May 26, 2004
TRANSFORMING THE SYSTEMS MOVEMENT
By Russell L. Ackoff
On Democracy
Democracy has to be learned. It cannot be imposed on others. It must be learned by experiencing it. It does not come to us naturally. All of us are brought up by adults who, even in permissive families, are authorities who control us or set limits within which we have freedom. In effect, we are raised in autocratic structures however benevolent they may be. Therefore, in a sense autocracy is more natural than democracy.
I was once involved in a project in Mexico which taught me how democracy could be learned. A group of us from several Mexican universities and a government agency were able to make available to a very remote Indian village in the Sierra Madras Mountains a substantial sum of money the village could use for its development. It alone had to make the decisions as to how to use the money of which I was a part had was to veto any decisions not made democratically and which did not involve development. Town meetings were initiated in the square in the center of the village, and after a series of tries the village members learned how to make decisions democratically. They also learned and difference between development and welfare.
Source:
Russell Ackoff,
Transforming the Systems Movement(RLAConfPaper).pdf
online, 26 May 2004.
Note:
*1 famine, nutrition, water (OW)
pp.258-259
Famine, malnutrition, and a lack of drinking water have completely different causes. Simon Kuznets, the 1971 Nobel laureate in Economics, rightly posed the question of why population growth would have to impede economic growth. Automatically equating a growing population figure with economic problems stems from a point of view propagated two centuries ago by Thomas R. Malthus and his followers. In reality, a fatal relationship -- as postulated by Malthus -- does not exist. Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in Economics, proved this using the example of India. He was able to demonstrate that social disparities and badly functioning public institution and infrastructure in this country are primarily responsible for destitution and underdevelopment. In this sense, governance problems and a lack of political will have to be held accountable for turning population growth into a real development problem.
A series of scientific studies have shown that population growth is not generally the cause of poverty and underdevelopment. But rapid population growth exacerbates the search for solutions, and overtaxes existing infrastructure capacities and the ability of the labour markets to absorb a growing workforce. As a result, an increasing number of people in rapidly growing societies have no possibility of attending school or accessing medical care in the event of an illness or during pregnancy.
There may well be some sort of a demographic poverty trap in the least developed countries.
(Overcrowded World, Wie schnell wächst die Zahl der Menschen?Weltbevölkerung and weltweite Migration, Overcrowded World?, Global Population and International Migration, By Rainer Münz and Albert F. Reiterer, © 2007, English translation copyright © Julia Schweizer 2009, pp.258-259)
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πόλλ' οἶδ' ἀλώπηξ,ἀλλ' ἐχῖνος ἓν μέγα πόλλ' οἶδ' ἀλώπηξ,ἀλλ' ἐχῖνος ἓν μέγα
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*2 “This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.”
──From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
(Ackoff's best : his classic writings on management, Russell L. Ackoff., © 1999, hardcover, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p.139)
“This [copy & paste reference note] is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is [archive] with the understanding that the [researcher, investigator] is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.”
──From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
--
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher.
The W. Edwards Deming Institute. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
notice: Do not purchase this book with the hopes of curing cancer or any other chronic disease
We offer it for informative purposes to help cope with health situations and do not claim this book furnishes information as to an effective treatment or cure of the disease discussed ─ according to currently accepted medical opinion.
Although it is your right to adopt your own dietary and treating pattern, never the less suggestions offered in this book should not be applied to a specific individual except by his or her doctor who would be familiar with individual requirements and any possible complication. Never attempt a lengthy fast without competent professional supervision.
____________________________________
*2 “This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.”
──From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
(Ackoff's best : his classic writings on management, Russell L. Ackoff., © 1999, hardcover, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p.139)
“This [copy & paste reference note] is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is [archive] with the understanding that the [researcher, investigator] is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.”
──From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
--
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher.
The W. Edwards Deming Institute. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
notice: Do not purchase this book with the hopes of curing cancer or any other chronic disease
We offer it for informative purposes to help cope with health situations and do not claim this book furnishes information as to an effective treatment or cure of the disease discussed ─ according to currently accepted medical opinion.
Although it is your right to adopt your own dietary and treating pattern, never the less suggestions offered in this book should not be applied to a specific individual except by his or her doctor who would be familiar with individual requirements and any possible complication. Never attempt a lengthy fast without competent professional supervision.
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