Related,
capitalism requires outputs from government that include stable governance, effective bureaucracies, rule of law, and public accountability. During the managerial and stakeholder eras, businesses worked with government to serve both societal demands and capitalist needs.
Yet capitalism and democracy entered a new phase after the economic and political crises of the 1970s—the phase of “shareholder capitalism,” one that is also marked by deregulation, globalization, and financialization. This new era has entailed a new conception of the corporation—one that, as Milton Friedman explained, has no moral obligation except to increase profits for shareholders. By this logic, outcomes that are good for capitalists need not be good for the public, and problems of stagnant wages and productivity, economic inequality, and labor risk and precarity need not concern capitalists.
In a democracy, the primary social contract should be between citizens and elected officials, not between consumers and corporations.
Mostly, but not entirely, it’s straight white men who will never feel the brunt of a religion that’s practically engineered to tickle their balls.
Simply accommodating people in systems that were never designed for their survival is inherently inequitable. We must understand how things got this way and explicitly address the systemic imbalance of power and advantage in our approaches to health equity.
Source: When “Upstream” Public Health Efforts Fall Short – Human Impact (HIP) – Medium
If autism, monotropism and a tendency to experience interests in an intense and compelling way are interlinked (Milton, 2017), there are potentially important implications for autistic children in schools. Indeed, notwithstanding some difficulties associated with a monotropic thinking style, such as not understanding the perspectives of others (Murray et al., 2005), enabling autistic children to engage with their strong interests has been found to be predominantly advantageous, rather than deleterious, in school environments (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016). Positive effects include improved learning and curriculum access (Hesmondhalgh & Breakey, 2001; Wittemeyer et al., 2011), better cooperativity and social skills (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016), increased participation in after-school clubs (Jones et al., 2008) and improved fine motor skills and social and communication abilities (Winter-Messiers, 2007). Furthermore, such an approach enables autistic children “to relax, overcome anxiety, experience pleasure, and make better sense of the physical world” (Gunn & Delafield- Butt, 2016, p. 411), and to moderate their levels of arousal, thus impacting positively on their emotional well-being too (Winter-Messiers, 2007).
Furthermore, longer-term benefits have been associated with the pursuit of intense interests, with relatively few negative effects overall (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016), which in themselves might only occur if autistic people are pressured to reduce or adapt their interests (Mercier et al., 2000). Such a disposition can lead to self-taught expertise, for example (Mottron, 2011), and so is associated with a high level of skill and even savant abilities (Mottron et al., 2013). Being able to develop strong interests can therefore constitute a potential route to employment (Koenig & Williams, 2017; Wittemeyer et al., 2011) and help create the possibility of a fulfilling adult life (Grove, Hoekstra, Wierda, & Begeer, 2018; Jones et al., 2008) providing, inter alia, a sense of well-being, opportunities for personal growth, social learning and development (Koenig & Williams, 2017; Mercier et al., 2000).
Source: Autism, intense interests and support in school: from wasted efforts to shared understandings
The threat to America is this: we have abandoned our core philosophy. Our first principle of this nation as a meritocracy, a free-market economy, where competition drives economic decision-making. In its place, we have allowed a malignancy to fester, a virulent pus-filled bastardized form of economics so corrosive in nature, so dangerously pestilent, that it presents an extinction-level threat to America – both the actual nation and the “idea” of America.
This all-encompassing mutant corruption saps men’s souls, crushes opportunities, and destroys economic mobility. Its a Smash & Grab system of ill-gotten rewards for the well-connected few. The rest of the population? Fuck ’em. This is not what Capitalism is, at least not as conceived by Adam Smith.
The peril gravely putting our nation at risk of failure is Crony Capitalism.
We can define this as the return on capital generated not by innovation and risk taking, but rather through the unholy alliance between the business and political classes. Instead of genuine competition, they use the states’ power to legislate, regulate, grant hand outs, permits, government licenses, special tax breaks, and other dispensations as favors to enrich each other.
Source: Its Not Capitalism, its Crony Capitalism – The Big Picture
Via: Crony Capitalism, not capitalism is the problem – On my Om
So what do we do about this? For me, the course of action is clear: We need to walk away from traditional grading — in which I include not only multi-interval letter grades but also grades based on statistical point accumulation. We’ve seen enough. Grades are harmful to students’ well-being; they do not provide accurate information for employers, academic programs, or even students themselves; and they steer student motivations precisely where we in higher education do not want those motivations to go. There is no coherent argument you can make any more that traditional grading is the best approach, in terms of what’s best for students, to evaluating student work. If we value our students, we’ll start being creative and courageous in replacing traditional grading with something better.
Source: Traditional grading: The great demotivator
Via: 📑 Traditional grading: The great demotivator | Read Write Collect
Sometimes it takes another person with your specific disability label, not another neurotypical teacher or peer, to help the world understand your experience. One of the first books I read about autism was Donna Williams’s memoir Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998). One of her observations has always struck me as particularly apt: “Communication via objects was safe,” Williams says. For me, computers are objects that can be a bridge to interpersonal connection and growth. Those are things we all want, regardless of our differences.
Source: Valuing differences: Neurodiversity in the classroom – kappanonline.org
See also:
Bring the backchannel forward. Written communication is the great social equalizer. – Ryan Boren
“A false meritocracy breeds mediocrity.”
Source: Impeach Normalization – Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior by Andrea Chalupa & Sarah Kendzior on Apple Podcasts @1:25:03
And: The View from Flyover Country | Sarah Kendzior | Macmillan
And: Meritocracy for sale | | Al Jazeera
See also,
Design for pluralism. Start by subtracting behaviorism.
