World Affairs Monthly

June 2010

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There is no way that our current understanding of things is sufficient.... We are collapsing from our inadequate understanding of things, from the relentless and rapid growth of the human population.... Do we know what is ahead of us? In my opinion we are entering the transition to Phase 3 of human history and this transition will endure for around 15-20 years.... It is going to be brutal....

THE HIGH VALUE OF INVESTMENT AND INCENTIVE:

A CONVERSATION WITH JAMES M. POTERBA

“While I don't particularly think we can grow our way out of this situation [the US deficits and debt], I do think if we grow slower [economic growth] it makes it a lot harder to deal with these situations [our indebtedness],” James Poterba just told me when I recently talked to him. Poterba is the president and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Our challenge is to understand how to increase the rate of economic growth, not for the short term but for the long-term. We need this for the United States, but also for the rest of the world. We need new ideas, and we need better knowledge and more powerful technology. This is obvious, isn't it? Innovative businesses such as WAM can and do have a substantial impact, though it is often something of an unwelcome impact. In August 2009 I began a series of articles in which I tried to explain what was proving to be a totally bizarre but extraordinary phenomenon.

The title: HOW DID WAM COME TO MOVE THE FINANCIAL MARKETS? (PART FOUR)

The URL: http://worldaffairsmonthly.com/showpdfbyid.php?id=1299&pdf=sept09newsworthy1.pdf

The title: HOW DID WAM COME TO MOVE THE FINANCIAL MARKETS? (PART THREE)

The URL: http://worldaffairsmonthly.com/showpdfbyid.php?id=1287&pdf=august09noteworthy3.pdf

The title: HOW DID WAM COME TO MOVE THE FINANCIAL MARKETS? (PART TWO)

The URL: http://worldaffairsmonthly.com/showpdfbyid.php?id=1286&pdf=august09noteworthy2.pdf

The title: HOW DID WAM COME TO MOVE THE FINANCIAL MARKETS?

The URL: http://worldaffairsmonthly.com/showpdfbyid.php?id=1284&pdf=august09newsworthy6.pdf

It turns out that the world moves on ideas, on theory, new ideas and new theory. Back in February 2008 I put forward a theory of “economic science” – and this may indeed be an oxymoron. I figured that there are only three fundamental sources of economic development and growth:

Over many years I have been trying my best “to figure things out” and I have published below a brief summary of my 15 major theories. This is not a totally inclusive list, but it will be OK for now.

Poterba cited the importance of investments in physical and human capital, and he also mentioned incentives. We must seriously consider what we are investing in. I do think that investments in “human capital” are perhaps the most important, but it is also true that incentives have to be there, and they have to be relatively robust. Click here or on the audio icon above to listen to the editor of World Affairs Monthly interview James M. Poterba. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) can be found on the net at www.nber.org. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) can be found on the net at www.mit.edu.... continue

What is never examined and discussed in news publications of the affluent West? What subjects are never broached?

The answer is uncomfortable, as most people recognize. The western media distort the realities of the world, the intricacies of world affairs, and present an image of events which is palatable and acceptable, and which conforms to their image of the world.Their beliefs and perspectives must be defended, and it is precisely this act of self-defense, which is no doubt an agonizing and desperate one, that undermines education and creates distortion....continue

To read a sample of a feature article in World Affairs Monthly Click Here

The editor would like to share a few of his monographs with the readers of World Affairs Monthly. To read...
-- Infrastructure for 21st Century Publishing Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- Demographics of the New Mobile Computer Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- Asia at the Crossroads Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
....in Chinese Click Here
-- The Destruction of Israel and Zionism Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- "Intelligence Collection" in the New Era Click Here
....in Chinese Click Here
....in Russian Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- The Seven Inescapable Sources of World War III Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- The Logic of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Click Here
....in Arabic Click Here
-- Israel in Retreat and Disintegration Click Here
-- The Martyrdom of Modern Libya Click Here
-- The Revenge of the Arabs Click Here
-- The Reluctant Crusaders Click Here
-- The Power and Pain of Union Click Here
-- From the Dark Continent to the Forgotten Continent Click Here
-- Defending Great Wealth: Africa's Struggle Against
Neocolonialism Click Here
-- The Price of African Unity Click Here
Also visit IslamOnline.net for the editor's two Live Dialogues...
-- "The Escalation of Iraqi Crisis: Who Can Stop the War?" Click Here
-- "The Threat of WMD: Iraq or North Korea?" Click Here