THE BAD: Myanmar's political leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced last week to another term of house arrest; 18 more months. Although this was potentially a predictable sentence for Suu Kyi based on past actions by Myanmar's military junta, it is nonetheless demoralizing for supporters of democracy and those looking for diplomacy in upcoming elections.
THE GOOD: Briefly stated, it appears that strong economic growth continues to shine in Indonesia! I was both happy to read such headlines and amused by the unmistakable differences in outlook –namely, the critical vs. the upbeat.
Example 1 (the critical): Forbes.com posts the article “UPDATE 1-Indonesia Q2 GDP growth slowest in six years.” Growth slowest in six years --Isn’t that what American’s refer to as a back-handed compliment? Full Text
Example 2 (the upbeat): Article posted on Bloomberg.com reads “Indonesia Growth Likely Near Southeast Asia’s Fastest.” At first glance the title is merely an upbeat comparison to a group of countries. What I’m really getting at is the tone of the article, allowing for phrases like: “Investors are already optimistic about Indonesia’s growth prospects.” Certainly, why not optimism? Full Text
Growth is measured as the annual per cent change in the value of the gross domestic product after taking account of inflation. Source: International Monetary Fund. Translation: nearly every aspect of economic growth is based on material wealth; how much stuff can we build, make, export, import?
In to the book Deep Economy, author Bill McKibben provides an insightful anecdote when he states:
“Under the current system, as many have pointed out, all we do is add together expenditures, so that the most ‘economically productive’ citizen is a cancer patient who totals his car on his way to meet with his divorce lawyer” (pg. 28).Although I laughed out loud while reading this, post-laughter I was left with a sense of wonder. Luckily the page goes on to explain that many economist have been, and continue to, propose alternative measurements “that would more accurately reflect progress."
Imagine for a moment a revolution in economic theory to report statistically the growth of a country based on mouths fed, human suffering ceased, or perhaps the percentage increase of the population that for the first time has access to clean drinking water. This sort of growth suggests a sociality to economics, that undoubtedly exists between the lines of material production and measurements of services rendered, income, and investments.
THE INNOVATIVE: There are brilliant minds at work solving some of the most overwhelming challenges faced by the people of our planet; those who are willing and capable to combine economic thought (as they personally see it) and innovative ideas to help make the world around them (around all of us) a better place. This video was shared by a mentor of mine --another such brilliant mind.
“…perhaps [a nation’s growth could be measured by] the percentage increase of the population that for the first time has access to clean drinking water”
Source: TED “Ideas Worth Sharing”
