Comments for Making Hay

Comment on Was it worth it…? by Stephen Hay

Stephen Hay — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:27:12 +0000

Some further thoughts.

I think the new power balance in the Middle East will be between Turkey and Iran with Saudi Arabia watching apprehensively from the sidelines. Israel has historically had arrangements with both of them, the non-Arab states (on a sliding scale of formality), and the effects and consequences of the Arab Spring look quite different when seen in this context.

The interwoven interests and subtly changing allegiances of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the US, Russia and middle to eastern Europe and now, China, make the Israel-Palestine conflict look like a school yard fight, tragic though it is, and any policies based on “regime change” simplistic to the point of being absurd.

Comment on Funding Health and Education by Michael Hay

Michael Hay — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:41:06 +0000

Removing politicians and party politics away from the basic parameters of health care and education can only be a “good thing”. A system run by a ‘committee of eminent persons’ must be better than the pettiness of politics. However, any research activities which are normally tied to education and health institutions should still be government funded – I think.

Comment on Funding Health and Education by Stephen Hay

Stephen Hay — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:48:16 +0000

Happens all the time for children who cross borders and are not in the international schooling system. I don’t see a problem that can’t be dealt with if parents and teachers are talking and taking a close interest in the child’s education.

Comment on Funding Health and Education by Loucas Gatzoulis

Loucas Gatzoulis — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:09:23 +0000

I agree that standards and quality in education is impossible to be at the same level across different institutes, as they are by a great extend dependent on the human factor (instructors).

Nevertheless, a curriculum can and must be uniform. Primary and secondary education is long and very important process. Can use imagine how confusing can be for a student that has to change school, to phase curriculum discontinuities?

Comment on Funding Health and Education by Stephen Hay

Stephen Hay — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:50:15 +0000

Why must uniformity be ensured? A common curriculum only ensures uniformity as far as subject matter, it says nothing about standards – and uniform standards are notoriously difficult to establish…
What would happen if there was no common curriculum?

Comment on Funding Health and Education by Loucas Gatzoulis

Loucas Gatzoulis — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:11:21 +0000

Uniformity in compulsory education must be ensured. This can be done only by having a common curriculum. Don’t forget that early age education providers (primary schools for example) are mainly chosen on the basis of proximity to each one’s residence. Therefore although your suggestion is quite interesting I don’t think it can apply to certain stages of education.

Comment on Does the Job Market really exist? by Stephen Hay

Stephen Hay — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:38:39 +0000

Good point though I’d add that with psychometric testing and so forth, we are commoditizing the attributes of the (future) employee to fit the position. All up, it’s pretty inhuman.

Comment on Does the Job Market really exist? by Loucas Gatzoulis

Loucas Gatzoulis — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:00:09 +0000

The whole employment lifecycle itself resembles more a reversed auction market process.
The buyer (employer) advertises their willingness to buy services offering a certain amount of money.
The sellers (employees) then place their bids which differentiate in terms of quality and features.
In the sense that salaries for specific positions are more or less predefined (and determined by supply and demand conditions) we may say that the job market does exist.
The commodity of this market is not the employee but the position.

Comment on Corporatism in all its guises by Stephen Hay

Stephen Hay — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 07:06:33 +0000

Hi Sally,

Well done for working through all that, it’s true, there is a lot to digest…

Now that you’ve read the conclusions, may I suggest Chapters 6-8…

Another quip to keep in mind, “If you see someone coming toward you with the intention of doing you good, run for your life”. Thoreau

Comment on Corporatism in all its guises by Sally Mabelle

Sally Mabelle — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:03:49 +0000

Hi Stephen,
I really appreciate your interest and input – I just read Popper’s chaps 9 & 10 as you suggested (wow what a lot to digest!)…I can see why you make the points you do as a helpful ‘warning’ to continue to make sure we are being democratic. What struck me was the line about a “utopian society requiring a
demands a strong centralized rule of a few, and which therefore is likely to lead to a dictatorship.”

We must welcome the use of reason alongside inspiration and be open to criticism as a healthy means to check ourselves and our intentions and methods.

“…The difficulty arises out of the fact that authoritarianism must discourage criticism; accordingly, the benevolent dictator will not hear complaints concerning the measures he has taken.”

thank you for reminding us to be open to new ideas – and to adjust ourselves along the way as we learn from mistakes – in a piecemeal way as Popper suggests.