2009 is here. My new year resolution is actually a wish. I wish we move towards a more decentralized way of doing things wheter it is within the political system, within companies, within open source projects, the way we create things.
The more I think about it, the more it make sense to do it. How can a central unit, person or group know what is the right thing for all the other people?
There are some situations which require a decision to be taken that goes against the will of the majority or that a decentralized model cannot find an easy way to settle on it but it is just the right thing to do. A good example is the plastic bag tax. In many countries where it was first announced to impose a tax on plastic bag in order to lessen the use of them, people were against it. The results after a few months is that plastic bag usage drop significantly, people change their habits, they change their mind and actually promote the use of reusable bags.
We should find a way to isolate those cases and resolve them with a strong decision making process like a benevolent dictator, but the normal way of resolving problems should come from the bottom and not the top.
By the way, happy new year !
Comments 2
Incidentally, what is a plastic bag tax for? Politicians in the UK have admitted that plastic bags don’t pose a significant threat to the environment other than being unsightly, but they want to implement the tax anyway, “to send a message”. The message this sends to me is that I don’t have the aesthetic freedom to simply not mind a few plastic bags drifting around. Instead I am compelled to throw a bit more cash down the central drain, in order to make me behave in a way which is, by somebody else’s standards, more pretty.
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 10:15 am ¶Hey Felix,
I tend to think that our societies have evolved and are evolving in a way that is good for most people.
I am not an environmental expert but I think plastic bags used as one-time disposable objects, they way they are mostly used here in Canada, are a treat to the environment. A plastic bag tax would considerably reduce that usage pattern.
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 8:02 pm ¶Post a Comment