Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.961002090909.25301B-100000@beta.tricity.wsu.edu> Date: Wed, 2 Oct 1996 09:15:24 -0700 From: Tom Hodges <mailto:thodges@TRICITY.WSU.EDU> Subject: Re: "Appropriate technology" still useful? To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
I certainly didn't want to imply that these are exclusively 3rd world problems. The USA has plenty of problems in the area of fostering creativity and innovation as well as other "northern" countries. But my post seemed long enough without going into that -- it seems to be a bit of a separate thread anyway. Thanks for your interesting and well thought-out response to my concerns. We need to look at who really benefits from restrictive laws (and customs) rather than at who various economic and political ideologies (marxist, capitalist, or others) say benefits.Tom
On Wed, 2 Oct 1996, Santiago Hileret wrote:
> Tom Hodges writes:
> >I don't have direct experience living in a developing country but...
> >... It seems
> >that government restrictions (licenses, taxes, banned activities) on
> >small businesses have has a lot (not all for sure) to do with poverty
> >in many urban areas. Important local businessmen profit from keeping
> >small local businesses from competing with them while the larger
> >society loses the benefit of the small business peoples' creative
> >efforts.
> I agree that government restrictions are a significant impediment to the
> dynamism and creativity of business enterprise in many countries and
> societies. I don't, however, see the implied association of this problem
> only with developing countries. Spain (one of my two "home" countries,
> along with Argentina) is a good example of a country sufficiently developed
> to have been encouraged to join the European Union, yet infamous for the
> inefficiency and restrictiveness of its government apparatus and
> administrative regulations.
>
> One can probably attribute this problem more to culture and "mentality"
> than to any other factor.