When watching the online lecture, my first thought was that I have heard this before. It would surprise me if any adult man or woman in our glorious enlightened western world wouldn’t say that they have heard most of it before.
Why is it then, one may ask, that we haven’t come further still, in our efforts to save the planet? Ignorance, stupidity and egoism, all of these words will probably fit equally well into the explanation of why most of us choose to ignore the fact that the glass bowl we are swimming in is both running out of air and getting more polluted as I speak.
After all, aren’t we all just people in search of luck? Wanting more and more as we get stuck! The wheel of fortune is spinning faster and faster. Hurry up and buy a new toy, you get a free ticket to the lottery and a chance to win indefinite happiness! A car, a boat, a telephone! Maybe this is the time you will make that final turn in the materialistic maze where eternal happiness awaits you, just around the corner!
Are we not aware of the impact that this type of consumption has on our environment?
Of course we are!
We just don’t give a damn!
Or let me put it more gently.
For that particular moment of glory and instant feeling of wellbeing that comes with buying new stuff, or eating tasty food that has been transported around the globe, we all happily ignore the fact that our planet is dying with every tasty little nugget.
In a way, we are all behaving like junkies that neglect our families, friends, and steal from our mothers to get our fix. By the way, that full time heroin junkie is probably contributing less to the damnation of humanity than we are, since he is not consuming nearly as much of our global resources as you and me.
tisdag 29 april 2008
fredag 14 mars 2008
Snooping bosses
What should we think of bosses snooping on their employees?
May this be a result of the constantly growing competition between companies?
When all nuts and bolts are tightened elsewhere in the organisation, where is there to look but in the direction of the employees?
Surveillance is a powerful weapon, and unless handled with extreme delicacy it will not be long before you can’t even visit a restroom without being caught on film.
When the question is raised, companies monitoring their employers often defend themselves with the fact that the company owns the right to do it.
-Since the employees are hired by us to perform a task, we have the right to see to that it is performed in the most efficient way; you might hear an employer say.
The obvious hazard with this way of reasoning is that the weaker part, namely the employee, is dependent upon his employer. He needs income to be able to feed and to lead a decent life. Therefore he might unwillingly accept the fact that the employer will watch his every step.
This concept of making people work more efficient by watching and correcting them is rather frightening I would say.
I suggest you read George Orwell’s novel 1984 if you find my concerns interesting. The novel deals with the topic of a society where surveillance and thought control has gone way over the top.
We are no machines. We are humans. We can not be tweaked into maximum efficiency by watching our every step, or punishing us for stepping out of the box.
I Human.
And I want to keep it that way.
May this be a result of the constantly growing competition between companies?
When all nuts and bolts are tightened elsewhere in the organisation, where is there to look but in the direction of the employees?
Surveillance is a powerful weapon, and unless handled with extreme delicacy it will not be long before you can’t even visit a restroom without being caught on film.
When the question is raised, companies monitoring their employers often defend themselves with the fact that the company owns the right to do it.
-Since the employees are hired by us to perform a task, we have the right to see to that it is performed in the most efficient way; you might hear an employer say.
The obvious hazard with this way of reasoning is that the weaker part, namely the employee, is dependent upon his employer. He needs income to be able to feed and to lead a decent life. Therefore he might unwillingly accept the fact that the employer will watch his every step.
This concept of making people work more efficient by watching and correcting them is rather frightening I would say.
I suggest you read George Orwell’s novel 1984 if you find my concerns interesting. The novel deals with the topic of a society where surveillance and thought control has gone way over the top.
We are no machines. We are humans. We can not be tweaked into maximum efficiency by watching our every step, or punishing us for stepping out of the box.
I Human.
And I want to keep it that way.
Prenumerera på:
Inlägg (Atom)
