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  %THINK LIKE ECONOMIST AFFECTING PERSONAL COMMUNAL 080131
 %INTEGRATIONS INTEGRITIES AUTHENTICITY COOPERATION 080131
 %DISMAL SCIENCE ECONOMICAL BOTTOM LINES EFFICIENCY 080131
 %BALANCE SHEET NET GAIN LOSS BENEFIT EXTERNALITIES 080131

In  his  book "The Dismal Science,  How Thinking  like  an
Economist  Undermines  Community"    Stephen  A.   Marglin
examines the ways in which "Economical-Thinking"   affects
how  we  affirm and demonstrate "traditional"  values  and
ideals.     The following questions are suggestive of  the
kinds   of  issues  that  arise  within  the  context   of
"economical-thinking":

In  a  "Market-Economy"   goods and  services  are  traded
through the intermediary agency of "money" changing hands.
How  many dollars should-we or might-we be willing to  pay
to another  person  for  a  carefully-measured  amount  of
articulating-and-demonstrating of  each  of  the following
Virtues-and-or-Values For-a-Week?

 1.  Honesty,
 2.  Humility,
 3.  Deference,
 4.  Cooperation,
 5.  Mutuality,
 6.  Balance,
 7.  Openness,
 8.  Listening,
 9.  True-Dialogue,
10.  Authenticity,
11.  Personal-Integrity,
12.  Communal-Integrity, etc.

In  a  "Market-Economy"   might  Vices  and  Bullying   be
mitigated  through  the  intermediary  agency  of  Fines-
Imposed.    How many dollars should-we or might-we  impose
upon a person for carefully-measured amounts of Defending-
and-Demonstrating each of the following  Vices-and-or-Sins
For-a-Week:

 1.  Deception,
 2.  Pretentiousness,
 3.  Bullying,
 4.  Contentiousness,
 5.  Unilateralism,
 6.  Extremism,
 7.  Masking,
 8.  Domination,
 9.  Misleading-Presence,
10.  Artificiality,
11.  Stealing,
12.  Political-Corruption, etc.

Might  we  be  able  to  arrange to  pay  off  fines  with
carefully measured amounts of Virtues-and-or-Values?

Might  we  be able to pay-in-advance for opportunities  to
defend-and-demonstrate vices ---   through the  banking of
virtues-and-or-values?  Who would serve as the bankers for
such   mutually  advantageous  transactions?    How   much
interest  would  they pay-on-investments,  or  charge  for
their services and extensions-of-credit?

Might we  be able to systematize extra Credits/Fines based
upon     Clusters-Of Virtues/Vices     affirmed     and/or
demonstrated?

Who would be paid for setting up such a market-system?

Who would be charged for providing such a market-system?

Usually  Market-Systems  and  Economic-Thinking  Take-for-
Granted a number of TRAGICALLY-MISLEADING-ASSUMPTIONS:

 1.  Decisions Motivated-and-Guided  by True-Lovers and by
God-who-is-Love Graciously-Removing:  greed,  fears,   and
efforts to be In-Control ---  are less likely to  lead  to
favorable outcomes than are ---

     Many  Isolated-Individualistic  decisions  which  are
driven by insensitive --- greed,  fears, and efforts to be
In-Control.

 2.  It  is  helpful to use technologies which  are  based
upon  quantitative-measurements  and computations ---   to
make  decisions  profoundly affecting  our  most  intimate
humane relationships --- which are not purely objective.

 3.  There  is  NO-NEED to be intentional in building into
our  ways  of Making-Decisions that Profoundly-Affect  the
integrities  of  our  communities --- Affirmations-of  and
Demonstrations-of:   virtues,  values  and  ideals  in the
realms of:
              1.  Honesty,
              2.  Humility,
              3.  Deference,
              4.  Cooperation,
              5.  Mutuality,
              6.  Balance,
              7.  Openness,
              8.  Listening,
              9.  True-Dialogue,
             10.  Authenticity,
             11.  Personal-Integrity,
             12.  Communal-Integrity, etc.

 4.  There  are No-Potentially-Tragic-Risks in WORSHIPPING
The-Technical-Means  of an Economic-System which can  lead
humans   into   Unanticipated-and-Unpredictable   Chaotic-
Outcomes  due  to a Series of  Uninformed-Responses  to  a
Series  of  Crises  which are Not-Well-Understood  in  the
absence    of   a    Comprehensive-Historical-Perspective.

(Worship  entails  placing  Unqualified-Ultimate-Trust  in
whatever  is  the focus of Awe-and-Reverence;   e.g.,   an
Economic-System and its Supportive-High-Priests.)

----------------------------------------------------------

What are the  status  of  Personal-Integrity and Communal-
Integrity within a community  which has Learned-to-Use and
Take-for-Granted such Market-Oriented-Technologies?

How   well  will  Isolated-Alienated-People  be  able   to
transcend any of the Tragic-Conditions mentioned above ---
On-Their-Own,   Without-Outside-Help?

----------------------------------------------------------

Regarding  each community --- it is reasonable/appropriate
to ask/note:

 1.  Who are the people who are most clearly/significantly
MEMBERS-of-the-COMMUNITY; and for what reasons?

 2.  Who are the people who are most clearly/significantly
OUTSIDE-of-the-COMMUNITY; and for what reasons?

 3.  What  are  the  most  significant clusters-of-shared:
Virtues, Values, Views, Ideals,  Principles, Perspectives,
etc.  ---   which serve in Bonding-People-Together in The-
Many-Mutually-Complementary-Ways-of-Shalom?

 4.  What are  the most  significant clusters-of-received:
Assumptions, Vices, Doctrines, Rituals, Habits, Ruts, etc.
---   which serve in Alienative-Patterns-of-Behaviors  ---
Keeping-People-Isolated  and   Distrustful-in-Patterns-of-
Fear?

 5.  What are the most significant ISOLATED: Acts,  Texts,
Scripts,   Scriptures,   Recitations,   Rituals,   Habits,
Prescriptions, Proscriptions, Beliefs, Doctrines, Rituals,
Signs, Symbols and/or Possessions --- which play Key-Roles
in determining WHO-is-IN, and WHO-is-OUT  of  an ISOLATED-
COMMUNITY?

 5.  What are the natures of the Patterns-of-Transition of
people Moving Into-and-out-of-Each such Community?

----------------------------------------------------------

What  are some indicators of the level of integrity  of  a
community?

 1.  The average and  standard-deviation  of  each  of the
following; given as a percentage of the average of each.

     a.  Annual incomes of ALL those within the community.
     b.  The Basic-Cost-of-Living within the community.
     c.  Net-worths of ALL adults within the community.
     d.  Years of formal education among all adults.
     e.  Percentage overall political participations.
     f.  Annual rates of change of the above figures.
     g.  Infant mortality rates to ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
     h.  Life-expectancies at ages 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60.
     i.  Per-Person expenses for health-care.
     j.  Fraction of the time spent working.
     k.  Fraction of the time spend vacationing/traveling.
     l.  Fraction of the time spent in prisons.
     m.  Fraction of ALL people currently in prisons.
     n.  Fraction of All people currently in hospitals.

 2.  Open-and-Honest public-debate about current issues.

 3   Open-and-Honest dialogue about religious differences.

 4.  Tolerance toward inherited personal differences.

 5.  Tolerance for overall toward cultural differences.

 6.  The level of creativity of members of the community.

 7.  The level of Global-Awareness of the community.

 8.  Per-capita crime statistics.

 9.  How aware those in the community are of the above.

10.  How aware the community is of other communities.

     Be-Together in the Many-Gracious ways of Shalom.

                         (c) 2008 by Paul A. Smith in
                      "Search for Honesty and Integrity"
                    (On Being Yourself Whole and Healthy)
  
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