Well, finally arrived here in Cairo and began work last Sunday. It was a busy week and challenging getting used to a whole new routine (which I am not used to yet). I leave my flat at 8am and the earliest I got home last week was 7:30pm. I am currently sharing a communal office with my colleagues so as to increase my acculturation and familiarity with SEKEM, as well as to have the inevitable 100 and 1 questions answered more quickly, and will move to my office this week or next. Spent much of the week in meetings with Dr. Abouleish meeting and getting acquainted with strategic partners from business and other universities - that has been an exciting process. Also, some work on the new university website which should go live any week now. Unfortunately, Wednesday afternoon I got sick and ended up spending all day Thursday and Friday in bed sweating it out. Finally started feeling human human again this morning (Saturday). I am learning that the work environment here is extremely fluid and things can change quickly, so best not to make any long-term plans until I figure out how the system works. There is a high performance standard, but that is something I expected and seem to thrive in. I began the New Year with new friends around a huge bonfire which was quite fun. One of the couples I met are a young film-making team from Boliva who are traveling the world for the entire year making a documentary about sustainable business and sustainable lifestyles - a very passionate and interesting couple. They have also made a twelve minute documentary of SEKEM that will be used for promotional purposes. There was a segment on the university in which I make a brief appearance :) You can check them out at: Trails of the Children of the End of the World Well, now that I have got my feet on the ground here I will attempt to keep this blog at least irregularly updated! Thanks for your interest and support and prayers!
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February 2011
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Reading for Revolutionaries
Scott Rae: The Virtues of Capitalism: A Moral Case for Free Markets
This book was a huge disappointment. To have a Christian scholar of ethics defending American, neo-liberal capitalism truly boggled my mind. Defend a market economy yes, I could understand that. But this brief treatment ignores much of the inherently immoral aspects of capitalism, which are totally inconsistent with the teachings of Christ and the bulk of the biblical witness. The fact that the authors do not in any way make a distinction between 'capitalism' and 'market economics' evidenced, at least for me, the lack of any solid economic research associated with this work. Neo-liberal capitalism and market economics are NOT in any way synonymous. They are entirely different animals. Moreover, there is little treatment regarding the immoral bank bailout and how more than a trillion dollars of taxpayer dollars went to the very people who created the crisis in the first place and then turned around and continued to dish out obscene bonuses to the 'talent' at these banks as a way of retaining them. All-in-all this was a 'lite' treatment of an extremely troubling economic paradigm that is in desperate need of radical transformation. (*)David Bornstein: How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas
This is an interesting book of cases studies highlighting people who have followed their passion and created movements and initiatives that have changed the world - some in small ways, some in large ways. If you happen to be one of my Integral Research students, this book is full of social innovators. This is a good book that is very motivating and encouraging - exactly what the world needs right now, people addressing the burning issues of society with new ideation that leads to transformative action on the ground. (***)Eric Metaxas: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
This is an outstanding book that is more than just a biography of the great German church leader - it is a commentary on the politics of church and holds many lessons for the American Church during a period of great transition. It is the story of a transformational church leader who refused to compromise his beliefs to gain political and state acceptance. It is a story of the cost of discipleship and how deadly pragmatism can be for the Church of Jesus Christ. It is a profile of perseverance against incredible opposition and is a must read for all pastors. This is a scholarly work that reads like novel and grips the reader from beginning to end. (*****)David C Korten: Agenda for a New Economy
This book is absolutely ESSENTIAL reading for any responsible leader in any context. A cogent and compelling work on our current economic crisis and the viable alternatives. (*****)Ellen Meiksins Wood: The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View
A great primer on the origins of capitalism and how it has morphed into the unhealthy, broken system we live under today. (*****)Giovanni Arrighi: Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century
This book is a must read for a global perspective on the state of advanced capitalism. Arrighi demonstrates how China is fulfilling one of Adam Smith's primary theses about the long-term future of capitalism as it related to the empires of his time and the equalization that would take place between west and their territories. Again, why are we not looking at this current crisis in any historical context and realizing that we need to begin thinking outside of the box to solve some of our problems?H.W. Brands: Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
This book provides a great perspective of our current crisis from a recent historical prospective. The New Deal DID NOT resolve the Great Depression, World War II did! When will we ever learn from history?Stewart Davenport: Friends of the Unrighteous Mammon: Northern Christians and Market Capitalism, 1815-1860
If you have ever wondered how unbridled, free-market, Chicago School economics took such deep root in the "Christian West," this excellent historical analysis will provide some sobering answers. How is it that an economic system fueled by self-interest and greed became so closely associated with conservative, Christian ideology? Davenport provides a well-cited, scholarly work that traces the ways the clerical economists rationally accommodated an economic system they clearly understood to be antithetical to the teaching of the Bible. This is a must read for anyone interested in Christianity and Capitalism. (*****)Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
If you have the honesty and courage to engage in nationalist critique, this book will be a shock to your system! It does not seem possible that such practices could be nurtured and promoted by our country. Give it a reflective read,check out the documentation, and ask yourself what we can do about such practices. (*****)Lorna Gold: The Sharing Economy: Solidarity Networks Transforming Globalization (Ashgate Economic Geography Series)
An excellent book that discusses Christan-based alternatives to current forms and practices of advanced capitalism leading to a more holistic, relational practice of economics. (*****)
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