Saturday, August 26, 2006

The Politics in Economics? Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences

From one of my favourite authors, Thomas Sowell:
“An Ancient Fallacy: Price Controls”; and “Sanity in ’Frisco” (this one is especially for my students in 1SA4)

Word List (Week 10--about one month more to go!)

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Lacking the Will to Progress: the problem of Latin America?

This article entitled "Get Serious, Amigos" offers some further food for thought regarding the causes of poverty.

Love and Economics

"All is fair in love, war and poker" is economist Tim Harford's latest offering in BBC News. Find out the relationship between economics (dry! :) and finding out if your boyfriend is truly committed.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Life at the bottom: the worldview that makes the underclass

Why do so many of the poor, especially those in developed countries such as the UK, remain poor? Theodore Dalrymple, one of my favourite authors, offers hard-hitting and perhaps refreshing arguments along with heart-wrenching real-life examples of how one's worldview plays a large part in determining the quality of one's life--in emotional, psychological and material terms.

He has many illuminating essays online; I offer two here for a sampling: "We Want No Education"; and "Do Sties Make Pigs?"

Word List (Week 9)

Did you know you have about 4 more weeks to the Promos? Well, if you're looking at this list at all, take heart! :) Just continue reading and collecting your articles, pay attention and participate actively in class, and of course, continue boosting your vocabulary. Have fun testing yourself and learning new words.

1. semblance
2. epitome
3. panacea
4. tantamount
5. propensity
6. incentive
7. rational
8. rationale
9. trump
10. corroborate
11. deflect
12. rudimentary
13. plenitude
14. comply
15. platitude
16. ineluctable
17. prevail
18. astute
19. austere
20. inexplicable

Sunday, August 13, 2006

"Poor countries have only themselves to blame for their plight." Do you agree?

Some of the questions surrounding the above statement include:
Why are poor countries poor?
How does foreign aid feature in this picture?
How can poor countries rise above their poverty?

Suggested internet resources:
1. "The Mystery of Capital: Why Poor Countries Remain Poor"
2. "How Can We Get Rid of Poverty?"
3. "Too Much of a Good Thing: Choking on Aid Money in Africa"
4. "Aid only feeds Africa's corruption"
5. "Live 8: The Lords of Poverty?"

You can also google for more resources.

Draw a mindmap or write an outline of points drawn from your own thoughts, knowledge and what you can gather from your internet research. By the end of this lesson, you should have come to a conclusion as to whether you agree or disagree substantially with the above statement.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Word List (Week 8)

National Day holidays notwithstanding, there's just so much work to be done :) so let's have a shorter list this week. Keep pressing on.

1. espouse
2. anomaly
3. heterogenous
4. 4. homogenous
5. indigenous
6. undermine
7. compromise
8. allocation
9. innocuous
10. insidious

Monday, August 07, 2006

Lebanese civilians pitiful. Hezbollah bad for invading Israel. Israel bad for using disproportionate force. Is this all there is to be said?

First of all, a thank you to Wei Kit for suggesting that the ongoing Middle East crisis be discussed in class. Amidst all my preoccupation with essay skills, making sure that you will have done enough in-class assignments, and will have discussed a few important aspects of politics, it had not occurred to me that such a discussion on current affairs, terrorism and war might serve as an apposite conclusion to the topic of government and politics.

The title above echoes Robinson's caricature of what he feels is Bush's simplistic worldview. In his article "It's Disproportionate..." he argues that Israel's retaliatory actions against Hezbollah aggression is grossly disproportionate to the injury suffered, and that such unrestrained military action especially in its injury to civilians will only be counterproductive in a war against terrorism and mistaken as a means towards long-term peace in the Middle East. Taking an opposite stand is Cohen who argues that a proportionate response is madness, if we truly understand the history of the region and the precarious situation that Israel is in--a small state surrounded by neighbours who have always maintained in no uncertain terms that they want to see Israel destroyed; a state which has no choice but to demonstrate her superior military strength as the one effective deterrent against would-be aggressors. So, who's correct? Can the unrelenting Israeli strikes against the Hizbollah in Lebanon be justified?

To answer that question, we perhaps still need to understand more of the complexity of the situation. I found this article on the local, intra-Muslim politics in and between Lebanon, Syria and Iran most informative. But lest we then are led to think that this is mainly "local politics", this article reminds or shows us how the Middle East crisis is our crisis too.

Given the escalating gravity and the grimness of the ongoing crisis--and the fact that no lasting Middle East peace solution seems to be in clear sight, could we be headed towards World War III? Read this one to find out why we may be safe... for now at least.

WARNING: This page and another contain some gory pictures but I think it's fascinating and illuminating investigative work by two bloggers as they scrutinise some rather suspicious pieces of photo journalism.

Here are some other useful and interesting sites from Wei Kit:
1. The special report by CNN
2. Timeline
3. Qana article

4. From the AP: a slideshow about the start of the crisis; and an interactive info sheet about the struggle for peace in the middle east, giving a larger picture and not just the current crisis.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Word List (Week 7)

I hope you've been finding these lists useful, or at least very reassuring! Have a wonderful weekend.

1. inundate
2. mollify
3. villify
4. innocuous
5. ubiquitous
6. aftermath
7. vindicate
8. pragmatic
9. counter-intuitive
10. counter-productive
11. oblivious
12. drawback
13. obviate
14. alleviate
15. proliferate
16. obliterate
17. counter-example
18. thesis
19. infringe
20. putative

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Assaying more essays...



Here are several practice essay questions for those of you who are feeling a little unsure about whether you have it to do well in P1, or would simply like more practice in writing argumentative essays. I believe that being able to write good GP essays is very much a matter of practice. The more you write, the more you revise what you write, the better you will get--even if not in terms of marks as that might also have to do with specific questions chosen and your content knowledge of particular topics, then at least in terms of how well you understand the requirements of a GP essay and how to structure your ideas in clearly argued and expressed sentences and paragraphs.

A reminder to all my students: If you wish to improve your marks for your essay assignment I, type a revised essay on the same question first and hand it (inhard copy) to me before attempting other questions. Do this by the end of August.

Email me your practice essays, or practice introductions and outlines anytime and I shall endeavour to comment on them as soon as I can and even see you personally to talk about them if we both feel that that would be good and necessary.

Here are 10 to start you off:
1. Can small countries have a significant voice in world affairs? (A-Levels, Nov. 2004)
2. How far do you agree that war is caused by selfishness?
3. No nation should ever intervene in the affairs of another nation. Discuss.
4. "The best things in life are free." Do you agree?
5. "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Do you agree?
6. "Poor countries have only themselves to blame." Do you agree with this statement?
7. "Tourism can be a blessing to an undeveloped country, but it is by no means an unmixed blessing.” Discuss.
8. "A nation's economic competitiveness is largely determined by the quality of its people." How far do you agree with this statement?
9. "Politicians build walls, businessmen build bridges." Do you agree?
10. "Increasing prosperity means increasing happiness." Do you agree?

If you do come across another question you think is interesting to work on, email me that question for approval and then you may proceed to assay the essay!

The pros and cons of an "open society"

Case contrast: America and Singapore

Singapore: Politician gets arrested for public speaking without a permit (Chee)
America: Film maker wins awards for defamatory film that distorts the truth (Moore)

Differences:
1. In America, one is free to express with legal impunity one's political views any way one wishes in just about any medium of communication. In Singapore, one is allowed by law to publish persistently political views only as a registered political website or organisation or as a politician. Public speaking requires a permit.
2. One can get away with slander of political leaders in America but not in Singapore.

Possible consequences of each situation:

America: great plurality of views, disagreement, falsehoods, debate
- lively, often rambunctious and chaotic debate
- society is more polarised and partisan
- more citizens hold stronger ideological views, and are generally more political interested.

Singapore: general absence of a plurality of views, disagreements, debate (?) A high priority placed on the speaker to take responsibility for his message and not too speak without careful thought and proper substantiating evidence (atmosphere of a court of law?)
- absence of lively political debate
- majority of the society either self-professedly apathetic about local politics, or hold fairly standard, homogenous views that largely acknowledge the credit due to the government for Singapore's success today

Pros of a society like America's?
1. There is certainly freedom of expression; individuals can voice their political views without fear of being sued by the government. In this we can see the encouragement of a more vocal and assertive people who know and value their civil liberties. Citizens are free to act as effective checks and balances for the government. If there is any wrongdoing by an elected official, chances are that it will be exposed sooner or later.
2. In the presence of so much political debate, the people are given opportunities to be aware of and to evaluate the many different positions put forward on important issues that concern them. The people thus can become more politically astute and play a more meaningful role in the shaping of policies.

Cons of such a society:
1. When there is in general no legal deterrent to ensure that speakers are made responsible for their messages (and the consequences that follow or may follow), there will invariably be a proliferation of many unsound views, and perpetuation of outright falsehoods that will inevitably adversely influence a segment of the population. People may also be encouraged to think that they can get away with uncritical comments and that it is perfectly fine to mock and slander: is this really desirable for the intellectual and moral climate of that society?

(A possible counter here would be that given enough thinking and reasonable people who are interested in the truth, and in what's best for the society, there is no need for lawsuits to keep the undesirable excesses of such a situation to a minimum. For instance, there does exist some informal system of checks and balances for views published on the internet: citizens would check on other citizens and those who persistently propagate silly or extremely unsound views may have their reputations discredited. Social approval or condemnation is arguably as effective a check on irresponsible individuals than libel suits.

Pros of a society like Singapore's:
1. Premium on responsible speech
2. Cleaner, tidier political scene where, due to the general lack of passionate political discourse, issues can be discussed more objectively, more efficiently. (Imagine the sheer amount of money and human capital spent on Fahrenheit 911 and the subsequent Fahrenhype 911 thought necessary to counter the perceived inaccuracies of the original pseudo-documentary)
3. Ensures that only the best or the most passionate about improving the political scene do so.

Cons of such a society:
1. Discouragement of political discourse (possible counter: there exists at least several internet sites that engage in serious discussion of political issues, and the government does allow "internet chatter"; opposition parties are given space in the media)
2. Political apathy among populace: either be a politician (register yourself) or shut up (possible counter: not having strong political views and criticism of the government not necessarily a sign of apathy, just that things are going well. "Politics" need not only consist of lively political debate)
3. The development of a less politically astute populace who may be manipulated by an intelligent and powerful ruling party (possible counter: do you believe this is the case for Singapore? How is "manipulation" verified? Are our people really becoming less political astute compared to the average American?)

How do you think Singapore can become a more open society without risking social cohesion and efficient governing system it has run so successfully?

At the end of the day, whether an open society such as America is desirable seems to be a matter of how highly we value freedom of expression in comparison with other desirable things such as social cohesion and a priority on responsible speech
.

Democracy in Taiwan

I thought this would be a good one to read to help us gather some thoughts on the upsides and pssible downsides to democracy. Have fun!