THE MISSION

When I decided to start writing again, the immediate question is what to write about. When the random topic pops into my head, I will feel free to write about it. The thing left hanging from some of my previous writing is my solution to all the World’s problems. This has been racing around in my brain for some time. One of the things I found with my previous writing is getting something down in writing allows the brain some peace. The ideas are preserved. Its time for another brain cleanse.

One of the things I see lacking is most of the cries I read for this reform or that reform or improvement is a sense of how it all fits together. I believe the world is one big living organism. Everything effects everything else. Take for example the $15 minimum wage. The moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt has the concept of sufficiency. Is this sufficient? What must be paid out of this? Does it include health care. What about the escalation of the cost of living? What about the variation in the cost of living in different areas of the country? What about special needs? What about families, multiple wage-earning families, childcare, etc.? Surely increasing the minimum wage will benefit a lot of people, but what is the intent? What are we trying to achieve? Will this accomplish our goals? Everyone has different actual needs. If it is indeed inflationary, will it be adequate after its effects are rolled into the economy?

Borrowing again from Frankfurt, what is sufficient? The immorality of the huge income disparity existent now is not that the rich are so rich, but the poor aren’t elevated to a level of sufficiency. Then there is the problem of Climate Change and planet resource cannibalization. What about the goal of global political stability, human rights, global economic disparity. All this in a context of a future in which computers and robots will be performing an increasing percentage of the world’s output of goods and services. Our task in thinking about this, let alone integrating it all is almost overwhelming. Is mankind up to the Task?

One of the biggest problems we face is no governmental body is anxious to implement any policy that might inconvenience or irritate the electorate. The other problem is the world is primarily controlled by the money interests that are the poster definition of selfish.

I am not looking for the world to accept my concepts. I want the world to be aware of them, let a little of it sink into their thinking and get their brain up off the sofa and start working on the solution. We are working on the problems with a delicate surgical scalpel when we should be using a meat axe.