board77

The Last Homely Site on the Web

Solving the world's problems

Post Reply   Page 1 of 1  [ 6 posts ]
Author Message
Berhael
Post subject: Solving the world's problems
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 1:50 pm
Milk and kisses
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 4417
Joined: Wed 27 Oct , 2004 11:03 am
Location: lost in translation
 
Don't you do this when you meet up with your friends? :D It's a dinner party entertainment I do all the time; after a good meal with friends, feeling full and hobbity over drinks, we discuss What Is Wrong With The World and How We Would Solve It.

My current Solution To The World's Evils involves education and urban planning.

In my corner of the world (a smallish, but rather urbane town in the middle of England) we have experienced, in the past few years, the Rise of the Chav. This is by no means exclusive to my town, the whole of the UK seems to have been taken over (if you believe the media) by loutish teenage yobs on social benefits who do nothing but get drunk and drugged, steal and breed in alarming numbers. They've been branded "the underclass". Right-wing media blame them for all of society's evils; left-wing media think they're victims of our selfish society and need help.

I read today that the authorities want to change the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, to avoid disgraceful scenes of underage drunkenness and the ensuing chaos (crime and overfull A&E rooms among them). I come from a culture where underage drinking is tolerated, even encouraged; as an example, my dad allowed me to lick a fingerful of the foam head in his beer when I was a small child. I was curious, but didnt' like the bitter taste so I stayed away from beer until I was in my 20s. Children regularly have sips of wine with meals or champagne at weddings, Christmas celebrations etc. I don't remember alcohol consumption being a social problem when I was in Spain; yes, certain sectors of society were worried about teenagers drinking too much and in public, but the general notion about drunkenness seemed to be that it was disgraceful, not something to aspire to, so people were rather embarrassed when they drunk too much. As far as I can gather, the same applies in France, where alcohol is also readily available and much cheaper than in the UK. Most foreigners, especially those from the rest of Europe, are surprised, even shocked at the British "booze culture" where drunkenness is seen as something to aim for.

So one of my Solutions To The World's Evils would involve educating the population at large about alcohol, making it available since a young age and de-penalising its consumption IN MODERATION (this is the key point). Parents would be responsible for introducing their children to alcohol and making it part of life, something to enjoy occasionally but not to overindulge (like most things in life, actually). This would be supported in school; teachers could talk about the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. The aim would be to remove the attractive aura of "forbidden fruit" that alcohol has; if your parents and teachers recommend it, it surely can't be cool. ;)

This could be extended to other drugs - the upshot would be to cultivate a culture of responsibility where everyone was encouraged to take decisions by themselves, and to eliminate the sense of entitlement many people seem to have, where they expect someone else to take the blame for anything bad.

(Idealistic, moi? ;) )

The other part of my plan concerns urban planning. Currently the British Government seems to have plans to create a lot more "affordable houses" - the crisis in housing is one of the most notorious in this country, where people on low salaries cannot afford to buy a house.

After having lived in the Continent, where most cities have a very different structure to the British ones, I have developed a theory of sorts regarding city design. I believe that small city centres devoted to business enveloped by suburban areas of small individual houses promote a certain selfish tendency to isolate the individual. The city centre is abandoned after 6pm, and houses are too far away to walk to when public transport stops (and cars are being banned from city centres too); as a result, many young people feel bored and isolated. They have to rely on parents to give them lifts to friends' houses. And still, there is this notion that children can't be properly raised in a city, that cities promote "inner city" problems like gangs. Well, I in my All-Encompassing Knowledge ;) believe that it's the wrong kind of city that does that. Cities can be more humane, have living centres where people and businesses share a space, with communal areas where children play and people of all ages can mingle; more relaxed opening times, and provision of activities for everyone at affordable prices.

When I was a teenager in Madrid, I used to meet my friends in the centre (after a short hop on the bus, which was subsidised and therefore cheap); we would go to a department store to browse records or clothes, then to a videogame arcade, or to a park to chat. When I was a bit older I started going to bars and clubs that catered for the 16-18 crowd. There was public transport running until late, so I could always make it back home. And if I chose to stay near home, there were parks and bars and terraces to hang out with my friends just outside my building. Distances were short, because people lived in buidlings of flats rather than individual houses, and the ground floor spaces of these buidlings were devoted to shops, so that there was always a bakery available to buy something to eat, or a newsagent's, or somewhere to get sweets or ice cream from.

So if the structure of British cities changed to integrate suburbia and town centres, isolation would be reduced; blocks of flats a few storeys high, with communal gardens and maybe sports facilities would encourage communal living. Of course the divide "flats are just for council tenants, houses are aspirational" would have to disappear. Real "luxury" flats - well-designed, built with good-quality materials, not cheap conversions of old run-down buidlings, would have to be built (I have great hopes for the introduction of Ikea's BoKlok prefab housing and several other similar schemes to provide affordable, yet quality accomodation); they would have to conform with ecological guidelines, including things like solar panels, mini wind turbines, good insulation, etc. Buildings like this, 3 or 4 storeys high, would be kinder on the environment of this already densely populated country.

Well, that's my highly unrealistic and (I'm sure) full of flaws plan. What are your ideas To Improve The World? :D

_________________


"The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born [...] Your life, as you know it... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life."


Top
Profile Quote
yovargas
Post subject:
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 2:02 pm
User avatar
Online
 
Posts: 14774
Joined: Thu 24 Feb , 2005 12:11 pm
 
My libertarian self stayed up till something like 4 am a few weekends ago debating with a communist friend of mine. After much back and forth, we managed to agree on something - the biggest problem we have may be that the government (at least the US gov) is "for sale" to big business and special interests. (Or at least is widely believed to be, which is a problem in itself, since it leads to a demorilized and disinterested populace.) If someone could figure out a way that there was little in the way of personal benefit to being in government (they should just be another civil servant job really), I believe that could go a loooong way towards making things better.

Um, any suggestions? :scratch: :blackeye:


Top
Profile Quote
Berhael
Post subject:
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 2:18 pm
Milk and kisses
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 4417
Joined: Wed 27 Oct , 2004 11:03 am
Location: lost in translation
 
Ooo, that's another of my favourites. :D

I remember reading in a couple of SF books a solution to that: the President would be elected among the whole of the population in a totally random lottery. He/she would be aided by a knowledgeable expert team, and would have a limited term of office with no chance or re-election. I thought this sounded like a cool solution to the problem of politicians. :D

_________________


"The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born [...] Your life, as you know it... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life."


Top
Profile Quote
Jude
Post subject:
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 2:20 pm
Aspiring to heresy
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 19650
Joined: Wed 23 Feb , 2005 6:54 pm
Location: Canada
 
In some South American cultures, and very early Egyptian history, kings and pharaohs where sacrificed to the gods at the end of their term.

Just a suggestion.

;)

_________________

[ img ]

Melkor and Ungoliant in need of some relationship counselling.


Top
Profile Quote
Axordil
Post subject:
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 2:22 pm
Not so deep as a well
Offline
 
Posts: 7360
Joined: Tue 11 Jan , 2005 3:02 am
Location: In your wildest dreams
 
The payoff is increasingly on the back end of the process, for former elected officials who turn lobbyist for large sums. There are some ineffective rules in place trying to control this, but until there's basically a lifetime ban on lobbying if you've been elected to office, it's going to be an issue. However, this wouldn't affect the career politicians so much, alas, and they have their own set of issues. Some people like the power or perks that come with office.

_________________

Destiny is a rhythm track on which we must improvise.

In some cases, firing the drummer helps.


Top
Profile Quote
Crucifer
Post subject:
Posted: Wed 15 Aug , 2007 8:00 pm
A song outlasts a dynasty.
Offline
 
Posts: 3202
Joined: Tue 29 May , 2007 9:42 pm
Location: Wouldn't you like to know...
Contact: Website
 
Make me life president of the entire universe! Duh!

_________________

Sleep is a death; Oh, make me try by sleeping what it is to die.


Top
Profile Quote
Display: Sort by: Direction:
Post Reply   Page 1 of 1  [ 6 posts ]
Return to “The Symposium”
Jump to: