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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

How to Save the Global Economy: Take a Vacation - by Daniel C. Dennett | Foreign Policy

How to Save the Global Economy: Take a Vacation - by Daniel C. Dennett | Foreign Policy

Este artículo de Daniel C. Dennet está muy próximo, sin citarlo, a H.D. Thoreau

We academics have long summer vacations and even longer sabbaticals -- glorious big chunks of green time in which to write books, spend months on end studying various phenomena, or just see the world or build a boat. We don't just enjoy recreation; we re-create ourselves. 

(...)

 The more green time at your disposal, the more varied your desires beyond the bare necessities of life. Priming the economic pump with extra usable leisure, with no loss of productivity, could boost economic growth and create many wonderful things. 

(...)

There is wisdom in these workers' refusal to obey the "laws" of wages, and if that wisdom could be harnessed, target workers wouldn't have to quit their jobs; they could take "sabbaticals" that fit their dreams and goals. In much the same way cell phones have permitted those same countries to leap over the costly infrastructure of land lines, perhaps technology can also spare the developing world the regimentation of work that turns so much human time into garbage time. 

The developing world is full of smart, innovative people who, given time and opportunity, can amaze us -- people like William Kamkwamba, the Malawian who as a 14-year-old boy designed and built his own electric windmills from scratch. When everyone -- not just those of us in the ivory tower -- can use green time better, the energies unleashed will astound the world. 

Aunque no va con el signo de los tiempos, por lo menos aporta humor y reflexión, de un profesor ...que reconoce su status privilegiado


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