The media has been debating if we are in an economic recession or depression. It seems that there is not unanimous consent even among Nobel Price-winning economists as to what an unequivocal definition should be.
As a pragmatic person, I am inclined to believe the following is a better definition: when my neighbor lost his job it is a recession and when I lost my job, it would be a depression.
The national unemployment rate is approaching 10%, I would surmise that political and philosophical ideologies would be taking on a back seat. Simply put, when people are struggling for economic survival, they are not going to be as concerned as before right to die, equal right protection and etc. An implication arising from Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is that when one is suffering hunger, one is not going to ponder unresolved mysteries such as the origin of the universe, of life and of the mind.
an LOL definition, haywar.
ReplyDeleteyour other points are interesting, but who are those 10%? Are they the movie stars? newscasters? editorial boards of newspapers? are they writing books? Many people are still really well off - and some are even becoming better off - and others have been well off for so long it would take a long dry spell to get them anywhere near poor. I heard of one left wing NYT writer who gets $100,000 a lunch-time speech. He even gets that if he speaks to governmental agencies that are broke and taking gov't money. There is a HUGE disconnect in behavior, action, governemental efforts, and rhetoric. There always has been: some people think FDR corrected the Great Depression; others think he extended it and only WWII got us over it. You are certainly right about those at the bottom of Maslow's pyramid: no time for Plato for them. But who are they? Some are youth and have years to heal. Some are retired and unable to go back to work at 70. Few are writing books. The rhetoric will continue to be woven for psychological and political reasons and be disconnected from real events in people's lives.
I totally agree with you;
ReplyDeletePeople who are trying to make ends meets do not worry about what screw they replaced on the shutter,or what movie star is going to prison.
wow, i never thought about the nations current situation in this way. things do seem worse when it happens to us.
ReplyDelete