I am really excited about this new book I'm reading on rural development in China (Organizations and Growth in Rural China by Marsh Marshall - poor chap. Why did his parents do that?). The material is fascinating! One of the most engaging things about the book is the author's claim that democracy alone, nor socialism or communism alone can survive. A society needs both to progress in its development.
According to Marshall, in a society where gentry are lords over the majority of the land, peasants working it, a social revolution or land redistribution is needed before rural development can take place:
"Land redistribution should perhaps be seen as a necessary precondition for sustained rural development. Indeed, the persistence of rural poverty in many developing countries can be explained, in an important sense, by the political and social relationships which derive from a very unequal distribution of land."
"... A collective choice mechanism must operate in any economy in order to determine what is or is not in the social interest. It is further argued that such a mechanism must be democratic: 'under socialism... political democracy is an indispensable factor in the objectivity... of the process of decision-making; it is thus also an indispensable factor in economic rationality and in the full use of the development potential of society'. A similar view has been offered by Oscar Lange: 'socialist ownership of the means of production involves both the use of the means of production in the interests of society as a whole and effective democratic participation by production and other workers in the management of the means of production'."
The more I study these things, the more captivated I become with rural sustainable development in socialist/communist/post-communist countries. hmmm Food for thought! Perhaps I'm getting an inkling of direction... I think part of why I am so drawn towards sustainable development is the natural intertwining of people and environment. Both loves of mine. How to help people care for their environment... There is both an element of practicality and an element of romance - adventure - to it. Plus, I grew up on the land, connected to it. My mom and dad are dairy farmers... and whether or not they realize it, they cultivated in me a love, respect, and appreciation for the earth we live off of. They kind of think I go overboard with it... "environmentalist-type tree-hugger" label, but hey! they started it! grins I just took it a couple steps farther.
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Well, I applied to the China [Houghton] TESOL Program... if I get accepted, I'll be teaching English in a variety of locations in rural China (I think the area over-looking Nepal) from June to August. If it works out, and the institution there will have me, I'll stay on as staff at the institution, teaching another 9 months (and not a bad salary either, after all, I'm a college student, and as much as I'd like to pretend that my debt doesn't exist, that's just ridiculous - I need to get paid enough so I can start hacking away at the debt). I have lots of ideas for what I could do after this time (if I'm even accepted) - I'll probably have a 4-5 month period before grad school... maybe I could hook up with some sort of sustainable development program...? help out? observe? get some experience? continue learning mandarin! grins And then grad school... most likely to study the countless afore mentioned 'sustainable development'. So, now that I have my life all planned out... ha!
I welcome God to come change my plans as he sees fit. After all, he knows me better than I know myself! I'd much rather be following his plans for me than my plans for me. I love that my Lord knows everything I know - or think I know - and everything I don't know, and everything I will never know. In all my insecurity, he is my security.
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