Doug --
In response to your comment:
>With respect to business competition.... You said,.." you can only trust
>your relatives ", reminds a lot of the way Asian business, and I suspect
>Arabic business appears to work. It seems that large networks of mutually
>supportive people connected by family ties, has much economic adavantage.
>Unfortunately it appears to be associated with authoritarian,
>paternalistic qualities which make a token show of allegiance to
>democratic principles. In Australia, I felt that business people from
>other countries in the region were actually laughing behind our backs at
>our "quaint" beliefs in "level playing fields", democratic processes, and
>rights of the individual.
>Perhaps we should find some new ways in Western society to form
>economically advantageous networks as well, only in a form which retains
>the democratic principles we identify with?? Would the multi-nationals
>allow such a thing?
I have been reading Francis Fukuyama's book "Trust: The Social Virtues and
the Creation of Prosperity". He presents a very interesting analysis of
the different cultural, religious, political, and economic spheres around
the globe. His focus in on how societies build and maintain trust beyond
the family, in volutary organizations (voluntary including corporations).
You might find this an interesting read.
-- Grant Harris Workframe, Inc. 100 Memorial Dr. 8-1C Cambridge, MA 02142 (617) 497-1222 gbh@workframe.com Workframe's Home Page: http://www.tiac.net/users/gbh/index.html