Posted by: Homeyji November 30, 2008
America's rich and Nepal's poor
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I agree with what you are saying. People just sitting around making excuses instead of showing initiative is not good. We individually need to take responsibility for our actions and empower ourselves through education and hard work. I am not advocating laziness.

But we also need to realize that no individual exists in a economic vacuum. We exist as a part of a greater system in the world. When everyone competes and hordes for themself, over time the system as a whole has less. Everyone just looking after their interest starts to have diminishing returns to society and the world as a whole after a while. Though Capitalism has shown that it works great for the most part, we also need to understand its limitations.

That is why Monopolies are illegal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly

In America, what we have in the name of globalization and capitalism is oligopolies in a media based society:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly

The result resembles 12 wolves (owners of fortune 500 companies) snarling at 100 rabbits (the rest of us).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

Though GameTheory sounds great, like any theory or concept, it has it's holes. The 12 wolves along with the politicians in their pocket makes us overlook the blindspots and holes in game theory.

Social traps:
Inherent in game theory is the concept that when everyone is self-centered and is just taking, taking, taking, then everyone as a whole has less. But somehow, in our great enthusiasm for capitalism, we've just ignored this whole principle. This hurts third world countries like Nepal the most. Of the people of third world countries, it hurts the poor the most.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Traps

If you think about it, pretty much all the problems in Nepal are because of social traps: greedy politicians and business men who feel that they can take and take and have no social responsibility to the country. In an environment like that, peasant uprisings are only natural.

 What can Nepalese living in America do while we are here to educate people about how ignoring the blindspots of Capitalism is affecting our country and our people?

Last edited: 03-Dec-08 04:44 AM
Last edited: 03-Dec-08 04:45 AM
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