Before the comments on “Haiti’s Last Chance” (5 Feb 10) were deflected into the dysfunctional governance structure quagmire, Larry G. asked:
“well in the case of Haiti, we think their GDP is too low – for the resources they have. That’s the implication, right?”
“You’ve got two countries on the same island with about the same resources but one of them the GDP is four time higher.”
“right?”
Discussion of the Haitian earthquake makes it PAINFULLY clear how hard it is for almost everyone to focus on the magnitude of Fundamental Transformation necessary to achieve a sustainable trajectory for civilization.
Almost everyone hopes that reality will go away, and that they can just retreat into the cocoon of illusion and Myth spun by the political clansmen and promoted by advertising and the lobbing of Business-As-Usual Tiger Riders who benefit from Mass OverConsumption.
Larry G. who demonstrates clear thinking and good instincts on many topics, obviously misses the point of the original post and most of the prior comments, including his own. Groveton who often exhibits a broad base of experience and insight searches for fly specks in the pepper. Comparing earthquake faults in California with ones in Haiti?
Perhaps everyone needs to refresh themselves on the two overarching principles Jared Diamond distilled from an examination of diverse societal disasters in Collapse. See “Collapse, An Appreciation” 8 August 2005. Understanding Guns, Germs and Steel will also help.
As Jim Bacon points out, in the original Haiti string, Diamond specifically mentions the ecological disaster that is Haiti and the difference in remaining resources and ecological buffers that distinguish Haiti from The Dominican Republic. (For an interesting perspective, see Kent Mountford’s “Nation’s fortunes often grow, fall along with their forest resources” in the February issue of Bay Journal.)
The impact of Spain’s ‘management’ of its colonies and the abandonment of Haiti by France made ‘all the difference.’ France’s other major Caribbean colonial venture turned out much better. Martinique / Guadalupe is a ‘Department’ of France, a relationship that is similar to Statehood for Hawaii but profoundly different from the US of A’s relationship with Puerto Rico.
By the way, France is also AGAIN this year, the worlds best place for humans to live according to Living’s Quality of Life Index. As readers of The Shape of the Future know, EMR has reservations about such surveys but there is substance and continuity in this one. It focuses on parameters that those in the middle of the Ziggurat are concerned with, not the Architectural Digest crowd or the 12.5 Percenters.
The US of A is seventh best country in which to live and losing ground. It is behind France, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand and Luxembourg in that order. This in spite of having per capita expenditure of energy and other key resources that is twice or three times the consumption rate of some of the other nation-states. In addition, the US of A has some indicators of citizen well being much farther down the list than seventh – happiness, health care and infant mortality for starters.
In fact, the Seventh place ranking is a residual impact of having consumed so much Natural Capital in the past 150 year (much of it translated into the glory of prior GDP growth) and the illusions spread by advertising, entertainment and media about ‘the good life’ experienced by those depicted.
Just so Larry understands:
“well in the case of Haiti, we think their GDP is too low – for the resources they have. That’s the implication right?”
No, No, No.
GDP is a rear view mirror measure of citizen well being. Humans must evolve A NEW METRIC OF CITIZEN WELL BEING – PART FIVE of TRILO-G.
“You’ve got two countries on the same island with about the same resources but one of them the GDP is four time higher.”
No, No, No.
The two quasi-nation-states ARE on the same island – and so in 1492 had similar potential – but they do NOT have the same economic, social or physical resources.
“right?”
WRONG
The official body count is 211,000 and now Bill has worked himself into the hospital.
Bill: Take care of yourself BUT DO NOT SCREW UP
EMR