A call for FRESH THINKING to challenge OLD ERRORS in ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES.
Is there a need for a war on beauracracy, by leaders?
Short answer, NO.
There is a need for peaceful cooperation and collaboration.
Past informs future.
Einstein once explained, we can’t solve our problems with the same kind of thinking that created them.
We understand that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing, and then expect a different result.
We also know that if we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always got.
Economic Etymology
50% of ancient economic principles have been discarded.
Has the loss of our past economic ethics led to our current difficulty?
If we track the etymology of the word economy, this originates from the world ekonomos or further back, oikonomia.
What educators might not tell you, is that the original meaning of Ekonomos, also includes the companion word Oikos and is Oikonomia.
Oikos means the economy of the household. For the people.
Ancient Greek economic principles merged the interpretation of the 'economy of the state' and of the 'economy of the people'.
Essentially, this was a set of ethics and virtues by which a kingdom ekonomos served households, in companionship with an Oikos prefix of ideology.
Of, by and for the people.
It was much later that the French and British establishments preferred to take the state half of Ekonomos without the application of the community prefix Oikos.
For king and country.
That new much more selfish ideology reached a pinnacle, ushering in a rebellion called the Magna Carta, Rules were finally put in place to mitigate the greed and selfishness of any future self or institutionally appointed kings.
Notwithstanding that there is no place for a king within a functioning constitutional federal republic or a representative democracy.
New Zealand, Australia and the British Westminster system, are much weaker forms of democracy than the U.S constitutional democracy, which was designed to prevent future tyranny.
To be clear, you can't sit in commonwealth parliament, unless you swear fealty to the King of England. Thus undermining your sworn oath to serve only the public interest of the constituents you represent. A hangover from a royalty drunk on power.
Economic ideologies of antiquity served groups of people, they were collective in nature, and they served the application of an ethical hospitality.
The principle of tithing or alms (gifts for the needy) was an economic governance principle to prevent poverty and crime.
Empathy and kindness were built in and every culture behaved this way.
In Iraq they have Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali (Pashto: پښتونولي) is the traditional lifestyle and is best described as a code of honor of the Pashtun people, by which they live.
Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code of life".
This code of honour included taking care of any guest who seeks refuge.
Similarly, the ancient Maori culture has a code of hospitality called KOHA. Giving what you can to express gratitude.
Perhaps the reason the world is in such a bad state is because teachers have forgotten these thousands of years old lessons, supplanting collectivism with a much more recent selfish-individualism.
My point is this.
Leaders do not need go to war with beauracracy.
Instead, the new generation will learn from the past, to understand the present priorities.
Then collectively negotiate a way towards the best future solutions, through a mutually beneficial collaboration and cooperation.
We are in this together.
The enemy is ignorance.
Education is mission critical.
Over the course of my career, I have often been the maverick innovator within a system, who advocated for change.
I have been hired many times over to either create something new or transform something old into something new
And many times successful.
I’m collaborating right now in Blockchain and Cryprocurrency with law enforcement and FinTech leaders worldwide, in the context of protecting consumers from FinTech crime and corruption.
FinTech executives had the chance to demonstrate that they could self-regulate.
Give people enough rope and some people will hang themsleves.
One after another, we have seen self-interested innovators either steal or lose many billions in value.
With experience comes wisdom.
There is an opportunity to lead people, bringing leaders together within frameworks for fresh thinking, collaborating on solutions that benefit humanity. That's not a war. That's an alliance.
We must adopt fresh thinking.
The old ways of thinking:
The problem with the opportunity.
Profit individually as the hero.
The devil in the detail.
Conflict of interest
Self-interest
Feudalism
The new ways of thinking:
The opportunity in the problem.
Hero’s support collective profit.
See the angel in the detail.
Confluence of interest.
Mutual interest.
Cooperation.
G J MacLean
Comments