Re: telos, rationality and action

Randy Groves:

 

>Ed, thanks for the thoughtful response. I would like to respond to your point
>that you "find such questions (concerning questions of the good or goals of
>society) perplexing to the point of thinking that perhaps they should not be
>raised.  It's too much like trying to assign purpose to the universe, which pays
>no attention to us anyhow.  Too much questioning might lead to a conundrum that
>could freeze all action, good as well as bad."
>
>Your point is well taken, but some minimal conception of the social good is
>necessary is we are to be rational and moral in our attempts to act. One can get
>bogged down in theory, but some is absolutely necessary. Otherwise our actions
>merely flail around emotively. In another post I suggested a world-wide minimum
>of health care (which would probably require a minimum caloric intake as well)
>as a starting point. My earlier post also suggested "higher" goals such as
>cultural goals, and I can see where that might get bogged down, especially since
>we are so far from providing even a minimum of basic goods for the world's
>population.

 

I agree.  But implementation of any such goals would involve an increased transfer from the rich to the poor.  Would we be willing to foot the bill?  Data in the table below indicates that per capita GNP in poor and middle income countries was approximately $1,100 in 1995.  In high income countries it was close to $25,000.  How much would the latter be willing to give up to provide a better quality of life for the former?  How much could they give up without jeopardizing the health of their own social and economic systems - i.e. the fabric of their own comfort?  I doubt that they would be willing to give up enough to have any real effect.  The Cold War is long gone, and with it went reasons for sending good things as well as weapons to the poor of the world.

 

	Popn millions	GNP/cap $	Annual growth '85 to '95	GNP (millions)	GNP share
Low-and middle-income	4,771	1,090	0.4	5,200,213	18.8%
Sub-Saharan Africa	583	490	-1.1	285,840	1.0%
East Asia and Pacific	1,706	800	7.2	1,365,155	4.9%
South Asia	1,243	350	2.9	435,061	1.6%
Europe and Central Asia	488	2,220	-3.5	1,082,565	3.9%
Middle East and N. Africa	272	1,780	-0.3	484,936	1.8%
Latin America and Caribbean	478	3,320	0.3	1,586,759	5.7%
High-income economies	902	24,930	1.9	22,490,692	81.2%
World	5,673	4,881	2.3	27,690,905	100.0%

 

One thing that some delegates to the WTO hoped to achieve was trade liberalization which would enable poorer countries to increase their exports to the rich.  It now looks as though nothing very much will be accomplished, given the actions of our would-be saviours.  Well, it probably would not have happened anyhow, so the kids might as well have fun.

 

Ed Weick