Date registered: December 9, 2010
Dec
17
Posts on this website are generally grouped according to the six topical areas of: 1) The historic lack of integrated strategic thinking at the federal level, 2) Why the federal government should have an explicit, fully developed strategic role, 3) Appropriate roles for national leadership in economic well-being, today, 4) Cautions and historic failures in… Continue reading »
Aug
23
Philanthropists must find the temptation to tackle the seemingly worst problems – those that result in the most pronounced or widespread human misery – irresistible. They stand the best chance of benefitting either the most people or the most “deserving” of relief. Problems that simultaneously affect many people and cause great suffering are especially attractive… Continue reading »
Apr
21
A general answer to this question, “protect the public,” only opens the door to endless subtleties of interpretation and subsequent arguments, about, for example, forms of government protection that go too far for society’s own good. In a democracy, these kinds of arguments belong in the public debate. But that debate is only as worthwhile… Continue reading »
Mar
31
A recent article in Time magazine (March 28, 2011) addressed a series of challenges faced by prospective developers of nuclear generating plants in the U.S. In addition to some fundamental mismatches between federal policy, utility strategies, and financial institutions, the article implied the following multi-faceted strategic-planning question: Can we afford to make nuclear energy safe,… Continue reading »
Feb
11
Watching yet another tribute to Ronald Reagan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, I was struck by the familiarity of the story unfolding: Earnest president has plan to save the country, is sometimes misunderstood, and struggles to stick with his principles in the face of plunging popularity as his policies do… Continue reading »
Dec
20
The economic concept of “value added” refers to the cycle of production in which the organized efforts of personnel, working with capital equipment and other factors of production, make something more useful out of whatever they started with. Value-added is a simple concept and a measurable indicator of success in industries or individual enterprises. In… Continue reading »
Dec
20
Human progress is complicated by the following three conditions of context: The tools we have developed, in not only technology but also in institutions and other systems. Shifts in competitive advantage, among technologies, locations (at times a direct function of technology shifts), and cultures, where cultures can adopt policies that either harmonize or destabilize human… Continue reading »
Dec
20
Much social change is based on highly interrelated phenomena. For example, during the Industrial Revolution, and in a relatively short time, agriculturally dominant societies became urban societies. This didn’t happen only because people suddenly believed city life was better, although some no doubt did believe that, or merely because city jobs were plentiful and farming… Continue reading »
Dec
20
Central governments are often the definers and defenders of civilization. In a democracy, this requires government to step outside its representational bounds and act creatively with the resources at its disposal. Free-society governments serve primarily as arbitrators of competing interests, or at least those interests with enough resources to make themselves heard. The arbitration function… Continue reading »
Dec
20
The first national plan will require special, additional layers of effort. Some form of representative group must be created to, first, design the system by which the plan will be formulated. Prior to that, some body of elected officials must designate the system-design group. Negotiations about stakeholder participants, procedures, content, venues, and the like will… Continue reading »