Keith Hart's Blog – April 2010 Archive (6)

keith@oac

AIDS in South Africa

South Africa is currently the leading victim of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the highest number of people infected in the world (almost 6 million or 1 in 8 of the total population). The next top five countries are all neighbours of South Africa. The proportion of sexually active South Africans infected reaches 30% in some social categories (such as pregnant women) and places (Kwazulu-Natal’s rate is five times that of the… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 26, 2010 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

keith@oac

Iceland's revenge

At the height of the credit boom, three Icelandic banks built up a huge trade by offering higher interest rates on deposits in Britain especially, but also in some other European countries, notably the Netherlands. At one time these banks had liabilities much larger than Iceland's GNP. Their owners bought football clubs and the like. Iceland has a legally ambiguous relationship to the European Union and it wasn't clear which… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 21, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

keith@oac

Morality in the movies

I have made a living from the analytical professions, but my passion has always been for stories. Fiction has the great advantage of allowing us to make things up, rather than passively reflect the world as it is. It involves people making complex moral decisions while in movement. By choosing a form nearer to human life, the great authors of novels, plays and movies could turn out to be our finest social thinkers:… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 13, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

keith@oac

The unity of self and society

Twentieth-century society was conceived of as an impersonal mechanism defined by international division of labour, national bureaucracy and scientific laws understood only by experts. Not surprisingly, most people felt ignorant and impotent in the face of such a society. Yet, we have never been more conscious of ourselves as unique personalities who make a difference. That is why questions of identity are so central… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 11, 2010 at 10:30pm — 11 Comments

keith@oac

The Empathic Civilization

"It is then certain that compassion is a natural feeling, which, by moderating the violence of love of self in each individual, contributes to the preservation of the whole species." (Rousseau)

"The peoples of the earth have entered in varying degree into a universal community, and it has developed to the point where a violation of rights in one part of the world is felt everywhere."… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 7, 2010 at 2:00pm — 12 Comments

keith@oac

Jamaica

I was sitting on a beach in Jamaica reading a collection of C.L.R. James’s occasional writings on cricket. The place had once belonged to Errol Flynn. My daughter was playing on the edge of the sea. James had been the deputy cricket correspondent for the Manchester Guardian in the 1930s. I found myself reading about my father’s heroes in the Lancashire cricket team of that period as if it were today’s sports… Continue

Added by Keith Hart on April 5, 2010 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment