Author: docallegro

Consulting Psychologist
Specialties in: Cognitve-Behavioral Interventions, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, Stress Management, Relationship Expertise, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Fluent in Spanish

Politics

The Rational Man in a Sea of Irrationality

Post author By docallegro
Post date July 14, 2011
1 Comment on The Rational Man in a Sea of Irrationality

The recent fight over the deficit problem between the democrats, as represented by President Barack Obama, and the Republicans, as represented by Speaker of the House, John Boehner gives us both a look at our leaders today and the problems we face as a country. As a mediator, I always try and assist the opposing parties in seeing how an agreement will better their lives even with compromise. In reality, no one gets exactly what they want in a mediation unlike the result of a trial where the defendant either wins or loses his/her case. However, both the Republicans and the Democrats appear to believe that they each hold the solution to the complex problems we as a nation face making the game they are in: Win-Lose.

David Brooks’ recent article, The Magic Lever, published in the New York Times on July 12, makes a very cogent and timely point: “Bankers, Democaratic Keynesians and staunch Republicans have one thing in common: They all believe they have identified the magic lever. They believe they can control their economic fate.” Mr. Brooks then goes on to point out the fallacies of such oversimplified thinking.

Not long ago one of the biggest ideologues, Alan Greenspan, confessed to Congress, that his belief in minimal government intervention with no regulations imposed in the private sector, is the best way to run an economy had been proven wrong. Being a fan of Ayn Rand myself, this was difficult news for me to bear. Unfortunately, an economy where there is no interference from the government, does not take into consideration the human motivation of greed and deception. And so the bubble of greed and deception, as seen in past subprime mortagages, exploded, causing the present crisis that so many homeowners today are facing.

On the other hand, John Maynard Keynes, who supported strong government interventions, was once asked what do we do in the long run? Mr. Keynes was said to have replied; “In the long run we’ll all be dead.” Of course, the long run, in his mind, did not include our children and their children.

Perhaps our leaders should ask that famous question posed by Fisher and Ury in their classic work, Getting to Yes: “What is the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.” One of these alternatives is not raising the debt ceiling. Is it worth clinging to one’s views and not compromising with the outcome being America very possibly defaulting on its debt. I don’t think so and neither does David Brooks. What I like about Mr. Brooks is that when there is an impending crisis, he refuses to take the easy way out: That is to blame the other side. Rather, he sees the muddiness of, if you will, Reality, and through this muddiness, understands the importance of compromise. The truth of the matter is that the current complexities of the world will not get simpler in the future. Given this fact, perhaps we all should step back for a moment and recognize that the economic assumptions made by our political biases may not always be correct. Mr. Greenspan learned this. It would be a step forward in the progress of the present conversation on the debt ceiling, if more of our leaders, that include both the President and Mr. Boehner, would allow their crystal clear vision of the future take on a few grains of realistic mud.

1984 Revisited

The events of the past few weeks in the Middle East are a welcome counter to the very famous book, 1984, written by George Orwell. Orwell began the book in 1944, completed it in 1948, and it was published shortly after in 1949. It is the bleak tale of a Winston Smith who lives in the ruins of London, subsequent to a global atomic war. He is approximately 39 in the year the story takes place.

The society that Winston lives in is tripartite consisting of the Proles that make up 85% of the population. The Outer Party, of which Winston is a member, and finally, the Inner Party, that totals less than 2 % of the population. But it is this latter part of the population headed by Big Brother that rules the country with an iron hand. The Inner Party is privy to information that the other two segments of society cannot access. The manner in which the Party presides over the populace is by distorting language using such slogans as WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, AND IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

Unlike 1984, where information to the people is both stifled and distorted, the Internet allowed Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing manager for the Middle East and North Africa, to show how an Egyptian businessman, Khaled Said, had been beaten to death by the police. He was killed by the police because he had been trying to show police corruption on YouTube. Just as in 1984, the Inner Party ruled by lies, Egyptian authorities tried to cover up the cause of death of Mr. Said. However, Mr. Ghonim was able to show the visual evidence of Said’s face from the morgue and then, subsequently, he posted the pictures on a Facebook page. Facebook, as we all know, has some 500 million members.

Attempts by Hosni Mubarak to prevent the masses from having access to the Internet were too late. The message had been received by the people. Whether or not open access to the social media will result in a greater democratic world remains to be seen. However, what is clear is that it will be more difficult for those in power to hide acts of corruption given the ease and speed in which information can be passed through cyberspace.

The New Order of Wealth

Last week on 60 minutes, Scott Pelley interviewed Melina Gates. As is common knowledge, she is married to the wealthiest man on the planet, Bill Gates. But as Mr. Pelley pointed out she was not adorned with any fancy diamonds or extravagant dress. When she was asked about this, she simply said that fancy clothes and jewels are not a priority for her. Rather, she and Bill are interested in using their money in ways that would minimize human misery such as wiping out malaria in the countries where it existed and reducing infant mortality by importing medical technology to the countries that need it most.

I have little doubt that Melinda really believed in what she was saying. What I found quite ironic, however, was seeing a woman unmoved by the opportunity of having whatever precious stone her heart desired. Though the extrinsic value of such a possession is obviously great, I wondered what exactly is its intrinsic value, that is the value the bearer of such a gem gives to it. To Melinda, the intrinsic value of such an item would not be great.

I can only imagine that wearing a piece of fine jewelry might make a woman feel good about herself. Certainly, as a status symbol it may reflect the position in society this woman has attained. This was the theme of that very famous short story, The Necklace, written by Guy De Maupassant in the 19th century, the ending of which I shall not reveal. But really have things changed much at all now that we are in the 21st century? I doubt it.

Melinda does not have to wear a diamond necklace to be invited to an important social event like the protagonist, who in Maupassant’s story, believed would bring her acceptance. No, Melinda knows she will be accepted and it is perhaps this realization that makes such an adornment almost a superficiality to her. This is not to denigrate Ms. Gates’ intentions for without a doubt there are women that have wealth that I am sure enjoy diamonds. But it points more to the fact that she is able to look beyond something that she can have, at the toss of a hat, in trying to achieve a much more significant goal: Increasing the welfare of the human race.

Are Melinda and Bill Gates’ contributions an anomaly or do they represent a shift in the way people view their wealth? It is too early to tell. But perhaps with the help of that other billionaire, Warren Buffett, the status of materialistic things such as sports cars, jewels or mansions will become less valued in the future. This would be a shift perhaps of greater import than the changes brought on by the information age that have created the huge pockets of wealth in today’s society

Psychology

The Wealth of Curiosity

I am a new member interested in sharing my views of the world with those of us that still have a keen curiosity. Years ago when I was assisting in raising my godson after his father passed away, I will never forget all of the questions that he would ask me, from why is the sky blue (a question I could not answer) to why different stores looked the way they did. While driving with him, I barely could travel one block in the car without him asking a question. Until I realized that this was a way in which he was attaining information and learning about his surroundings, at first I found his questions a bit annoying. But afterwards, I encouraged him to ask and seek information without giving up on the questions as a means for him to understand more about the world in which he lived.

I believe his inquiring mind is a thing that so many of us lose with age. It is a key that all of us possess as children but later lose as adults. Perhaps the answer to many of the problems in current society is the openness that we can discover once more as adults in the seeking of new knowledge and information. One tool to accomplish this goal is through the Internet, and more specifically, through blogs of this nature.