so many people got so exited about the first election in Iraq. Well, that has not lead to Democracy nor will it any time soon. Democracy requires back-up systems, like a truly free press, pluralism, secularism, a sense of equality, the rule of law for all, property rights and honest individual recognition and freedom. Democracy requires a whole host of things happening at the same time for it to really work. Under this scenario Germany and Japan were ripe for democracy with their diversity of intellects, scientists, educators, industrialists and politicians. But Iraq and the Islamic world do not have the diversity Democracy requires to take hold. In the West democracy has taken centuries to develop and here, astonishingly, it is expected that Iraq pick it up just like that, as if it was natural. Democracy doesn't come naturally. It seems natural because it addresses basic human instincts but it takes nurturing, though a long arduous process
To Western countries Democracy has come in a backward fashion, through the back door. First, people in Western nations gained economic freedom and then political freedom followed. This is how Western women eventually got the vote in the 20th century, because of the economic clout they acquired in running the household. With economic freedom women gained a measure of respect and recognition. With their economic clout women could not be easily ignored. And from that evolved, with addition pressure from the suffrage movement, political freedom for them. This is how Democracy is slowly emerging for the people of China. First they are economically empowered and engaged and then they will become politically empowered and engaged.
At the moment I don't know what the answer is for Iraq, whether Democracy will ever be possible there or not. I can only see that they are incapable of Democracy. I mean, if they ever hope to achieve Democracy their culture will require a revolutionary change. But is that possible? America has sure tried in a clumsy way.
Some people have been naive about establishing Democracy in Iraq. George Bush is one. Another is a noted scholar and teacher of Democracy at Stanford University, Larry Diamond. He eagerly went to Iraq to help establish it. In doing so he felt that he was party to something unique and helping to develop a new frontier. He soon left in despair because he realized that Democracy could not be established in an insecure environment. Iraq is socially, politically and militarily insecure, more so since the war began.
Some people naively think that since America managed to establish Democracy in Germany and Japan after WWII the same can be done in Iraq. Iraq is a different place. Those two countries had some of the basic components for Democracy prior to America’s involvement. Japan and Germany were pretty much socially homogenous nations. Iraq is not. Homogeny is one essential for Democracy taking hold. Also, Germany and Japan were industrially based nations prior to Democracy. Iraq is not. Industrialization pre-organized the populations of those countries and prepared them for Democracy. Industrialization and the culture it spawned, like the middle class and compulsory education, gave the populations in those countries a direct interest in the welfare of their countries, helping to establish the foundation that would later serve in developing Democracy. Autonomous hierarchal social structures such as corporation, unions and religious institutions were also critical in preparing Japan and Germany for Democracy. Those autonomous centers helped cultivated Democracy's future lieutenants. Iraq had no such political power centers waiting in the wings to help launch Democracy. A secular society is also essential for Democracy because it affords a common environment in which it can unfold. Iraq is not a secular society or a society that can easily put its religious differences aside, like Germany and Japan did.
One thing I have noticed is that democracy has a better chance in complex societies. But a thinking seems to suggest the opposite, that less complex societies would be better for Democracy's chances because there is less involved and less to worry about . However, Democracy is not like a machine that functions best with fewer moving parts - the fewer parts the better and the less chance of a break down. There also is a Catch-22 involved here. For instance, how can a nation like Iraq or Haiti who have never done Democracy before hope to achieve Democracy if they lack the complexity Democracy demands? How are nations and societies like Haiti and Iraq supposed to attain the complexities of the modern world if they have always shunned it or are incapable of it, so they can establish Democracy. The complexities of the modern world and Democracy were made for and necessitate each other.
By complex I mean that there has to be a whole host of different activities and self-interests competing and meshing with each other for Democracy to truly work. Iraq is not a very complex society. It does not have corporate and individual interest vying with government, religious and social interests. Even the complexity that is generated between men and women in Western societies, which is almost non-exist in the Middle East, makes a difference. Democracy, in order to really work, requires many masters making many demands on it. The many demands put on Democracy, ironically, are what keep it alert and alive. This is something Bernard Lewis, a scholar of Islam, touched on in his book "What Went Wrong?", meaning what went wrong in Islam. He said that one think lacking in Islamic societies, which discourages the development of Democracy, is polyphony - many voices competing, demanding to be heard and juggling each other. In Islam there aren't many voices speaking out, inquiring and expressing themselves. That is one thing Democracy seems to require and thrives on, polyphony and diversity.
Most people think democracy is just about voting, that is why so many people got so exited about the first election in Iraq. Well, that has not lead to Democracy nor will it any time soon. Democracy requires back-up systems, like a truly free press, pluralism, secularism, a sense of equality, the rule of law for all, property rights and honest individual recognition and freedom. Democracy requires a whole host of things happening at the same time for it to really work. Under this scenario Germany and Japan were ripe for democracy with their diversity of intellects, scientists, educators, industrialists and politicians. But Iraq and the Islamic world do not have the diversity Democracy requires to take hold. In the West democracy has taken centuries to develop and here, astonishingly, it is expected that Iraq pick it up just like that, as if it was natural. Democracy doesn't come naturally. It seems natural because it addresses basic human instincts but it takes nurturing, though a long arduous process
To Western countries Democracy has come in a backward fashion, through the back door. First, people in Western nations gained economic freedom and then political freedom followed. This is how Western women eventually got the vote in the 20th century, because of the economic clout they acquired in running the household. With economic freedom women gained a measure of respect and recognition. With their economic clout women could not be easily ignored. And from that evolved, with addition pressure from the suffrage movement, political freedom for them. This is how Democracy is slowly emerging for the people of China. First they are economically empowered and engaged and then they will become politically empowered and engaged.
At the moment I don't know what the answer is for Iraq, whether Democracy will ever be possible there or not. I can only see that they are incapable of Democracy. I mean, if they ever hope to achieve Democracy their culture will require a revolutionary change. But is that possible? America has sure tried in a clumsy way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)