If you became head of state tomorrow

[nousd]

And to answer the OP's question, I would kick off a long term social engineering effort. Society has broken down over the past couple decades. Many no longer feel invested in society sufficiently to improve on it. If humanity is to move forward, we're going have to learn to live with each other better. Break down class, social, economic, gender, racial, sexual, religious, national, historical, political divides.

...which sounds like nation-building.
Economists who study the mechanics of poverty, like Paul Collier (Wars, Guns & Votes),
emphasize its importance before implementing democratic institutions like elections
e.g. in the face of internecine rivalries, Tanzanian leaders promoted a subsuming Tanzanian identity whereas neighbouring Kenyan leaders fostered tribal divisions

but imo the essential prob isn't with leaders but our individual prejudices
& our exploitation of the endeavours of generous people while dismissing them as foolishly unself-centred

politicians never seem to actively spruike the benefits to society of taking care of the less better off
or of shrinking wage inequality...
as if some banker wouldn't still be a banker if she only got $50 more pw than a garbo

and why does a banker think they need so much more money?
imo, largely because of inflated housing costs
which in turn is largely because of exploitative land ownership
and governments encouraging ever-rising house prices
as an easy (and unproductive) indicator of rising national wealth

[kay]

And to answer the OP's question, I would kick off a long term social engineering effort. Society has broken down over the past couple decades. Many no longer feel invested in society sufficiently to improve on it. If humanity is to move forward, we're going have to learn to live with each other better. Break down class, social, economic, gender, racial, sexual, religious, national, historical, political divides.

...which sounds like nation-building.

I prefer to see it as society building. I believe that nations are outmoded concepts in this day and age. They are an outgrowth of the traditional tribal mindset, and are unproductive to say the least. There are different ways to organise ourselves more effectively, efficiently and contentedly.

[nousd]

yes
possibly follows a necessary nation-building phase

[jazzamataz]

And to answer the OP's question, I would kick off a long term social engineering effort. Society has broken down over the past couple decades. Many no longer feel invested in society sufficiently to improve on it. If humanity is to move forward, we're going have to learn to live with each other better. Break down class, social, economic, gender, racial, sexual, religious, national, historical, political divides.

...which sounds like nation-building.

I prefer to see it as society building. I believe that nations are outmoded concepts in this day and age. They are an outgrowth of the traditional tribal mindset, and are unproductive to say the least. There are different ways to organise ourselves more effectively, efficiently and contentedly.

I read this and summarised it as = you're getting rid of the
World Cup.


In all seriousness - This is exactly one of the things we need.
Society has broken down a ridiculous amount in the last 30
odd years.

[test_recordings]

And to answer the OP's question, I would kick off a long term social engineering effort. Society has broken down over the past couple decades. Many no longer feel invested in society sufficiently to improve on it. If humanity is to move forward, we're going have to learn to live with each other better. Break down class, social, economic, gender, racial, sexual, religious, national, historical, political divides.

...which sounds like nation-building.

I prefer to see it as society building. I believe that nations are outmoded concepts in this day and age. They are an outgrowth of the traditional tribal mindset, and are unproductive to say the least. There are different ways to organise ourselves more effectively, efficiently and contentedly.

I read this and summarised it as = you're getting rid of the
World Cup.


In all seriousness - This is exactly one of the things we need.
Society has broken down a ridiculous amount in the last 30
odd years.

Margaret Thatcher fucked most of the UK population, the bitch

[garethom]

Society has broken down a ridiculous amount in the last 30
odd years.

Interested to hear your thinking behind that and also how old you are.

Remember that can't always trust people's views of the past, many of which are rose-tinted to say the least. Remember that the focus of the media will change to what is the hot topic (Currently "pedos". Saw something before about how there's been no increase in the amount of people commiting sex related crimes in the last 50 years, but newspapers would have you believe there's paedo-rapes happening on every corner).

[nowaysj]

No for real, the 70's and 80's blew.

[murky21]

re-instate David Nutt and actually perhaps do something about his recommendations

[abelard]

my view is that if your household is in debt, it makes no sense to borrow more to pay off the first debt, a bit of an oversimplification but much more sensible than any other thinking. I do agree that they need to look at investing to boost growth, but public expenditure isn't the place for it. far too much waste and inefficieny in the public sector as it is, its just throwing good money after bad. it was labour that allowed a lot of the deregulation to happen on a certain mr blair's watch.

well.....

"governments are not households.'''

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n01/john-lanch ... it-failure

good article this

And that's it basically. (cheers dubduck)

Macroeconomics /=/ Microeconomics. A Government in the long run does not have to balance it's budget. All the media hysteria about debt timebombs and crippling future generations is absolute nonsense. No country that has it's own currency has ever involuntarily defaulted on it's debt repayments. There's also the argument that borrowing is essentially transfering wealth to future generations (in the form of bonds).

It's amazing how the situation has been twisted from 'irresponsible bankers' to 'LABOUR SPENT ALL OUR MONEY!!', and the public lap it up as well. How they've managed to convince people that cuts are actually both necessary and beneficial is mind boggling. Keynes proved 80 years ago that public exp. is essential if you want to operate anywhere near full employment. There's literally no incentive for the private sector to invest in its absence, and that sort of backwards economic thinking will be found out by the time the next election rolls round.

Don't get me wrong, I don't support Labour and don't think they have a clue. But the Tories brand of 80s neo-classical 'the market knows best' economics is so completely illogical its not even funny.

some sort of political rhetoric regulator so that when Cameron goes into child talk mode and says "look chaps it's simply not possible to continue raising £1 in tax and spending £1.30, lets stop spending so much money" as though it were the whole story and a self evident universal truth he'd (they'd all) be called out and forced to apologise on the fourth plinth in trafalgar square in their pants.

[cryptical]

i would take a big poo in downing street, have a shower and sleep.
then in the morning i would resign and let someone more capable have my job.
safe.

[Electric_Head]

I would abolish affirmative action.

[Sexual_Chocolate]

I would abolish affirmative action.

lol did your mate get fired anyway?

nothing to worry about i say.

[herbs]

Lock up Piers Morgan and throw away the key.

[Electric_Head]

Nevalo -

Yeh, she got booted out on her ass.
She appealed and came with a lawyer who tried to get the company to settle and pay her 6 months salary.
The company told her to piss off because she didn't even have a leg to stand on; incompetent cow.
Problem solved.

[chekov]

yes
possibly follows a necessary nation-building phase

how would you move beyond that nationalist stage though?

[Mason]

I would make bruce forsyth get on all fours and i'd ride on him like he was a horse until he dies

[nowaysj]

Lock up Piers Morgan and throw away the key.

I would give him amnesty if he agreed to roll around in a bed of flour and powdered sugar every morning while still wet from showering.

[test_recordings]

I`d give him amnesty if he admitted all the bulllshit he`s pulled and pointed his mindless followers in a sensible direction