June 2010
Post by member – Aaron Weaver
Blue sky thinking and one’s ideals are always great notions, but invariably something extraordinarily difficult to achieve in practice. Nevertheless as Oscar Wilde states in The Soul of Man under Socialism, “a map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing.”
It was an incredible opportunity to hear the blue sky thinking of our three very esteemed speakers and something in itself that will refine and develop the thinking and views of others. A broad range of issues was encompassed from domestic and social concerns to youth unemployment, the need for economic and financial reform to geopolitical considerations and assertions of state sovereignty.
So was there a unifying theme that threaded the complex web of issues and their proposed resolutions? Maybe not conclusively, but some points seemed to be raised rather regularly.
Solving the world’s problems, or any problem for that matter of fact never should rest with any individual person or body and to that extent, the speakers pleaded for open dialogue in allowing communities, countries and the world to understand and embrace each others concerns, [considerations and desires]. Social policy too often seems to be driven by second-guessing and bureaucratic processes. Ironically though, totalitarian rule can sometimes have more justifiable social outcomes where public consensus and discussion can sometimes be unachievable. The point about developing these social institutions that facilitate for compromise and understanding, is that, they are not necessarily inherent traits of people generally but something that needs supportive social infrastructure in order to develop norms.
This discourse conveniently, crosses over with another speaker’s subject of discussion, which was focused on one of the 20th century’s modern marvels, the Internet. The Internet is a social phenomenon that has given people access and insight to the lives and thoughts of others, in an unparallel and incomparable fashion. The US senate is currently proposing an Internet “kill switch” bill, which will effectively shut down the Internet in times of a national security emergency, but despite the Internet’s failings as a largely unregulated exchange of information, it genuinely serves as our greatest hope to unifying people through its ability to connect people regardless of location, colour, creed or culture.
And it’s at this point too, that many of the world’s eyes are drawn to the football World Cup in South Africa. The “beautiful game” serves as a source of hope and inspiration to millions across the world and can truly reform and guide societies – one only needs to see the pleas of Didier Drogba that stopped the internal conflict in his native Cote d’Ivoire.
However, it also seems that some nations or factions would be largely hesitant to give any ground to their foes, no matter how strong their common bond is in any sport. Regardless, sport is an incredible platform to achieve social outcomes but only cautiously so as its value as a release, and matter of obsession to many around the world, rests largely on its ability to divorce itself from all outside influences.
So, what would the end result of unfettered constructive discussion be? Arguably, as a point of best illustration and don’t hate me for saying this, but probably something like the international trade and financial markets, which are the continuing products of centuries of endless exchange and development. Certainly, nowhere near a perfect result that we would have hoped for.
Any outcome, any goal is always underlined by a process of discovery. Some ideas work and others don’t, but if we don’t delineate our boundaries with a hope that we can achieve Utopia, or that we can make the incremental steps and movements towards such a state, the only change that is instituted will be a state of relapse and a journey back down an already travelled path.
