Sunday, January 23, 2011

The value of life

Society still hierarchize the value of life. I would like to propose that this "societal policy setting" is a direction at the root of several human pains and evils.
While most of us agree that in general we should not attribute a hierarchy to life, we all know that when it comes to loved ones we will do everything to support them. It is a noble human trait in itself at an individual level, so that one gets the best available environment for our loved ones.

The problem is when a society applies the same policy setting.

We are making progress in this respect as we are working toward eliminating racial and sexist hierarchies: the time is unfortunately not gone yet of putting more value to a specific race or sex but we are improving in terms of society.

\However, still present is societal hierarchy applied to other attributes.

Case in point:

As a society we still prioritize functions: more energy will be invested to save a president than a construction worker.
We still prioritize productivity: by investing more energy to save a middle-aged man than an elderly person.
We still prioritized those who do what we hold as appropriate: by investing more energy in saving a non-obese or on-smoker than an obese or smoker respectively.
And let's not forget the wild card, we still prioritized one with money.

The impact on the individual self-esteem (and consequences thereof) are enormous: the knowledge that society as a whole cares more or less depending on certain attributes is of tragic consequences, either as an unhealthy driver or as the ultimate deprecating power.

I would like to argue that a societal policy without a hierarchy of life value would solve fundamental lack of trust in individuals which ultimately drives a long serial of urges such as lust of power, abuse, materialism, competitive meanness, etc.

Monday, January 10, 2011

One more meaning to Global Village

Continent, countries, provinces, regions, towns, sectors... and their governmental legitimity...all with good intentions but mountains of laws and their red tapes can't cover it all. The rising of "shared consumption", the capacity through internet to exchange goods based on trust (a rating that is attributed to you) is to the image of one's place in the "historical" village. However, this time our honesty rating or absence thereof will be built and known by people who will never meet you but will engage into trading with you.
By exchanging a book that you read for one you are interested in, people who share something with you will learn about you. They will learn to which degree they can trust and for what, in a way equivalent to your credit score but this time at a people level: accountability at the level of your action, and because it is computationable, also for the sum of your actions.

What you do and do not do becomes your e-profile.

Once again, after thousand years of innocence we are to become accountable!