Ubuntu & the underdeveloped world

[Karl Hegbloom]

On Sun, 2004-12-19 at 15:37 +1000, Crispin Bennett wrote:
>
> This 'hate Americans' thing is kind of odd. I know a large number of
> people who work in organisations working desperately to fight the
> influence of the US corporatocracy and war machine, yet haven't yet met
> anyone who claims to even dislike, let alone hate, Americans as such. On
> the contrary, there are Americans amongst their number.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about.  Look for the union label!

> It's a pretty obvious distinction to make between a country's policies
> and population, especially where so-called 'democracies' allow the
> largest minority to have all the political power (and the richest to own
> all the real power).

Truely.  Did you read the Scientific American article about vote
counting methods, where they explain a method of counting votes called
"true majority rules"?  It would make things more democratic, I think.

Capitalism in itself is not the problem... it's an ethics issue ---
Noblesse Oblige.  It's Ferengi (ala Star Trek; the critters with the big
ears) Anti-union management vs socially and environmentally responsible
providers of utilitarian goods and services.  Making a profit isn't
wrong, but ripping people off and under providing for the labor that
creates it is.

Taking jobs off American soil to places where they can get away with
exploitation of more naive workers or less restrictive environmental
regulation that would not be tolerated here is also wrong --- immoral.

Forming a corporate entity is not in itself wrong either.  It's a matter
of honor and social responsibility.  Obviously we can do nothing about
the problem if we do not organize ourselves in some way.  That makes us
"corporate" in at least some sense of the word.

It's Ok to be white.  Just don't be a bigoted racist.