It seems that it is an important distinction that the target audience is an educated middle class one, since it is a distinction that it serves the argument of an inevitable uprising very well. Involving the middle class makes them more aware of class distinctions and often ultimately leads to questioning whether inequality is worsening or whether the gaps are closing. If the conclusion is that the general direction things are going benefits only one class, that for example, the wealthy owners are the only ones who benefit at the suffering of the working class, one can expect heightened tension between the classes.

In Jack London’s novel, we have Ernest Everhard, a member of the working class, become involved with middle class society by being invited to events such as dinner parties. At these parties, through time, he socializes with university professors, Bishops, and storeowners. Ernest proves to be a very strong contender in the discussions he has with these individuals and earns a certain degree of respect from a few of them, even though they do not agree with his predictions and messages.

Ernest begins with the subject of metaphysics to involve this middle class into the class struggle. He feels that their metaphysical concerns do not allow them to see reality clearly. Ernest points out that this middle class has no knowledge of life for the working class, and that the metaphysics they preach are such that they do not pose a threat to the capitalist class. This allows them to “herd with the capitalist class in another locality…. The capitalist class that pays you, that feeds you…” This middle class survives because it does not challenge the established order. More significantly, however, the middle class does not challenge the established order because it is entirely unaware of the established order.

To raise awareness in this middle class, Ernest presents some of the members with challenges. One such individual is Bishop Morehouse. The Bishop and Ernest engage in a discussion where issues such as class hatred, class struggles, selfishness, social science, censorship, and capitalist economics are all addressed. Ernest promises to the Bishop, “I will take you on a journey through hell,” to make him aware of the working class condition. In this journey, he promises to expose the Bishop to child labor, excessively long working hours, and the unjust ways of the capitalist class. Ernest points out that should the Bishop accept the challenge of facing the truth and the facts, that he runs the high risk of being suppressed by other members of his class. The Bishop accepts the challenge, and Ernest’s predictions about what he will see and what will happen turn out to be true.

In the same scene where Ernest poses the challenge to the Bishop, he also shocks his wife to be, Avis, by telling her that her clothes are stained with blood. In fact, all that she comes in contact with on a daily basis—her house, her food, and such—are all stained with the blood of the working class. As an example of what he means, he tells of a worker who lost his arm at the end of a long workday when he unthinkingly tried to prevent a machine from being damaged. He took the company to court, arguing that the accident would not have happened had he not had to work such long hours. He not only lost his arm and his job, but also he lost the case, the argument being that he was careless. Ernest uses this event to describe the power held by the capitalist class to control the law—to decide what justice means. When Avis asks why she had never read of the case in the newspapers, Ernest points, once again, to the power of censorship held by the capitalist class.

I do not feel that Ernest’s actions were meant in any way as shock treatment. He considered himself a social scientist. He was concerned with the facts. Ernest comes off as a person who not only feels the need to raise awareness, but to be the kind of person who wants to “force” action upon people. Following the well rounded information about socialism presented by The Young Pioneers, I did not actually think much more about socialism for quite some time, until I enrolled in a university Chicano Studies course called Globalization and Transnational Social Movements. Marx was on our reading list, and the course focused largely on the exploitation of the underdeveloped world by the United States capitalists. Action was needed to correct these wrongs.

The coursework involved a lot of research into sweatshop labor, where conditions in underdeveloped world very much resembled the conditions which London was writing about in The Iron Heel. The class was divided into several groups, and each was assigned a multinational corporation to study. Almost 100 years after The Iron Heel, we were asking the same sorts of questions that were included in Ernest’s arguments. Who is in control? Was it the governments and laws, which were supposed to represent the people? Or was it the money and the people, or rather, the creatures formed by “selfish capitalist notions” who were in control?

There were other issues with which parallels could be drawn between The Iron Heel and the world today. One of the groups of people who Ernest gets to best begin to see the conditions for the working class were the shopkeepers in the middle class. There is a scene where a discussion of fairness was taking place. The once successful, profitable shopkeepers were complaining that their profits were being eaten up by the trusts. Ernest asks them about their previous profitability. Their success had come from efficient organization, so efficient that they had managed to cut prices below what their competitors could charge. For a time, then, they were behaving much like the trusts—absorbing all the profits of the competition until there was no room for competition… until a “more efficient” mode of organization came along and drove them out of business. Today, there are many who feel like their jobs are being taken away by workers in developing countries. They complain about their wages being depressed because of the international supply and mobility of labor (and for that matter, of capital also).

There are certainly many disturbances that accompany large-scale change. The problems that were read about in my Chicano Studies course were real problems. I am not, however, confident with evolutionary theories of markets and class struggles as predicted by Marx, and in this case, London. Even if the end of capitalism, or should we look at the situation more accurately, the end of an open market economy was inevitable, what is to guarantee the outcome be a socialistic one? When we look at the turbulent history of economic growth, we are bound to find individuals and groups who are hurt by the changes. Overall, however, the historical evidence tends to mostly show that the growth benefits all groups—not just the rich.

There is another problem with socialism that does not get treated much in The Iron Heel. Early on, Ernest describes the evolutionary view the following way: “The cycle of class struggles which began with the dissolution of rude, tribal communism and the rise of private property will end with the passing of private property in the means of social existence.” In the absence of private property, what are the incentives for innovation. Even Ernest and the Bishop admit to people being selfishly motivated. People would tend to put premiums on certain jobs, services, or duties. We see this even in countries that claim to be communist. Even within these countries there are class distinctions. Different individuals have access to different goods, jobs, and even “public” services such as education.

Bluntly put, we do not live in a perfect world with perfectly ideal, moral, human beings. We hope for things to become better. We hope that our children will be living in a better world—making better decisions than we do. We hope for inequality and exploitation to just be something we read in the history books. We actively try to raise awareness of what is going on—on both a personal level as well as informing others. Revolting against a system that to a great extent works would do nothing but make those hopes more intangible. Finding a way to work with the existing system and make it more effective would be a more beneficial proposition.

The goal of this paper is to present the reader with a brief background of the global experience with sustainable development in the past fifty years. Considering the broad range of issues involved with sustainable development, I decided to divide the paper into ten interconnected sections, each of which would be worthy of extensive analysis on its own.

I will begin by introducing the notion of sustainable development and introducing some of the questions that arise from with our ever-changing “new world order.” Following this will be a brief discussion of the first development experiences, which started as development assistance to help Europe recover following World War II. The success here provided confidence to expand assistance in other parts of the world. The third section covers the changes in the organization of society that provided the environment in which Western wealth and growth originated.

With this basic background of growth and development, I will then begin to present some of the more current issues concerning sustainable development. The fourth section addresses concerns that globalization will result in the extinction of individual cultures, with the world’s cultures ultimately being standardized. Section five is focused around knowledge inequalities and the technology gap between the developed countries and the developing ones. Multinational corporations are often accused of not contributing anything (in terms of such things as transferring management skills and technological knowledge) to the countries in which they operate. Section six briefly looks at these concerns. Inappropriate approaches towards growth also have severe consequences on the environment. A few of the environmental problems stemming from growth are the topics of section seven. Section eight raises questions about the measurement of the standard of living and discusses some recent ideas for improvement. This is followed by a short discussion of a fundamental question that should be asked when analyzing development experiments: does growth help the poor? With that question asked, I will end the paper with the convergence theory—that is, that the incomes of the late starters to growth converge quite rapidly with those of the leaders.

Sustainability in a Changing World

As economies grow and as a country’s national markets become increasingly interconnected in world markets, concerns of future events—such as an international “financial and economic meltdown”—as well as concerns for the well being of future generations arise. There are two major aspects of sustainable development that can be linked to these future concerns. The first is that for already developed countries, there is the desire to ensure that future generations enjoy at least the same material standard of living as we do today. For the developing countries, there is the hope to “catch up” with the developed countries in a relatively short period of time, while at the same time not loosing sight of the goal of sustainability. Sustainable development implies that “current needs are to be met as fully as possible while ensuring that the life opportunities of future generations are undiminished relative to the present” (Howarth 473). Perhaps the fundamental goals of sustainable development are to promote growth that will eliminate poverty, and to assist with stability. As a result of globalism—”a state of the world involving networks at multicontinental distances” (Keohane 104)—economic shocks travel across the globe “within seconds” (Beynon xii).

There have been many different approaches towards sustainable development, and these ideas are continually being reworked, analyzed, and expanded upon. There have also been many questions concerning the legitimacy and interest of development assistance. The past two centuries have shown incredible growth in wealth and the standard of living. These advances have not, however, been universal, and there has been a good deal of research aimed at explaining how some countries advance while others lag far behind. Among the proposed ideas are that the advance of the Western economies was a result of exploitation, including its use of slavery and colonialism at various points in its development. But this argument does not help answer the question whether growth is good, nor does the historical story of western growth fully support this claim concerning the West’s rise to wealth. These questions have, however, led to questions about whether growth leads to greater inequality—between countries and within them—or whether convergence is occurring. In other words, is growth really good for the poor? Has aid and development assistance succeeded in its goal to reduce poverty?

The Early Development Experiences

Following the Marshall Plan, which helped post-war Europe to recover, we have had a half century that has been called “a period of considerable international generosity.” Early on, Cold War competitive ideology also played a major role in spurring on the development experience, with the two main schools of thought concerning the means of achieving growth being the adoption of democracy and market economies, versus development aided by central planning and some form of authoritarianism (Sagasti 4). The “American Model” was fueled by a certain degree of overconfidence, public support for aid that was supposed to “modernize” what many considered “backward” economies, and a degree of fear of the powers of the Soviet Union. Similarly, the Soviet Union sought to strengthen its alliances by development assistance. “Soviet aid was seen as another weapon in the fight against Western capitalism” (Sagasti 20).

One of the interesting outcomes of these early development experiences stems from the perception that the countries being assisted were often considered to be culturally “backward.” The result of this view was that a country’s failure to “modernize” and conform to Western tradition and values was in part to blame for the backwardness of the economy in that country. Traditional ways were seen as a hindrance to economic progress, and were often disregarded and replaced by Western ideas (Sagasti 90). There are pros and cons to this argument. Much of the historical evidence points to the requirement of appropriate political systems, institutions, and values to encourage change and growth. Traditionalism, which asks us to accept the established order, is thus a hindrance to growth.

Traditionalism and Growth: The Environment for Innovation

We can take the example of China’s experience as an illustration here. China had incredible science and technology, with inventions such as paper, iron casting and medicine hundreds of years in advance to Western Europe. Yet, starting in the 17^th century, Western Europe took the lead, and by the 19^th century, the economic gap between them was incredibly large. One explanation is that the Chinese leaders valued stability, and were thus often skeptical of new ideas. In addition, China kept herself very isolated from the rest of the world. Everything she needed could be found or produced within her boundaries. Thus, early Westerners were seen as barbarians who had nothing to offer her. Indeed, Chinese leaders felt they were offering a service to these backward traders by letting them establish ports in a country that was morally advanced (The Economist, Dec. 31 1999, p12).

By contrast, Western Europe saw institutional changes such as the separation of the economic sphere from political and religious control. The West’s growth was the result of a society that developed a set of institutions that were favorable to change. Four rights are cited by economic historians Nathan Rosenberg and L.E. Birdzell as contributing to the environment for the growth that was to come for Western Europe. These were: the authority of individuals to form enterprises; “enterprises were authorized to acquire goods and hold them for resale at a profit or loss”; enterprises were given authority to determine the activities they engaged in and; property rights were more clearly defined, and the property of enterprises were made “immune from arbitrary seizure or expropriation by political authorities” (22). Traditionally, these rights and decisions were made in the political and religious spheres, where leaders were interested in maintaining the status quo.

At the same time this was happening, Western European markets were also freer from religious and political control than markets in other societies were. With the granting of authority to make the above-mentioned decisions to enterprises and the individuals who owned them, the owners were made responsible for the economic outcomes of their decisions. The markets in turn determined the success or failure of an innovation, as well as determined the rewards to innovation (Rosenberg 23).

It is interesting to note that what this setting resulted in was not technological progress due to scientific progress (although there was considerable scientific progress—again from the changed set of values which allowed for a shifting away from the binds of political and religious control). The advances of the mid 18^th century to mid 19^th century were brought about by “artisans or engineers with little or no scientific training. They were men of common sense, curiosity, energy and vast ingenuity…Their goal was not to understand, but…to make machines that worked better and…at lower cost.” Not all innovations succeeded, perhaps only as few as one per hundred. But the significant innovations involving political and economic institutions of the time provided increased incentive to try new ideas, and in doing so, prepared Western Europe for the changes which were going to accompany their upcoming growth (The Economist, Dec. 31 1999, p11).

Globalization and Cultural Identity

Recall the origin of the above discussion of Western Europe’s ability to promote growth and achieve its wealth. I began by pointing out that some of the early development projects tended to try to discard many traditions and values within the country receiving aid, with the justification that the existing traditions were “backward” and hindered progress. As noted, there is a con to this argument. Apart from the unattractiveness of the concept of a homogenous world culture, there are other problems with this…egotistical… view of development assistance. There is a certain degree of pretentiousness which may involve such a program which could likely lead to resentment of the donor countries by those receiving the aid.

As mentioned before, ideas concerning development have constantly been changing and adapting. Adapting is the key word here. One of the main problems with assuming one approach to be the only way to achieve success is that such a view does not account for variability, not only in individuals, but also in location. Rosenberg and Birdzell address this in the conclusion of their book on the history of Western growth, How the West Grew Rich. “We wish particularly to avoid any suggestion that the West’s historical path to wealth contains any simple formula that, if used in the Third World, would produce a similar outcome…. Another fundamental consideration is that the West has been remarkably willing to pay the price of growth, in the form of changing the whole structure and interpretation of Western life” (327-328).

Francisco Sagasti feels this penetration of Western culture is even more significant today, with the agent of distribution being modern telecommunication and other such technological advances. The “images of affluence” portrayed on television can create cultural tensions in the developing world. These images of Western life brings with it “pressures to standardize (Westernize?) aspirations and cultural values,” while at the same time, there is a growing desire to “reassert individuality and cultural identity” (53). This set of contradictory aspirations may play a significant role in addressing why certain development programs have had little or no effect on promoting growth. As a result of the acknowledgement that what is good for one is not necessarily best for everyone, we observe in more recent development approaches increased levels of “case-by-case” and “country-focus[ed]” attempts to try to address regional and cultural differences (Sagasti 16).

It is interesting to be able to observe this struggle between traditionalism and standardization on American television. One can observe, for example, the version of MTV that is broadcast in various parts of the world—including on the domestic international channels. While MTV Mexico or MTV Asia definitely tend to embrace American pop culture, the music is often definitely different and frequently employs each region’s respective traditional instruments. One can then question whether we are dealing with cultural degradation (should MTV be there in the first place?), or whether the transformation can be more appropriately termed selective cultural assimilation (whose MTV is it?). Building on the unattractiveness of a homogenous world culture, and the experience with things such as the various international versions of MTV, perhaps the emerging “global order” will be more like Jack Weatherford sees it: “We need to share some values such as commitment to fundamental human rights and basic rules of interaction, but we can be wildly different in other areas such as lifestyles, spirituality, musical tastes, and community life (290).

The Inequality of Knowledge

Whatever the situation, development programs have begun to address cultural concerns. As Sagasti points out, “Even international institutions like the World Bank, previously known to focus exclusively on economic and social questions, are beginning to pay attention to cultural questions” (55). The addressing of concerns of cultural degradation are not the only changes taking place. An additional host of issues such as human rights issues, environmental protection, relief assistance, labor rights concerns, education, leadership training, and the restriction of weapons trade are all topics that have become part of foreign development assistance. Many of these alternative foci are pursued by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which tend to “promote particular goals rather than the broader goal of development” (The Economist, Jan.29 2000, p27).

Often, however, many of these issues are crucial to the success of a sustainable development program. We can start this discussion with investments in human capital—specifically in the importance of knowledge for growth. The rate of change in knowledge generation and use has been increasingly rapid. “It took from the time of Christ to the mid-eighteenth century for knowledge to double. It doubled again 150 years later, and then again in only 50 years. Today it doubles every four or five years. More new information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 5000″ (David Linowes quoted in Sagasti 59). With the transformation of the importance of knowledge in the global economy today, property rights and ideas have transformed ideas into capital, and capital has always been a major economic barrier to entry (The Economist, Apr.08 2000, p17). Access to knowledge, increased incentives to create knowledge, and a promotion of the ability to make use of knowledge through education and training, will prove to be very valuable for a developing country in trying to achieve sustainable growth.

A reading of a textbook on macroeconomics will point out that capital accumulation cannot be the source of sustainable economic growth, but rather that growth “must ultimately be due to technological progress” (Blanchard 461). This is because with a given level of technology, capital eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns, where each increase in capital leads to smaller increases in output. Technological progress can change this by increasing the effectiveness of labor, making the existing capital more productive. Technological progress can also mean new products and different types of products. Much of what has pushed growth in recent years has been the result of innovation. “Innovation has become the industrial religion of the late 20^th century” (Valery The Economist “Innovation Survey”, Feb. 20 1999 p5).

Well-defined property rights have been key players in contributor to providing incentives for innovation. It may also provide some explanation of what can be termed the “technology gap” between the developed countries and the developing ones. Professor Paul Romer, a “new growth” theorist, addresses some of these questions of knowledge, competition, and convergence in his essay The Origins of Endogenous Growth. Professor Romer points to five basic facts about economic growth in the neoclassical model of growth. Here are three of them. “Discoveries differ from other inputs in the sense that many people can use them at the same time.” Seen in this light, information is a nonrival good—the additional cost of providing ideas to another person are zero. “Technological advance comes from things that people do.” Discoveries will not be made if people do not pursue activities that lead to discoveries. “Many individuals and firms have market power and earn monopoly rents on discoveries” (Romer 12-13).

Professor Romer’s last fact is significant. Neoclassical growth models treated technology as a public good. With such treatment, it was difficult to explain why developing countries could not absorb the more productive technologies of the developed countries and then enjoy a period of rapid economic growth. Public goods are not only nonrival, but they are also nonexcludable. Firms and individuals typically control access to their information and use of their information “for at least some period of time,” making “economically important discoveries” not fully subject to the treatment offered by neoclassical growth theories (Romer 13). Temporary monopoly power in the form of property rights may play an important part in encouraging innovation (Romer 18). Professor Romer feels that deriving from his work with investments in human capital one can find a policy prescription for economic success which involves “more saving and more schooling” (20).

The Role of the Multinational Corporation

The findings of Romer and of others who have looked at the importance of knowledge and research on growth have been reflected in more recent growth experiences. Francisco Sagasti feels that “creating and consolidating scientific and technological capabilities in the developing regions” will be one of the major themes in the “development-cooperation” experiences of the years to come (148). Much of the controversy concerning multinational corporations, for example, is that their power combined with their drive for profits often lead to very exploitative working conditions. The ability for multinationals to easily shift from one country to another—based on features like the tax incentives, environmental regulations, and labor costs offered countries competing for investment—have led many to question whether globalization is ultimately going to lead to a race to the bottom (Ross 71; The Economist, Jan. 29 2000 p21; Breecher 19-27). Many people fear that these corporations are mostly engaging in production of goods which do not require much skilled labor, and as such, do not contribute much in the way of technological “know-how” transfers to the recipient country.

This is not quite the case. There is the argument that multinationals are more afraid of possible protest in their home countries than they are of “resentment abroad” (The Economist, Jan. 29 2000, p21). Nevertheless, “every so often, a multinational does something stupid,” but on the whole, they do achieve in success in creating jobs quickly, and these jobs often pay better than local firms do. They are also better at transferring technology, at least between the parent firm and their foreign counterparts (Greider 22).

Environmental Concerns and Sustainability

The United Nations feels that businesses are indeed their “Partners in Sustainable Development.” In a publication by that title, the United Nations discussed the role of business and industry in improvement of the production process (at home and abroad) “through the introduction of technologies that use resources more efficiently and minimize environmental impacts” (Alvarez-Rivero iv). While the UN does admit that there are great costs associated with research and development (R&D) involving cleaner production technologies, it points out that the long run benefits outweigh these costs, and that furthermore, the large market would help absorb the costs. In a number of case studies, the clean technologies not only had environmental benefits, but they also generally resulted in higher production efficiency (Alvarez-Rivero 1). One of the major obstacles to investment in cleaner production identified in the UN report is misinformation about the costs of environmental protection. Part of the misinformation stems from the difficulty in doing cost-benefit analyses involving environmental costs. The UN recommends increased use of environmental accounting—using a framework that would allow firms to internalize the environmental costs to better determine whether a given project would “meet their benchmark for rate of return on investment” (Alvarez-Rivero 6).

The effect of growth on the environment is an important one to look at when the goal is sustainable development. “Trade liberalization, per se, is not necessarily linked to either environmental degradation or environmental preservation.” It is likely, however, that trade can be an “effective agent” for sustainable development (Schultz 424). Environmental issues are of international concern and span many generations. Matters of intergenerational equity arise when considering environmental issues, because there is often a trade off to be made between “efficiency, [which] puts society on the utility possibilities frontier…[and] sustainability, [which] is a matter of distribution of assets across generations” (Howarth 473). There is also the concern that our placing a value on sacrificing something today for future generations may not be a value that is passed down through generations. We may be inclined to wonder about whether our efforts today may simply be foiled by acts of these future generations.

The environmental concerns regarding sustainability have many different aspects. These include problems stemming from agricultural practices, increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and concern about global warming. Improper farming techniques, for example, while embodying good intentions such as providing more abundant, cheaper food, has resulted in environmental damage in the form of soil degradation, pollution, water scarcity and biodiversity loss. Soil degradation is taking place as a result of over-planting and overgrazing, accompanied by poor drainage and improper irrigation techniques. Pollution arises from the widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides. In addition to contaminating water sources, it is also causing many biological problems “throughout food-chains…in both man and beast.” Water is running out as a result of inefficient use in farming. Farm practices such as intensive monoculture programs, deforestation, selective animal breeding, and genetically modified high yielding, fast growing crops, have had a severe impact on biodiversity. “Over a sixth of the 3,800 breeds of domestic animals that existed a century ago have disappeared” (El Feki The Economist “Agriculture and Technology Survey,” Mar. 25 2000 p11).

This is not to say that the situation concerning the environment is entirely bleak. The World Trade Organization, for example, has begun to include statements in its publications of interest in environmental issues and, as a more active stance, formed the Committee on Trade and the Environment in early 1994 (Schultz 425). There have also been environmental subsidy provisions that permit “governmental assistance to promote the adaptation of existing facilities to new environmental requirements (Schultz 429). Such acts as eco-labeling are being promoted by environmental groups and help raise public awareness and information about the goods that they consume. Perhaps the most well known case was the US ban on Mexican tuna that was not dolphin safe. At the time, tuna canners began a program labeling their products “dolphin safe.” Interestingly, such programs may “obviate the need for governmental product regulations,” by letting consumers express their environmental preferences by the informed choices they make in the marketplace (Schwartz 435).

In addition, international economic relations are increasingly being formed conditional on adopting environmental protection measures. A few countries have already begun to position themselves “to compete in what will be one of the most dynamic markets of the future, environmentally sound technologies. Being able to provide environmentally friendly technologies is rapidly becoming a source of competitive advantage in the global search for new markets” (Sagasti 50). Studies have also found that “while increased economic output tends to be associated with higher CO₂ emissions, a rising standard of living also slows down population growth and leads to reduced energy consumption per unit of output” (DeCanio 41). One thing that is key to success, however, is the rate of change at which new policies for promoting environmental sustainability are enforced. As Lester Brown points out, “This is not a spectator sport…the central issue [to the environmental challenges] is the need to restructure the global economy quickly” (20-21).

The Change of the Worldwide Standard Living

The measurement of a country’s standard of living also needs to be addressed when talking about sustainable development. Traditionally, economics has relied on real per capita GDP as their measure of the standard of living. Naturally, such view leads to a bias “toward economic growth as a policy objective, rather than striving for balanced human development” (Easterlin 8 ). More recently, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has begun to annually report a human development index (HDI), which includes such measures of human welfare as health, education, and democratic freedom. This is a result of a recent evolution of development-cooperation that illustrates the concept of “sustainable human development.” “Sustainable human development” aims to provide current and future generations not only the opportunity to expand (and support) their capabilities in the economic realm, but also to expand capabilities and put them to their best uses in the political, social, cultural and environmental realm (Sagasti 17). While over the past 100 years “the gap between the richest and poorest countries has widened dramatically” in material standards, the HDI measurement of standards of living show a sharp decrease in global inequality over the past 50 years (The Economist, Apr.15 2000, p86).

The last two centuries have seen what has been termed by Richard Easterlin, “A revolution of the human condition.” In making this statement, he is referring not only to the incredible material transformation that has taken place, but also in terms of basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, as well as in terms of conditions that enhance the life experience, such as improved health and education (7). In an intensive study aimed at finding out “what people want out of life,” the findings were that while living level—or one’s material position—was a major concern in many of the counties, concerns of family, health, values, and work were also important to many (Easterlin 9). While some of these measures clearly have upper limits (for example, literacy has an upper value of 100 percent), there is still a lot of room for advances in quality the quality of life (Easterlin 23).

Growth for the Poor

Easterlin begins his essay with a qualification, “Although the picture is not one of universal progress…” (7). This brings us back to the question of inequality and growth mentioned at the beginning of this paper. Earlier this year, prior to the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, demonstrators were gathering to protest acts by these institutions which protestors claimed “impoverish and oppress the majority of the world’s peoples…while enriching themselves and corporations” (The Economist, Apr. 15 2000, p76). The complaint by many people who oppose globalization is not so much that globalization is bad for growth, but rather that the rewards of growth are only observed by the rich. There is the feeling that the rich get richer and the poor get left out, thus increasing inequality (The Economist, May 27 2000, p82).

A recent paper by David Dollar and Aart Kraay for the World Bank comes to different conclusions. Their findings show that while growth is slower for the poor in the early stages of development, and faster in the later stages. Additionally, they found that “growth spurred by open trade or other macro policies…benefits the poor as much as it does the typical household” (27). Among the macroeconomic policies often recommended for growth are political stability, openness to trade, deregulation, good rule of law, and fiscal discipline (Dollar 5).

Convergence Revisited

There is much to say in favor of development and foreign aid when one looks at the general picture of growth today. Given the right set of standards, which include the macroeconomic policies suggested by Dollar and Kraay, we would expect later starting countries growing at fast initial growth. In convergence theory, “the late entrants have much higher initial growth rates than the early entrants but do not surpass their income levels” (Lucas Jr. 161). This argument builds on the idea that knowledge is cumulative, and makes use of the shaky assumption discussed earlier that knowledge is a public good. There may be a need for a revision, however. “Digital technology allows the dream to become a reality: quite simply, it provides a way of capturing information and transmitting it at a fraction of the cost previously” (Beynon 111). Many more people around the world are gaining access to information more easily and less expensively than before. Thus, the monopolization of ideas is likely to be weaken, lowering one of the major barriers to entry, and allowing us to see whether convergence will indeed occur.

The convergence theory also expects high levels of inequality, and according to Robert Lucas Jr.’s model, it expects a long phase of increasing inequality. According to his model, this phase has already occurred, with the constant phase of inequality (a time when inequality is neither growing nor shrinking) were the years 1960 to 1990. The proximity of his data to the current time, however, makes it difficult to determine conclusively whether the recent convergence that he observes in his model will continue (165).

Conclusion

In this paper I have presented only a very small portion of what sustainable development involves (I didn’t even begin to talk about population pressures!). I have also refrained from getting into particular issues about how one should promote the goal of sustainable development. This is because there is no straightforward prescription of policies that can be made. One of the complications is that certain countries are more prepared for growth than others. They may have a culture that encourages education, or they may have a stable government dedicated towards helping its constituents improve the value of their life. Countries at different stages of development will have different needs. Spending money under the name of aid will do little to assist development if the institutions necessary to make use of the aid are not in place.

Simply put, decisions regarding development should be made on a case by case basis. At the same time, a global awareness of the goal of sustainability needs to be encouraged. This starts at the local level. For example, as advanced as the United States is, there is still considerable room for, and more importantly, need for improvements. This can be in the form of improved energy efficiency, or in the form of improved education. It can come from improving the level of trust within our society (ask an American about their politicians for a feel of this). Finally, one should not make the mistake of expecting progress to immediately follow change. The process of growth has been a slow, relatively steady one. We should try to ensure that it can maintain this stability.

The global play is still being written. The major characters are still in development. The ending has yet to be determined.

Works Cited

• Alvarez-Rivero, and Theresa Olvida eds. Business and the United Nations: Partners in Sustainable Development. New York, United Nations Publications, 1999.
• Beynon, Robert Ed. The Routledge Critical Dictionary of Global Economics. New York, Routledge, 1999.
• Blanchard, Olivier. Macroeconomics. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1997.
• Breecher, Jeremy and Tim Costello. Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction from the Bottom Up. Boston, South End Press, 1994.
• Brown, Lester R., et al. State of the World 2000. New York, W. W. Norton & Co., 2000.
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The primary issue at stake in The Octopus is one of land ownership. Along the lines of the Pacific and South West Railroad, alternate sections of land had been granted to the P. and S. W. Trust by the government. The P. and S. W. invited farmers to settle the land and cultivate wheat, and ultimately to offer the land for sale, at first to the first occupants. Furthermore, the price was promised to be between $2.50 and $5.00 per acre. Improvements to the land would not affect the price, thus, for the initial settlers, the land would prove to be very valuable. They could settle, work with the land to a profitable point, work on improving the land through things like improved irrigation, and, when the Trust decided to sell the land, the farmers would acquire it at a low price. The profitability of resale would thus be great, for, as one of the major characters Annixter notes, “The land has more than quadrupled in value. I’ll bet I could sell it tomorrow for fifteen dollars an acre.” To the P. and S. W., this essentially amounts to an effective way to provide incentives to improve land. With the forces of capitalism in mind, the promise of private ownership gives the farmers an incentive to keep the land in good form and make the most of its potential.

However, considering the forces of capitalism, one would be inclined to question the interpretation of the agreement made by the railroad trust to the farmers. Genslinger, an editor to the local newspaper, points out that not only do the farmers add value, but the presence of the railroad also increases the value of the ranches, and that “fairness” would involve sharing the benefits of the rise in value between the farmers and the railroad. He further adds, “I don’t believe the P. and S. W. intends to sell for two-fifty an acre at all. The managers of the road want the best price they can get.” This proves to be the case. The railroad has taken its time in putting the land up for sale, and upon decision to sell, issues letters to the current occupants of the ranches which state the selling price to be in the range between $20.00 and $30.00 per acre. Thus begins the war between the farmers and railroad trust.

Assuming the farmers to be correct in their interpretation of the contract issued to them by the railroad, their ensuing call for violence or revolution can be seen as justified. Upon hearing of the “merciless” prices demanded by the P. and S. W., the ranchers decide to form a league against the railroad. The rapid formation of the league is accompanied with such phrases as, “This is a family affair,”  “Organization, that must be our watchword,” “Now we must stand together, now, now,” and “Every one of us here to join it, to form the beginnings of a vast organization, banded together to death, if needs be, for the protection of our rights and homes.”

At a crucial point in the novel, however, it is found that the ranchers cannot organize well enough to act as a group—and falls apart at the first experience with confrontation:

“Why, where’s all the men?” Annixter demanded of Magnus.

“Broderson is here and Cutter,” replied the Governor, “no one else, I thought you would bring more men with you.”

“There are only nine of us.”

“And the six hundred leaguers who were going to rise when this happened!” exclaimed Garnett bitterly.

“Rot the league,” cried Annixter. “It’s gone to pot—went to pieces at the first touch.”

The strength of the railroad trust was such that the farmers and families involved did not feel that collective action would so much as budge the decisions made by the railroad trust. The effectiveness of collective action, or promised collective action is hard to predict. Success depends partially in the willingness to commit to the cause at hand—the ability to overcome, or at least lessen, the free-rider problem. Everyone in the league would have wished the success of Annixter and the other men present at the above scene, but few rose to the call, or, as noted later, were made aware of the call at the appropriate time.

One can’t help but wonder what the relationship between the farmers and the railroad would have been if the outcome of the previous scene had ended differently, for example with the intended result of no bloodshed, but rather a hopefully productive encounter. One also can’t help but wonder if success or change was at all possible. The question of choice arises here—the question of an individual’s ability, or even that of a group, to actively take part in change.

Indeed, from the descriptions of the mechanisms at work in The Octopus, one would be inclined to think that choices play an incredibly small part. There is a scene where Lyman Derrick receives a railroad map. “The map was white, and it seemed as if all the color which should have gone to vivify the various counties, towns, and cities marked upon it had been absorbed by that huge, sprawling organism… a gigantic parasite flattening upon the lifeblood of an entire commonwealth.” The farmers may fight the men involved in the railroad business, but business, but that would mean little if anything. The real enemy was the railroad. It had taken on a life of its own. When Presley meets Shelgrim, the President of the P. and S. W., he says to him, “You are the head, you control the road.” Shelgrim is amused by this and replies, “I can not control it. It is a force born out of certain conditions, and I—no man—can stop it or control it.”

Following this experience, Presley first comes to the depressing conclusion that “Men were nothings,” they “fluttered and fell and were forgotten…. Men were naught, death was naught, life was naught; FORCE only existed.” Norris tries to take us away from such a pessimistic outlook, however, and to do so, he has a hermit-like character, Vanamee, talk to Presley. Presley ultimately comes to the conclusion that, “Falseness dies; injustice and oppression in the end of everything fade and vanish away. Greed, cruelty, selfishness and inhumanity are short-lived; the individual suffers, but the race goes on…. All things surely, inevitably, resistlessly work together for good.”

Norris also shows this view in the change in the character of Annixter. Annixter used to be the type content with only a few friends who mattered. He was impatient, rough, and more than content to make enemies with any act. In a transforming conversation between himself and Hilma Tree, his wife-to-be, he says, “Remember, once I said I was proud of being a hard man, a driver, of being glad that people hated me and were afraid of me? Well, since I’ve loved you I’m ashamed of it all. I don’t want to be hard anymore, and nobody is going to hate me if I can’t help it.” In Vanamee’s words, “it is not evil, but good, that in the end remains.”

While both these ends are more reassuring in their optimism concerning the “big picture,” it does not quite fully satisfy the reality of our daily concerns. I think it is fitting that Norris had Presley saying he was going to India. The Hindu and Buddhist religions make such views as Vanamee’s easier to accept. Hinduism calls for humans to separate their “ego-selves” from the true Self. To do so, they manage to break the cycle of karma—they realize the insignificance of their ego-selves, or what we can think of in Western terms as our personal identity. Buddhism calls for a separation from desires to end suffering. It also calls for a detachment from self. There is no such thing as the “identical I”—”The identical I never was, never is, never will be” (Sri Aurobindo). We are nothing more than forces of karma constantly flowing and changing through time.

This is not a conclusion that entirely satisfies me. I like to think that I have a will, and that the power to change things is within us all. Hopefully, those who can recognize this power do not abuse it, and use it, instead, for the betterment of as much of humanity as is rationally possible.

I have always been taught that the Civil War was a war fought over slavery and the North imposing its ways on the South. From what I have gained from high school history courses, I feel that slavery was what got the war started, but the divisions between the North and South were stronger. Those divisions, although political intervention could have probably helped ironed them out, are what allowed the Civil War to continue. These differences can be noted in the very first few paragraphs of Shaara’s foreword to his novel. The Confederate army, for example, is shown to be “an army of remarkable unity,” who “share common customs and a common faith.” By contrast, the Union army is “a strange new kind of army” made up of “vastly dissimilar men” with “strange accents and strange religions and many who do not speak English at all.”

The history of slavery was not unique to the Southern states. Slavery accompanied the founding of the United States, but it was always accompanied with hopes that it would gradually decline in use. The slave trade with Africa was abolished in the early part of the 1800s, and slavery in the North dissipated while the region began to undergo many changes, especially the increase in immigrant workers to work in the factories. The Southern states, however, were mostly dependent on a plantation economy based on crops like tobacco and cotton, and continued their use of slave labor in the fields. The North was changing rapidly, with many immigrant workers and an industrializing society built up around the city structures, compared to the relative stability of the South, where life had not changed much over the years.

And yet, though growing apart as they were, the North was, as Shaara put it, a group of “dissimilar men fighting for union,” fighting against the rebel volunteers, “an army of remarkable unity, fighting for disunion.”

This conflict between the North and South arises a couple of times in Shaara’s novel. Take, for example, Fremantle, then Englishman who accompanies Longstreet. In a passage where he is trying to work out to himself what this war is about and where it fits in with the history of the United States’ experiment in democracy, sees a similar image to the one presented above. He says, “The North has those bloody cities and a thousand religions and the only aristocracy is the aristocracy of wealth. The Northerner doesn’t give a damn for tradition, or breeding, or the Old Country. He hates the Old Country…. In the South…by and large, they were all the same nationality, same religion, same customs.” At one point, he says that the war is basically about these differences, about the “sameness” of the South to the Europe that Americans had tried to leave, contrasting with the forces of change in the North.

In addition to these forces of change and disunity, the young United States was also very economically different by geographic regions. The North (Union) was over twice as large as the South (Confederacy), both in terms of population and number of states (not land area). The North had a diverse economy and was home to many more factories and manufacturing bases than did the South, which settled with their prosperous “one crop” cotton agriculture. Most of the arms supply for the war was manufactured in the North, a fact touched on at various times throughout Shaara’s novel. For example, it is noted that many of the Confederate soldiers (volunteers) were “unpaid and self armed.”

This said, however, I think that it is unquestionable that slavery was the big issue behind the Civil War. To the Confederates, the persistence of the Union pushing their views on them was something they were quite resentful of. One of the Confederate soldiers offered the following analogy about what the war was about: “I think my analogy of the club was the best. I mean, it’s as if we all joined a gentleman’s club, and then the members of the club started sticking their noses into our private lives, and then we up and resigned, and then they tell us we don’t have the right to resign.” That they did not hold slaves in the North was supposed to make the Northerners morally better. These Northerners were people who were fighting for the ideal of freedom. The Southerners were people fighting to have their Constitutional rights upheld—not fighting a war about slavery.

At the same time there was much resentment in the North of the Southerners’ “arrogant” use of the Bible to justify their acts—trying thus to make their acts seem morally acceptable. A very interesting part of The Killer Angels which looks at this issue is the scene where the wounded black man is taken up by the Union Army. A discussion takes place between Chamberlain (sort of an idealist) and Kilrain (more of a realist). Discussing issues of racial differences between blacks and whites, Chamberlain says, “To me there was never any difference.” Chamberlain remembers a time when a Southern minister and a university professor visited him in the North. The discussion ended on slavery and morality. Chamberlain argued that men should not be used like animals, to which the minister replied, “A Negro is not a man.”

Kilrain, a man who considers himself “not a clever man,” comments on Chamberlain’s story. “No two things on earth are equal or have an equal chance…. There’s many a man worse than me, and some better, but I don’t think race or country matters a damn. What matters is justice.” Kilrain believes that things must change—not just in the South though, for he sees discrimination by the aristocracy that he is fighting against. “They used to have signs on tavern doors,” he tells Chamberlain, speaking of taverns in the North, “Dogs and Irishmen keep out.” The situation in the North was far from flawless. Chamberlain’s “oddness, a crawly hesitation, not wanting to touch him [the black man],” is an example of the unstable grounds that the Civil War was being fought on.

The Killer Angels ends without any real resolution, which seems strange for a novel with 100 years hindsight, until one manages to place themselves in the situation at that time. Even today, it seems like the war was unavoidable—and it was a war in which the soldiers were all a bit unclear about what they were fighting for. Even at the end, a Union soldier notes that, “When you ask them prisoners, they never talk about slavery…. If it weren’t for the slaves, there’d never have been no war, now would there?” That final question is perhaps one of the biggest ones concerning the Civil War.

To look at her problem, Stowe offers us a diverse cast of characters. Through the course of the book, we get to know Christian slaves and unchristian masters, masters and slaves who are unbelievers in Christ and in God (but for different reasons), educated slaves and illiterate masters, angels, humane people, decent people, wicked people, and people so evil, we find it hard to believe they exist.

I refrain from using skin color being black or white as the definition of slave or master, because Stowe makes it clear on numerous occasions that there were many cases where the slaves were fair skinned as a result of being the child of a black mother who had been made the mistress of the white mother. The offspring, even if fair skinned, was destined to be a slave. Take, for example, George Harris. His mother was a beautiful slave whose “personal beauty” made her “the slave of the passions of her possessor.” George ended up possessing European features, resembling more a “Spanish-looking fellow,” but being destined to a life of slavery.

Perhaps one of the most prominent depictions of the slave owners is their feeling of superiority over the slaves. Indeed, the slave race is seen as inferior. Although there is, on occasion, mention of slave marriages, it is also made clear that these were not legal marriages, and that many slaveholders felt that the slaves were too inferior to feel familial attachments. Babies were separated from their mothers, on the one hand because they were seen as a burden, and on the other, because if they could be held a couple of years more, they could bring in a higher price. Since the slaves were not often allowed the chance to show sentiment over their loss, except at the initial separation, the slaveholders pointed to that as their emotional inferiority.

Even the “kinder” slaveholding families did not always see the slaves in favorable light. Marie St. Clare, for example, who holds herself to be a humane Christian woman, held (while her husband and daughter were alive), that slaves ought to be kindly treated, but at the same time, they ought to “know their place.” They need, on occasion, to be “put down.” She sees “servants,” as she calls them, as grown up children. There is no reason to put any effort into educating slaves. They are children of God, but they are not, and should not by any mean be put “on any sort of equality with us, as if we could be compared.” Marie explicitly states that, “They are a degraded race.”

Augustine St. Clare is a different sort of person. He does not hold religion in high regard. As he says regarding Christianity and slavery, “My view of Christianity is such… that I think that no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society.” To Augustine, it seems to be hopeless. He despises slavery, although he admits it had made him rich, and he is too lazy to do anything about it. He has nothing to fall to, for he sees religion as hypocritical. He wants to believe in God, however, for as he tells Uncle Tom, “I don’t disbelieve, and I think there is reason to believe; and still I don’t.” A transformation of Augustine takes place through his time with Uncle Tom, and he makes motions to begin the freeing of his servants. Augustine never gets his chance to free all his slaves, nor any of them, for he is killed in a fight.

Augustine is not alone in his beliefs. George Harris, previously mentioned, also finds it hard to believe in a Christian God. George is an educated slave—literate, a farm manager, an inventor, and a businessman. He is owned by a cruel slaveholder who takes every chance he gets to “insult and torment” George. George directly poses the problem of evil when he says, “I ain’t a Christian… my heart ‘s full of bitterness; I can’t trust in God. Why does he let things be so?” He feels that religion is on their side. Of the system, he points out that slaves do not have a country. There are no laws for them, only laws about them—meant to keep them down. The only thing George has is love for his wife, Eliza, and his son, Harry.

The theme of love runs strong throughout the book, as it should for a book commenting on Christianity. The fundamental teaching of Christ was that of love. In that sense, there are two true Christians in Stowe’s novel: Uncle Tom and Eva. Eva is the daughter of Augustine, and is often referred to as an angel. She is often seen playing with her father’s slaves. In a scene with her cousin, Henrique, she is essentially told that one does not love his or her servants, at which point she asks, “Don’t the Bible say we must love everybody?” In a naïve way, she says that she likes having as many servants as they do at their house because “it makes so many more round you to love.” Eva begs her father to tell her he is a Christian. Augustine asks what it takes to be a Christian, to which she replies, “Loving Christ, most of all.”

Eva is not the only one who shows concern for Augustine not being Christian. Uncle Tom is also very concerned, and does not hesitate to tell Augustine so. It is something he feels, he tells Augustine, when talking of the love of Christ. Uncle Tom’s faith shows even stronger after he has been traded to the inhumane plantation owner, Legree. He comes to the point that he is willing to lay his life down to follow the laws of the Lord, and for the love of God. In one scene, he disobeys orders by his master to flog another slave. He points out to Legree that although Legree may own his body, Legree can never own his soul, for his soul is committed to the Lord. That said, Uncle Tom also states his diligent obedience to his owner, and his devotion to the message of Christ, by saying, “Mass’r, if you was sick, or in trouble, or dying, and I could save ye, I ‘d give ye my heart’s blood; and, if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body would save your precious soul, I ‘d give ‘em freely, as the Lord gave his for me.”

These are but a few of the major characters in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and their insights into the problems of evil, injustice, religion, superiority, and slavery. It is interesting, however, to take some distance from the particular details of the novel and consider some philosophical and historical ideas which indirectly relate to this story (at least to my wandering mind).

One of the initial things that arises within me when I read this book is my atheistic point of view. In many ways, I am doubtful, like Augustine is, for I have never seen God, nor can I say that I know anyone who has. There is too much wrong in this world to make me comfortable with this world. On the other hand, I have known people who cannot live in this world without some sort of belief in a Supreme Being. The belief gives them hope. And hope is a big part of progress. It bothers me, however, that hope always seems to lie in the next world for most of these people—not in our world today. It certainly would make it a depressing world if it were the case that there is no hope for humanity.

The quest for salvation and the desire to spread the word of God by Christians as part of that quest is another thing which comes to mind when I read Stowe’s novel. I am always a bit taken aback by the ideas of racial superiority that often accompanies these past humanitarian missionary acts. I am reminded of the early Spanish explorers landing in Central America and encountering the Aztec and Maya Indians. After many debates, it was determined that the Indians were inferior humans, not savages, and they did have souls, but they desperately needed to be saved. This idea preceded the mass destruction of Central American science, which in some cases were actually quite advanced in comparison to Europe’s at the time. But the Europeans were right; the Central American Indians were in a sense, inferior. The region in which they lived was a very secluded region, and the people who lived there had not been exposed to many of the germs and diseases that afflicted other parts of the world. As a result, exposure to the early Spanish explorers proved to be devastating to them.

We can extrapolate this feeling of superiority to the slaveholders in America and see what we have as a result. The story now changes. Part of the reason for importing slaves from Africa, was their ability to work and, ultimately, their “resistance” to diseases—especially mosquito borne ones. When one looks at the age of races and the “travelling” of various diseases, one finds that Africans have developed many stronger immune defense systems than people whose origins lay elsewhere have. Thus, when the Americans began importing slaves from Africa, it was often the case that the African slaves were more resistant to diseases such as malaria than were the Americans. The Africans were proving to be the superior race.

The travelling of disease has changed dramatically with increased world travel, and such ideas about racial superiority in immune systems no longer hold very well. Ideas of racial superiority on the basis of ideas such as purity and “right” however, do still persist to a degree that I feel is too large. The mid 1800s were important to begin breaking down some of these prejudices, and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin did a good job of illustrating that although someone may be of a different color, we are all humans, and as such, we should make a conscious effort to behave humanely towards each other. Of course, none of our acts would mean anything at all if we did not believe them.

According to Dr. Ford, Belize manages to still hold much of the same charm and awe that we often associate with the findings of the early explorers of the New World. It is a place that lives up to the saying that, “You cannot put a spade into the ground without turning up bits of pottery and stone tools” (v). However, Dr. Ford is careful to point out on numerous occasions that as tourists to the area, we must absolutely refrain from pretending to be archaeologists. Archaeology today, she points out, is very “laborious and time-consuming” contrasting with excavation techniques from 100 years ago, which often included the use of dynamite (29). Our curious (and tempting) interference with artifacts could be just as harmful to these sites as the old excavation techniques were. One thing we can note is that all “archaeological excavations are destructive” (7).

As mentioned earlier, Dr. Anabel Ford’s publication gives readers some background information on the Maya. It begins with a short discussion of the different time periods of Maya civilization, and the manner in which Maya civilization was organized. Dr. Ford makes an important point with the latter discussion when she states that, “To understand a complex society like the Maya…you need to move beyond what those at the top were doing and look to the general populace” (4). To look at such issues causes us to try to understand how communities were organized, and what sort of things people valued. We may find, for example, that while most communities or sites may be relatively self sufficient, different areas with different economic advantages may partake in a certain degree of specialization and use their “crafts” for trade purposes—either within their community, or with neighboring sites.

The bulk of this publication, however, lies in addressing some of the particular features of 18 of the more major sites in Belize. Much of what would immediately come to our attention, then, would be the monumental architecture that can be found at these sites. These sites are important when one considers that “for impressive large centers to have grown and flourished…the Maya rulers had to effectively organize and integrate the communities within their domain” (5). Thus, what we have to do is to understand both that the sites we may be visiting are foremost elite guided creations, and that the underlying gears of society, (though guided by elite), are the commoners.

In the course of her discussion of these sites, Dr. Ford manages to portray some of the regional similarities and differences between different Maya sites. Excavations at Cuello, for example, show evidence of the common Maya practice of building and rebuilding at the same location—creating what can be called house mounds (18). Another similarity is that many of the structures at various sites were also covered in stucco. Other sites may be representative of the special requirements or endowments of certain parts of the Maya landscape. The site of Nohmul, for example, was faced with swamplands, causing Maya farmers to seek a solution using drainage with canals and other intensive farming techniques. It is interesting to note that this solution was not done independently by the people of Nohmul, but rather, the farmers “relied on others for their basic farm tools,” reinforcing the notion of specialization for different Maya regions (15).

These regional differences, as just shown, often have the effect of resulting in a certain amount of trade taking place. To illustrate this, Dr. Ford points to the example of the Wild Cane Cay site. This site was not important just because it provided ocean-fishing bases, but also because it helped facilitate trade between the highlands of Guatemala and the Belize lowlands. The highlands were endowed with “durable items” like obsidian, which was used for many utensils. The lowlands, relatively void of such commodities, traded colorful feathers and spices, among other things. These were mostly perishable goods, but were often important for Maya elite society. Wild Cane Cay is a particularly interesting site since there is also evidence that the people of the area partook in long-distance trade activities—thus expanding the influence of- and on Maya civilization.

This brings us back, in a circular fashion, to Maya civilization, particularly regarding the relation between elite and peasant members of society. The elite of the ancient Maya society were not just responsible for the management of their own centers, but were also responsible for the establishment of connections with further removed Maya and non Maya centers. Their intertwining trade helped cement a relationship among elite of other centers, creating what can be termed a prestige goods economy. By the Late Classic Period, the Maya elite had expanded their role and control to encourage further specialization of communities in farming. Communities with land more suitable for maize production produced surplus maize to trade. Those communities with land more suitable for cash crops, such as cacao or tobacco focused their production on those goods. This was a shift from when the Maya peasants of each community would keep “all the basic aspects of daily life going.” They did this not only by providing food for themselves and the elite rulers, but many also manufactured household goods (often for use in the individual household—not meant for trade) (6). In other words, we can notice a bit of a shift from true self sufficiency of Maya communities, to directed interconnected trade among communities based on what they had to offer. What is important to note here is that much of this can be attributed to the actions of the Maya elite interacting with each other.

This is just a representation of some of the information that can be found in Dr. Anabel Ford’s publication, aimed primarily at guiding those who have “a yen to learn something about this civilization” (1). Overall, I found the information provided to be in agreement with the information I have gained from Anthropology 137. While by no means a complete or thorough treatment, Dr. Ford’s publication would definitely serve useful to a visitor to the Maya regions of Belize. As a travel guide, it gives the reader a set of monuments they may wish to take note of, simple maps of each site, a little understanding of the historical role of archaeology in the area, and enough information about Maya culture to give the visitor a greater appreciation of the sites they are visiting.

All quotations are from The Ancient Maya of Belize: Their Society and Sites, by Dr. Anabel Ford, published by the CORI/MesoAmerican Research Center, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Upon looking around, it appears to us that the earth is flat—despite the rumors. But accepting the earth as flat has been doubted by one of my wizards whose son is a fisherman. Each day his son sails off towards and past the horizon, appearing to have “fallen off the face of the earth,” only to eventually turn around and return home. For the observer on land, the boat does not simply fade to a dot on the horizon. Not even with our strongest distance viewers, on the clearest days, can we continue to see the fishing boats. This implies that there is a certain degree of curvature to the surface of the earth.

Another argument in favor of a degree of curvature of the earth was offered by one of my wizards who decided to take to some hills that overlook our oceans. Some fifteen to twenty miles off our shore there are two islands, whose silhouettes are easily distinguished. Further out, about sixty miles from our shores, and between these two islands, is a third, larger island. However, despite the higher mountains and larger size of this third island, it is never visible from our beaches. We can reason that, with our ability to see the heavenly stars, that if the earth was flat, and this third island lay in-between the other two, that on clear days we should be able to see it. We find that this is not the case.

The wizard who took to the hills, however, found something intriguing. Upon ascending an extremely high mountain, he found that he could see the third island. Assuming a slight curve in the form of the earth, he demonstrated with tangential lines of sight, that the most probable explanation was that the earth was round—or rather, he corrected me—spherical.

My astronomers supplied a final piece of evidence supporting the idea that the earth is spherical. They noticed that on the occasion that the sun, moon and earth lined up in such a manner that the earth cast a shadow upon the moon, the form of the earth’s shadow took on the form of a circular section.

This first question answered, my wizards next set out to try to measure the circumference of the earth. After some struggling with problems of measurements of distance and time, a pair of them came up with a potential solution. With the help of our expert astronomers, who have been studying the heavens for some time now, my wizards determined a day when the noontime sun would be directly overhead in my kingdom. With this the case, if a stick were planted perfectly perpendicular to the earth, there would be no shadow.

Once the date was determined, we set up three observers each an equal distance apart—say 150 miles, all directly north (or south) of our location. The experiment would not work if the stations were to the west or east since these locations would be along the path of the sun. Each station would have the identical setup of the stick planted perpendicular to the earth. At noon, those attending these latter stations should observe a shadow cast by the stick. We can then use the shadows to figure out the angle of the sun to our second and third locations. We know there are 360 degrees in a circle, and dividing that figure by the estimated angle to the earth should give us an idea of the proportion of each 150-mile stretch to the diameter of the earth.

The calculations are yet to be performed, but I have faith in my wizards that they would provide me with their solution shortly.

Foreword

In the 25 years since the American government withdrew financial and military support from the former South Vietnamese State the unified government of Vietnam has worked to recover from the destructive impacts of the war. In 1975 the Vietnamese government inherited a country on the verge of economic collapse. Through the progressive steps of central planning, agricultural reform, state owned enterprises, the economic restructuring of doi moi, and the steps taken toward opening up to global trade, Vietnam has sought a path to provide stability for its people.  Through a stable national policy, Vietnam hopes to create a harmonious national environment, equity within society, ensure social welfare, alleviate poverty, and balance citizen’s rights with their responsibilities.

In this paper we will address Vietnam’s economy after the war, the restructuring of the economy under doi moi, foreign policy implications, and the successes and failures of the Vietnamese government and foreign aid donors in achieving domestic policy goals.  In section one we will discuss in detail the situation after the war, the initial economic plans, and the beginning steps toward decentralized economic planning.  In section two we will introduce Doi Moi, discuss Vietnam’s hesitance to enter the free market economy, and look at some achievements of Doi Moi.  Section three will address Vietnam’s foreign economic policy, the benefits of foreign investment in Vietnam , the drawbacks for foreign investors, Vietnam’s trade imbalance, and the U.S. economic embargo.  In section four we will examine Vietnam’s domestic policy priorities using the education and health care systems to analyze the implementation of domestic policies, examine the overall effect Doi Moi has had in attaining public goals, and look at foreign aid donors as participants in reaching domestic policy goals.  Finally, in section five we will summarize our findings and make policy recommendations intended to further the economic and social development goals of Vietnam.

Economic Development 1975-1986

Modern Vietnam is the product of decades of armed struggle both against foreign forces and among the Vietnamese themselves (Fforde 47). The country became a French colony in the late eighteenth century, and independence was declared in 1945, shortly after the Japanese surrendered at the end of WWII. The French did not recognize this independence though, and war broke out in 1946. The French set up a regime in the South, but were defeated in the North in 1954 and withdrew from Vietnam, leaving the country divided into two parts. Civil war resulted. The United States became heavily involved in the civil war after 1965, and finally, in 1975, the United States withdrew and the country was unified. Though Vietnam attempted to recover from the devastation of the war and make genuine economic progress, in 1985, Vietnam remained one of the world’s poorest countries.

Situation in 1975

By the fall of Saigon in 1975, three decades of warfare had “imposed heavy costs in the form of massive loss of life, physical injury, psychological damage, and a demographic imbalance characterized by a relative scarcity of males, destruction of the countries infrastructure, and severe disruption of the economy” (Griffin 2). Vietnam was in a state of near total devastation: one million military war dead, 1.5 million civilians dead, 15 million homeless, sixty percent of southern villages destroyed. In the north, every major town and provincial capital along with main roads, railway lines, bridges, ports, and industrial facilities had been bombed. It is estimated that 14 million tons of bombs and shells had destroyed the land (Murray 18). The country sustained a further loss in human capital through the exodus of approximately one million refugees from Vietnam after the communist victory in the South, among them tens of thousands of professionals, intellectuals, technicians, and skilled workers (Cima 149).

1975: Initial Economic Plans

After April 1975, economic reform was the highest priority of the new government. The newly unified Vietnam confronted two major challenges after April 1975. First, it was compelled to respond to and recover from the devastation of the prolonged conflict, and second, it had to promote economic integration (Ryan). North, Central, and South Vietnam were historically divided by ethnolinguistic differences, though all areas traditionally were agrarian and subsistence based. The French developed the regions separately, with the north the basis of industrial activity and the south designated to be developed agriculturally. This separation distorted the basic Vietnamese economy by overly stressing regional economic differences (Cima 148).

Vietnam at reunification was essentially one country under two economic systems, neither of which was well designed to achieve growth with equity and human development. In the south a form of capitalism had emerged that was heavily distorted by the need to service a large foreign military force, and in the north a system of central planning emerged whose primary purpose was to mobilize resources for the war effort. The formidable task after reunification was to transform these two incompatible economic systems into one and then redirect it so that it would serve developmental purposes (Griffin 2).

To meet these challenges, the government chose central planning. Planning is a key characteristic of centralized, communist economies, and one plan established for the whole country normally contains detailed economic development guides for all of its regions (Cima 149). In a centrally planned economy, the role of the state is very different than the role of the state in a market economy. All resources are allocated by government decision and administrative mechanisms, rather than the price mechanism that determines the allocation of resources in a market economy (Griffin 37). The Second Five-Year Plan (1976-1980) was initiated to bring about this process to the country (the first five-year plan applied only to the North.) The plan set extraordinarily high goals for average annual growth rates, and it gave priority to reconstruction and new construction while attempting to develop agricultural resources, to integrate the North and South, and to proceed with communization (Cima 150). Vietnam collectivized agriculture in the south along with nationalizing all manufacturing and most services (Murray 19). Central planning in Vietnam “followed a Soviet model, advocated large-scale industrial investments, self-sufficiency in food production and allocation of resources through a complex planning system”(Ryan). In heavy industry, there was a limited number of major infrastructure investments, with some assisted by the Soviet Union; in agriculture, the emphasis was on the establishment of state farms and cooperatives that served as both production and social units (Ryan).

By the government’s own admission, “socialism-building” was a disaster, that left the war-devastated economy barely able to feed the nation.  Hundreds of thousands of southern soldiers, officials, and intellectuals were sent to “re-education” camps after reunification, while another two million people were driven into exile in the ensuing years of harsh rule, including many with the administrative and business skills vitally needed to rebuild a shattered economy (Murray 19). Another loss to the nation was the loss of many of Saigon’s Chinese traders, swept out in 1977-78 by a wave of anti-capitalism and xenophobia. The post war economy from 1976 to 1980 was stagnant; industrial production grew an average of 0.6% a year, agricultural production gained 1.9%, but at the same time, the population was growing by nearly one million a year (Murray 21). Vietnam faced major problems in agriculture due to “exceptionally adverse weather, including a drought in 1977 and major typhoons and widespread flooding in 1978″ (Cima 154).

By 1979 it was clear that the Second Five-Year Plan had failed to “reduce the serious problems facing the newly unified economy. Vietnam’s economy remained dominated by small-scale production, low labor productivity, unemployment, material and technological shortfalls, and insufficient food and consumer goods” (Cima151). In addition, in 1979, Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia led to its isolation from the international community while the severe economic hardships that existed were exacerbated by a lack of access to international aid and extensive foreign trade (Murray ix).

Beginning Steps Toward Decentralization

Clearly, something had to be done to increase the pace of economic growth. The failure of the post-unification reforms led to the Third Five-Year Plan, which contained the first steps toward decentralization (Than 45).

The plan’s highest priority was to develop agriculture. In Vietnam, as in China, reforms began in agriculture, for it is the largest sector of the economy, and the sector that accounted for most of the employment. Of equal importance is that it is the sector where most of the poor were concentrated and the benefits of the reforms were therefore very widespread, reaching the great majority of the population and creating a favorable political climate for later reforms (Griffin 15).

Vietnam embarked on “systemic reform, the replacement of collective farming by a system of household farming with land use rights guaranteed for reasonably long periods” (Griffin 83). First, there was the abolition of agricultural cooperatives. There was a redistribution of access to land that was highly egalitarian at the local level but unequal between regions (Griffin 84). Second, there was the introduction of agricultural incentives through a contract system in which the government contracted an output quota with individual rice farmers instead of cooperatives, with inputs provided by the state at pre-determined levels. This system stimulated individual initiative and allowed free markets to develop. Since private initiative and personal effort were encouraged, output increased in range of 4-10% in the early 1980s, allowing the government to drastically reduce the amount of yearly rice imports (Murray 22).

As soon as the early success in agriculture became apparent, the experiment was extended to other areas of the economy.  Price controls were eased and state enterprises permitted to sell to private markets once they fulfilled state quotas; somewhat hesitantly, but significantly, the reforms also aimed at eliminating subsidies for both consumers and enterprises, along with structural reforms to the banking system to free more cash for investments in key development areas (Murray 22). The informal private sector, especially small traders and craftsmen, began to operate (Ryan).

Why Further Reform Was Needed

Despite these attempts at reform, the economy in the mid-1980s remained devastated. Vietnam has the unique distinction of being of one of the first countries in modern history to experience a sharp economic deterioration in a postwar reconstruction period (Cima 143). Inflation “was running at 700 percent a year, millions of farmers were on the brink of starvation, there was little on store shelves, the economy was hooked on a life-support system of over USD 4 million a day in Soviet aid—much of which was wasted on ill-conceived projects—and the nations energy was drained away in a costly military adventure in Cambodia (Butler 58).  Soaring inflation was particularly troublesome, and the population boom put pressure on food supplies and “severely taxed” the government’s ability to create jobs (Cima 143).  Vietnam remained desperately poor, and some rural provinces faced starvation; then, Vietnam’s longtime patron, the soviet Union, began to unravel, and Hanoi came to realize that “only by ditching Marxist economics could it” survive (Steinberger 22). It became clear even to the most conservative government figures that radical reform was necessary to save the system. Vietnam, a fertile nation, was unable to feed itself and was spending scarce foreign exchange to import rice (Eisenstodt 66). Reasons for this disappointing economic performance, despite attempts at reform, included “severe climatic conditions that afflicted agricultural crops, bureaucratic mismanagement, elimination of private ownership, extinction of entrepreneurial classes in the South, and military occupation of Cambodia (which resulted in a cutoff of much needed international aid for reconstruction)” (Cima 143).

In 1975, party leader Le Duan promised a television and a refrigerator in every home within ten years. Instead, there followed what the Vietnamese call the “10 bad years,” during which orthodox communist policies and a costly occupation of Cambodia made Vietnam one of the world’s poorest countries (Gibney Jr. 38). Clearly, the initial reforms were not far-reaching enough.

Economic Development: 1986-Present

To combat the “10 bad years,” Vietnam, in 1986, adopted a new economic reform policy called doi moi—”new life”.

Introduction of Doi Moi

Following the economic experiments in the 1970s and early 1980s, Doi moi was implemented to remedy the excessive rates of inflation, which exceeded 700 percent in 1986, the decline in the standard of living, regional famine, and “inefficient state run enterprises and cooperatives” (Ryan). Doi moi’s key elements included:

• policy reform for the “decentralization of state economic management” allowing decision making to be made by these newly autonomous enterprises;
• an end to the use of administrative measures and controls in favor of economic ones, for example, allowing inflation to be controlled by market forces;
• “the adoption of an outward-oriented policy in external relations,” including making interest rates responsive to market conditions, and the creation of a new, liberal foreign investment law;
• a reform in the agricultural policies, granting land-use rights, incentive for long term development, and granting more freedom to farmers to determine production inputs and outputs; and
• “The reliance or acceptance of the private sector as the engine of economic growth” (Than 5).

However, doi moi was not a clearly outlined plan of reform, but rather, an approach that focused on stability, incremental progress, and pragmatism. Doi moi was flexibly implemented “when the economic, political and social climate allows or requires it.” As such, it was not until 1989 that doi moi began to be more seriously implemented, encouraged by the success of some agricultural reforms combined with the “unraveling” of support from the Soviet Union (Ryan).

Open Markets, Democracy, and State Authority

In many ways, doi moi has been seen as Vietnam’s accepting that economic growth and development is best achieved through a market-oriented economy. However, the party in Vietnam still holds on to socialism and centralized control of power, which leads to difficulty when transferring the means of production to the private sector—a necessary factor for the creation of a market economy (Than 15). The persistence of state control over economic matters has led to question whether Vietnam is indeed pursuing a market economy or a multi-sector commodity economy. In a multi-sector commodity economy the state retains its central role, and, in the long run, is essentially “a new version of the old ineffective command economy” (Than 34).

One major reason Vietnam was initially hesitant in opening up the market entirely is that as a market is gradually opened, and the private sector grows more economically stable, more demands are likely to be made of the party. With the growth of the private sector, the party may lose some of its control and authority, perhaps eventually leading to demands for a multi-party democracy (Than 15). But, as noted by Dan Ton That, “democratic rule should not lead to a denial of authority.” Nor does it necessarily lead to “immediate individual freedom,” as can be seen with the long—and expensive—history for freedom sought by United States citizens. “Democratic rule only ensures that authority is based on the will of a clear majority of the population and is responsive to its wants and needs” (Than 37).

Dan Ton That also points out that democracy is not necessary for economic growth, nor does economic growth necessarily lead to multi-party democracy. Furthermore, the state cannot be left out of economic matters. State intervention is inevitable and, “in some cases intervention might even be necessary. Strong and authoritarian governments can coexist with strongly performing economies.” The intervention of the state should be limited, clearly defined, and held constant over time. The state has the responsibility, for example, to do its best to reduce impediments to growth. This can be done in various ways such as promoting gender and racial equality, reducing poverty, encouraging “creativity and entrepreneurship,” and doing its best to support economic measures which will promote sustainable development (Than 28)/(undp.org.vn/…/execsume). Finally, to be effective, the state must be able to provide the proper leadership to help advance the economic developments (Than 46).

Achievements of Doi Moi

In more recent years, Vietnam’s pragmatic view of development has shown in its open willingness to adopt a market-oriented economy. In a United Nations Development Program article, the Government of Vietnam is quoted as stating, “A market-oriented economy is considered best for ensuring rapid economic growth on a sustainable basis, and for achieving social goals” (Morey).

This certainty in supporting the economic direction in which Vietnam is heading can be attributed to at least two things. First, there has been a change in the education curriculum, especially in economics and economics-related courses, with great interest lying in examining the success of foreign markets (Than 42). Second, as Jordan D. Ryan asserts, support has been undoubtedly influenced by the economic achievements of doi moi. Among these achievements are macroeconomic stability, foreign policy achievements, agriculture, legal reforms, and education (Ryan).

Since the early 1990s, Vietnam has managed to achieve macroeconomic stability, reducing inflation to a level under ten percent and holding it relatively stable. This has promoted the “sustained, high 9-10 percent growth witnessed in today’s [1996] Vietnam.” Financial and fiscal reform, foreign direct investment, and trade have spurred on macroeconomic stability. Central to the financial and fiscal reform is a “maturing” of Vietnam’s banking system. This maturing has encouraged Vietnam’s foreign direct investment (FDI) to continue “in a positive trend.” Vietnam’s FDI portfolio is substantially diversified to ensure stability (Ryan). With the collapse of the Soviet Union and other members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1990, Vietnam lost most of its trading partners. This forced Vietnam to rapidly enter the world trading market, changing its role with agricultural reform from being a rice importer to being self-sufficient and being one of the major rice exporters in the world (Murray 6).

As said before, doi moi was spurred on in a large way with the real success that was observed in the agricultural sector. This fact has profoundly changed the rural population, which makes up about 80 percent of Vietnam’s population (Griffin ). One of the major transitions was from reliance of collective farms to reliance on household farms. The “securing” of land-use rights for farmers, the freedom granted to determine their crops, and the allowance for the market to determine the resale prices of the crops have all contributed to increased incentive for productivity (Ryan). Long term sustainable development of agriculture has been the goal of agricultural reforms, with the hope that ultimately it can help “eradicate hunger, reduce poverty, and strengthen unity in the countryside” (Vietnam [1998-1999] 23). Although the agricultural potential of Vietnam is great, the government is anxious to pursue more industrial growth rather than relying on agriculture. This is due to the large costs historically associated with their agriculture. In 1991, for example, Vietnam lost over one million tons of un-harvested food crops due to adverse weather conditions (Grub). The severity of this can also be seen with the devastation of the central region of Vietnam due to storms.

In the past decade, Vietnam has significantly restructured its foreign policy. Two examples of change regarding foreign involvement include the lifting of the United States embargo on Vietnam, and the membership of Vietnam into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was initially an organization created to prevent the spread of communism (Ryan). Foreign policy is important, as Dan Ton That points out: “Superior economic performance has been achieved by those countries which have been more open to external relations as opposed to those which have been inward looking and isolated” (Than 22). There are, however, some complaints from foreign investors concerning the cumbersome bureaucracy that they encounter on a regular basis (Grub).

One of the major changes related to the complaints of foreign investors is Vietnam’s reform of its legal system. Along with very liberal foreign investment laws, the National Assembly adopted a constitution in 1992. This Constitution, among other things, permitted private ownership, committed the state to doi moi, and established the National Assembly as the “highest representative body of the people” (Ryan). Other significant laws include the Land Law of 1993, the Civil Code of 1995, and the Budget Law of 1996. The Land Law “granted farmers rights over the land they worked.” The Civil Code was a major reform that provided the legal groundwork necessary for a market economy (Ryan). The Budget Law set out the responsibilities of different parts and levels of government, and allowed for “more effective decentralization, and participation at the local level” (undp.org.vn/…/execsume).

An evident problem concerning Vietnam’s legal system is the ineffective or slow implementation of laws. The example of the slow implementation of doi moi can be an illustration of this. Another example can be found in an article from Far Eastern Economic Review. The article states, in early 1999, “Washington lifted its trade embargo… on February 4, 1994, and normal trade ties have yet to develop…. Now Hanoi is talking about an eight-year phase-in period” (Keenan [1]). A few months later in the same magazine, an article referring to technology firms investing in Vietnam ran the following: “If you want a venture-capital fund you have to have legal and financial infrastructure in place to accommodate it…. The needed regulations are not in place today” (Keenan [2]). Many feel that without a serious reform of the enforcement of Vietnam’s legal system, the credibility of any talks of economic renovation is jeopardized (Than 40).

Part of the problem is availability of information and the necessary education to use the information. Concerning laws, Vietnam has been putting effort into making the laws available to the public. This had been done through various papers, and radio and television broadcasts (Vietnam [1998-1999] 70). In addition, there has been government encouragement for the establishment of grassroots juridical libraries. The obvious problem is funding—there is no budget allocation for the establishment of such libraries. The second problem is the lack of necessary education of library custodians, resulting in “low effectiveness in the exploitation of the libraries” (Vietnam [1998-1999] 71).

This has led to incentives for educational reforms to take place. Many of the reforms need to occur for those in administrative positions. In these areas, is would be advisable to seek assistance from foreign educational institutions. Vietnam’s academic authorities have requested assistance from foreign universities to help rewrite their curriculum—especially in economics and economics-related courses—to help people better understand the functioning of a market economy (Than 42). Another problem facing Vietnam’s level of education is the forging of diplomas at various levels. The Ministry of Education and Training acknowledges that such actions are “causing serious discontent among people and adversely affecting the quality of education and training,” and have resolved to work strongly with law enforcing bodies to cut down on further fraudulent activities (Vietnam [1998-1999] 65).

Foreign Economic Policy

After years as a closed economy, Vietnam opened up to foreign investment in 1987 with the proclamation of the foreign investment law. The opportunities the country has to offer have been greeted enthusiastically by foreign investors. However, to succeed in Vietnam , the foreign businessman must have patience as well as be willing to make long-term commitments. The foreign investor needs to be aware of the possible problems and pitfalls that may be encountered, just as they may be encountered in the early stages of any rapidly developing economy (Than 43).

Investors with knowledge of the region are looking for traditionally strong reasons to invest.  In land and property development, the three leading reasons have always been Location, Location and Location. However, other important considerations are: stability of government (politics and economics), reliability of workforce (education, experience, loyalty, and trainability), costs of operations and services (source of material, and availability of labor, taxes, and wages). Vietnam can offer the following attractions and advantages: abundant mineral and natural resources; active government encouragement of foreign investment; cheap labor and a literate workforce; potential tourism; a potentially important consumer market with a population of about 77 million; a central location in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. On the other hand, the foreign investor needs to be aware of the difficulty of poor infrastructure. There are severe problems with roads and the railway system, port facilities, bridges, water and electricity supply, sewage and drainage. Official statistics are not always consistent. Communications and the banking system also need further development, along with serious impediments of bureaucracy and corruption.  However, it is important to point out that although Vietnam is a challenging place for the foreign investor, progress is being make in nearly all mentioned areas, and that the pace of change over the last few years has been remarkable (vietnaminfo.virtualave.net).

Since 1987, Vietnam has been transforming a centrally planned economy to an economy subject to market forces. This has involved creating many laws and regulations to facilitate foreign investment, the most important of which is the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam. The Law on Foreign Investment imposes no minimum or maximum amounts of investment and does not limit the maximum percentage of foreign ownership in investment projects. There are four primary means for foreign companies to participate in Vietnam’s economy: the Business Cooperation Contract (BCC), Joint Venture, 100 percent-owned Enterprise, and Build-operate-Transfer (BOT).

A BCC allows a foreign firm to pursue business interests in Vietnam in cooperation with a Vietnamese firm without conferring the right of establishment or ownership. In many respects, this is the most flexible arrangement that Vietnam offers to foreign investors, although the BCC business license carries no tax holidays or concessions given to other types of foreign investments.

Joint Venture agreements in Vietnam typically pair foreign companies and local companies sharing capital and profits in a 70-30% split. License usually granted for up to 50 years.

100-percent-foreign-owned-enterprises (FOE) have become more popular recently, as investors have learned better to navigate the local system on their own, and as problems with joint-venture partners have become more apparent. These enterprises now account for around 20 percent of all foreign invested projects. Disadvantages include more difficult access to land (except in industrial zones and export processing zones), and a more limited duration license of not more than 10-15 years.

Fifty seven percent of the total investments in come from joint ventures, twenty nine percent from 100%-foreign-invested-enterprises, and fourteen percent from business cooperation contract. Beside these three main forms of investment, Vietnam recently just established two new ones: investments in export zones and build-operate-transfer (vietnaminfo.virtualave.net).

Vietnam plans to modernize and industrialize the country, creating jobs for a labor force that is adding workers at the rate of one million a year. A new stage has begun. In July 1995, Vietnam became the newest member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). After Vietnam joined the ASEAN, its bilateral relations with other ASEAN members- including Australia, Brunei, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, and Thailand- are in a better position to develop. Dozens of governmental agreements have been signed, laying the legal groundwork for the development of cooperation in the economy, trade, investment, science, technology, culture and society. ASEAN is an important trade partner and accounts for 30% of Vietnamese exports and imports (Vietnam’s Integration in Progress 7).

The opportunity to conclude import-export activities in Vietnam is meanwhile more favorable than in the last few years. The foreign trade monopoly of the state is generally abolished. Import-export activities are subject to two types of licensing, both of which are administered by the Ministry of Trade. First, import-export business licenses are required for enterprises engaged in foreign trade. Second, specific import licenses are required for many products. As far as distribution organizations are concerned, where there is a need to import products on an on-going basis, approvals also need to be obtained. In November of each year, the relevant entity must submit to the Ministry of Trade its annual importation and distribution plans. The plans must indicate a proposed level of importation and describe how the imported products will be either re-exported or distributed locally. The plan may be amended at certain times throughout the year and a six-monthly report must be prepared, setting out how those plans are being implemented. Most foreign goods imported to Vietnam are subject to import duty and a number of items are subject to export duty. The rates range from 1% to 200% depending upon the product. The import duty for many products is very high, especially for the consumer goods e.g. cars 150%, TV 40%, garments 50%. Given the vast number of products that may be subject to duty and the fact that the rates change regularly, due diligence is important. Duty is generally calculated on a CIF basis for imports and a FOB basis for exports. There are certain exemptions from import duty, such as for equipment contributed to a joint venture by way of capital contribution and generally for imports into one of Vietnam’s export processing zones. Vietnam records have been shown that they imported three times more than exported. This indicates the imbalance of Vietnam’s economy (vietnaminfo.virtualave.net).

After the Vietnam War, United States set up an embargo policy against Vietnam. It gave a history of almost twenty years without the content of the Vietnam-US relations.  However, Vietnam did not collapse. The legitimate interests of the two peoples require that Vietnam-US relationship be that of friendship and cooperation. The principle of Vietnam is to develop relations and cooperation with US on the basis of respect other’s independence and sovereignty, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality, and mutual benefit. The normalization and development of economic and trade ties constitute the fundamental and most important content of the relations between the two countries in the new stage. This is of interest in the long term as a way to close the past and look towards the future. On February 3, 1994, President Bill Clinton announced the decision to lift the embargo against Vietnam and to open a U.S Liaison Office in Hanoi.  Since the lifting of the US embargo, progress has been recorded in the trade and investment field (Vietnam‘s Integration in Progress.45).

Vietnam’s Social Goals

The government of Vietnam has made bold steps toward opening up its economy to the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the validity of centrally planned economies were called into question.  With the implementation of economic restructuring, called doi moi (new life), in 1989 the national government has passed new laws, broadened the constitution, and began liberalizing the economy in the hopes of achieving the economic success of Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan by following their model of state directed development.

The challenge Vietnam’s government faces is striking a balance between providing an economic climate conducive to an improved economy while striving toward their internal social goals.  The government of Vietnam’s biggest economic “worry is that the independence they gained through war is now being squandered in peace” (Schwarz 56).  Vietnam is concerned with taking the steps to join the global economy but not at the price of accepting western influence in the markets of Vietnam if it will undermine cultural values and national identity “which is an indispensable factor for integration and competition with the outside world” (Vietnam [1994-1995] 36).

Government Directed Domestic Policy

The five domestic goals as outlined by Vietnam’s former progressive Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet are 1) to bring about harmonious national development, 2) create an equitable society, 3) ensure social welfare, 4) alleviate poverty, and 5) balance citizen’s rights with their responsibilities.  The way that these five goals play out in the programs implemented by Vietnam’s leaders can be seen in the objectives the government chose to focus their resources on during the 6th Session of the National Assembly (Vietnam [1994-1995] 41).

The economic plan laid out for Vietnam during the 6^th Session of the National Assembly sets domestic priorities as improving education and access to healthcare for all citizens, especially those in upland areas, in rural districts, and those living in poverty.  The need for this refocus during doi moi is from the government’s recognition that investment in Vietnam’s population is not a second order need that can be addressed later (Griffin 74).  Fees for service were introduced to the education and healthcare systems.  These fees were intended to increase private financing of schooling and medical care, instead the fees worked regressively inhibiting access to services for all but the most wealthy in society (Griffin 61).

For the purposes of this paper we will consider the provision of education and healthcare as indicators in Vietnam’s development of an equitable society where social welfare and poverty alleviation are priorities.  “The World Bank observes that although the centrally planned economies tended to have impressive literacy and numeracy as compared with countries with similar incomes in the West,” continued investment is necessary in both education and healthcare. The World Bank contends that health care and education under central planning in Vietnam failed to respond to changes in the labor market, tend to be poorly coordinated, and fail to give teachers and administrators incentives not to waste resources.  Thus the inherited system is not designed to support the reform process and the successful functioning of a market economy (Griffin 57).

Education

In education the Vietnamese government wishes to “increase the quality of the invaluable human resources of [Vietnam].” The government has developed a five-step plan to improve education. The plan would (1) readjust primary school objectives to conform to the training and use in the future, (2) provide a broadened field of study in secondary schools, (3) improve schools in ethnic and upland areas, (4) reorganize and renew university curricula, and (5) refresh and retrain teaching staff. The focus of these five steps is to focus national development on science, technology, and language. The government especially encourages continuing foreign language development among civil servants, with a focus on study abroad (Vietnam [1994-1995] 35).

These educational objectives help the government redress two problems identified in Vietnam’s school system.  These two problems are (1) the historical lack of a codified school system between the north and south (the north and south school systems were not joined in their educational goals until 1981) and (2) the lack of educational investment in the initial years doi moi. The World Bank notes that Vietnam, during the reform process, has not continued to invest in education with a decline in these services being most evident in poor rural areas with a system that delivers few benefits to the poor (Griffin 57). Currently, public expenditure covers 55% of the cost of primary school education in Vietnam (Griffin 61).

“Access to school, particularly for the poor, is limited by the many fees and contributions parents must pay—despite no formal tuition fees for primary school.” Vietnam’s Social Services Financing Survey indicates that the costs to a primary school student’s family prohibits many of the poorest children from attending school. Only 70% of the poorest children are enrolled in primary school as opposed to 91% from the richest quintile (World Bank [2] 37).

Although the Vietnamese government has indicated the importance of education and expresses a desire to create greater equity within society the political system has not directed the budgeted funds to the groups identified as most in need. Instead, “government spending on education is regressive and runs counter to government policy.” With additional funding from the government directed to the wealthiest provinces, rather than in rural and upland areas (Griffin 61).

Healthcare

As with the education system, funding for the healthcare system in Vietnam was reduced after the implementation of initial reforms under doi moi.  This reduced funding was to be replaced by user fees that were to increase the responsiveness of the healthcare system to the needs of fee-paying patients.

“The main difference between the health and education sectors is that whereas both were adversely affected by the first phase of reforms, health has not benefited from the same increase in public commitment as education during the second phase of reforms.”  Public expenditure for healthcare has continued to decline from 5.3% of budgeted expenditures in 1991 to 3.2% in 1996 (Griffin 63).

Even though healthcare expenditures have declined as a percentage of the budget from 1991 to 1996 these central government expenditures are distributed on a per capita basis. This ensures that at least government spending in healthcare is more progressive than education spending. However, the World Bank estimates that “following reform of the health system, the poor are largely unable to afford the cost of health facilities whether in the state sector or not” (Griffin 67).

Prevention of disease through the provision of safe drinking water and improved environmental sanitation facilities is an important healthcare goal outlined by the Vietnamese government. Interestingly, funding for the provision of these services has been cut since the implementation of doi moi. The World Bank conjectures that one of the reasons that public investment in water infrastructure and preventive health care is such a low priority at the moment is that the government hopes to expand the existing water supply program funded by UNICEF using aid from other donors (Griffin 64).

If Vietnam’s priorities truly are the creation of an equitable society, where social welfare and poverty alleviation are priorities, the implementation of health and education programs in Vietnam do not prove this. It seems clear from the information available that both education and healthcare have suffered since the implementation of user fees under doi moi and the decrease of direct public spending.

Doi Moi’s Economic Impact toward Reaching Vietnam’s Social Goals

It is, however, also important to understand that although fewer poor families have access to health and education services it is still true that doi moi economic policies actually have helped reduce the number of poor families. Although poverty is still a pressing problem in Vietnam the success of doi moi has reduced poverty “from more than an estimated 70% in the mid-1980s to somewhere closer to 30% today” (United Nations i).

Not only has poverty been reduced, but life expectancy has increased, adult literacy has been maintained at above 90%, real income per capita has nearly doubled, and infant mortality has declined. “In short, all available data and evidence strongly suggest that doi moi has substantially improved the overall well-being of the vast majority of people in Vietnam.” One must still remember that although conditions in Vietnam have improved significantly, “according to a global human development index… Vietnam ranks 122^nd of 174 countries in the world” (United Nations ii).

Foreign Involvement in Domestic Policy

It is clear from even a brief visit to Hanoi that foreign involvement in the development of Vietnam is significant. Donor aid agencies, whether governmental or non-governmental, contribute to many of the projects of greatest priority to the Vietnamese Government.  For example, Vietnam has established an ambitious goal to eliminate poverty by the year 2010.  The intention of foreign aid agencies was well put by Roy D. Morey, the Resident Coordinator of the UN Development Program in Vietnam when he said, “UNDP is committed to assist the Government and people of Vietnam to achieve this [elimination of poverty] objective” (UNDP foreword).

Foreign involvement has been an important factor in the reduction of poverty in Vietnam.  By raising the standard of living during doi moi foreign investment and foreign aid have helped create more opportunities for the poor in Vietnam to improve their livelihoods (United Nations foreword). There are many sources of foreign development aid in Vietnam.  Both philanthropic and profit oriented projects have improved the economic climate and created opportunities especially for those in well served urban areas.  However, the “poor condition of infrastructure, especially roads and water supply is a critical constraint” on economic development in rural areas (World Bank [1] 40).

The imbalance in access to opportunity for people living in the rural areas of the central highlands and coastal villages in central Vietnam as compared to the opportunities available to those living in the wealthier provinces is significant. This inequity in access to opportunity is an issue of great importance to the Vietnamese government and the people of Vietnam. However, under current economic constraints the development of greater access to services has not been a priority with funding from the government. In fact, the government of Vietnam has removed funding from many projects that it sees as likely recipients of foreign aid. A case in point would be water infrastructure. In 1996 less than half of the rural population had access to safe drinking water yet water infrastructure is a low priority for public funding in part because the Vietnamese government hopes to expand the current UNICEF funded water supply program through donor aid grants (Wrold Bank [1] 40).

Scott Fritzen, a consultant with UNDP Rural Development, claims that the major impediment to improving social equity in Vietnam’s development process is the lack of coordination of development aid. Mr. Fritzen gave the preventative healthcare programs to control Malaria and TB as an example.  Instead of one integrated healthcare organization designed to deal with TB and Malaria simultaneously Vietnam has two parallel organizations. The duplication of administration and service delivery is typical of the way services are provided in Vietnam. This issue is not made any simpler by the fact that so many aid agencies, non-governmental organizations, and foreign governments are attempting to implement development projects in Vietnam (Fritzen 11/15/99).

Recommendations

As we have seen, domestic policy implementation has been most effective through the alleviation of poverty. Vietnam’s improved economy after implementing doi moi did more to reduce poverty than direct government spending on social programs.  To improve the economic situation in Vietnam there needs to be continued investment in the future of the country.  Foreign direct investment in the economy of Vietnam was a significant factor in the 9 to10% economic growth rate experienced by Vietnam during the first half of the 1990s.  The economic policies of doi moi, that attracted foreign investment, have done great things to create a climate in which opportunities are available for people to better their lives economically.

Judicial Reform

The economic slowdown in Vietnam was precipitated in part by the Asian financial crisis.  Yet it is important to note that weak legal enforcement has created a climate in which the cost of doing business is uncertain. Vietnamese government policy is to create a system in which there is “no restriction in a quest for wealth, but every business must be conducted in the framework of law” (Vietnam [1994-1995] 39). However, “despite a flurry of new laws, Vietnam’s legal system remains inadequate for a modern market economy” (Schwarz 52). In conversation with Tracy Thiele, public information officer for the US Embassy in Vietnam, she states that foreign business, especially American business, will not view Vietnam as a good place to invest until the judicial system is viewed as fair.  Both parties in a dispute need to know that an impartial judge, who has not been bribed or otherwise coerced into judgment, will hear their case. It may be the case in Vietnam as it was in China that foreign investors will not feel confident in the judicial system until foreign companies begin winning cases in arguments with Vietnamese companies.

State Owned Enterprise

Reform of state owned enterprises is also needed to promote economic growth in Vietnam. The problem with state owned enterprises is a lack of competition and a complacent work environment that spends 18 times as much to employ a single worker than does a privately held company. The solution to this inefficiency is twofold. First, truly follow the models of South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore and create several competing state enterprises. Second, reduce the bureaucracy for privately held companies so that business licensing and other government regulated activities are coordinated and efficient.

Banking Reform

Currently, the Vietnamese banking system does not follow standardized accounting practices accepted worldwide. Yet, to participate in a global market it is necessary to follow similar business practices used in the rest of the world. Both of these steps will improve the business climate in Vietnam by attracting and retaining investment and creating economic stability.

Policy Planning and Implementation Coordination

As noted in the section on Vietnam’s social goals it is clear that although there are many parties attempting to improve living conditions for the poorest people there is little effective coordination of efforts. It seems clear that the first step in improving economic development to achieve Vietnam’s policy goals is to coordinate the efforts of the three levels of Vietnam’s government with the many aid agencies working inside the country. There are currently many overlaps in service delivery throughout Vietnam. By coordinating efforts the development goals of all parties are more likely to be achieved than by continuing to pursue a fragmented system of development program implementation.

Sustainability

One important thing to remember is that reform is not an automatic process.  Once we have initiated a reform process, if we are to expect continued progress, we must be willing to commit to the effort (Ryan). This brings up the idea of sustainable development—an idea that needs to be considered both by developing and already developed countries.  Sustainable development should not just focus on growth of per capita income and gross national product, but should also have a positive, lasting effect on people’s livelihood (Morey).

Sustainable development must consider environmental consequences. It is undeniable that free-markets have had considerable positive impacts on economic growth, but it is important to note that in many cases, economic growth has been achieved by sacrificing the environment. Truly sustainable development meets the needs of the present without infringing on the ability of successive generations to meet their needs (Than).

Conclusion

It is clear that economic development in Vietnam has improved social conditions since the end of their civil war in 1975. It is also clear that foreign involvement and global economic exchange in Vietnam’s economy holds promise of a better economic life and more social opportunities for the people of Vietnam. What is not clear is whether the government of Vietnam is willing to take the steps needed to enter the world economy. The world community is asking for a great leap forward from Vietnam, and is standing by to help this young country with old leaders create a better future for all its people.

Works Cited

• Butler, Steven. Vietnam’s Next Crusade.U.S. News and World Report, May 1^st 1995.
• Cima, Ronald J, ed. Vietnam: A Country Study. 1990.
• Eisenstodt, Gale. Caged Tiger. Forbes, March 25^th 1996.
• Fforde, Adam and Stefan de Vylder. From Plan to Market: The Economic Transition in Vietnam. New York: Westview Press, 1996.
• Fritzen, Scott. Personal interview conducted November 13^th 1999.
• Gibney Jr., Frank. Back in Business. Time, April 24^th 1995.
• Griffin, Keith, ed. Economic Reform in Vietnam. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
• Grub, Phillip D. Political Change in Vietnamand the Opening of New Opportunities for Trade and Investment. gopher://hoshi.cic.sfu.ca/00/dlam/business/forum/asia/grub, 1992.
• Keenan, Faith [1]. Opening the Door: HanoiTakes Major Step Towards a Trade Deal with U.S. Far Eastern Economic Review. http://203.105.48.72/9902_11/p24vietnam.html, Feb 11^th 1999.
• Keenan, Faith [2]. What’s the Rush: Vietnam Reacts Slowly to Technology Wave. Far Eastern Economic Review. http://203.105.48.72/9907_15/p42tech1.html, July 15^th 1999.
• Morey, Roy D. Using the UN to Advance Sustainable Growth with Equity. http://www.undp.org.vn/undp/docs/1996/growth/english/rdmcatos.htm, 1996.
• Murray, Geoffrey. Vietnam: Dawn of a New Market.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
• Ryan, Jordan D and Jens C. Wandel. Vietnam’s Reform Experience: The Quest for Stability During Transition. http://www.undp.org.vn/undp/docs/1996/reform/eng, 1996.
• Schwarz, Adam. Vietnam: Trade and Investment—Steps in the Dark. Far Eastern Economic Review, October 26^th 1995.
• Steinberger, Michael. A ‘ New Road ‘ for Asia ‘s Latest Tiger Economy. Maclean’s, July 29^th 1996.
• Than, Mya and Joseph L.H. Tan, eds.Vietnam‘s Dilemmas and Options: The Challenge of Economic Transition in the 1990s.Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1993.
• Thiele, Tracy. Personal interview conducted November 17^th 1999.
• United Nations Development Program [untitled, unauthored]
  http://www.undp.org.vn/undp/docs/1996/catchup/english/execsume.htm, 1996.
• United Nations,Vietnam. Expanding Choices for the Urban Poor. December 1998.
• Vietnam: 1994-1995. Hanoi: The Gogi Publishers, 1995.
• Vietnam: 1998-1999. Hanoi: The Gogi Publishers, 1999.
• Vietnam’s Integration in Progress.Hanoi: The Gogi Publishers, 1999.
• World Bank [1]. Vietnam: Fiscal Decentralization and the Delivery of Rural Services. Report No. 15745-VN, October 31^st 1996.
• World Bank [2]. Vietnam: Rising to the Challenge—An Economic Report. Report No. 18632-VN, November 25^th 1998.
• [untitled, unauthored web site] http://www.vietnaminfo.virtualave.net/business/forinv.htm.

We got to South Korea on the evening of the sixth. We made our way through customs fairly efficiently, then made our way outside. It was warm, but drizzling. During the bus ride to the YMCA Hotel that we were going to stay at, I got a sense of how large Seoul was. There were many huge sky-rises with packed apartments. They were all inhabited, but they often seemed to take on the appearance of neglect. This turned out to be one of the most obvious observations throughout China, South Korea (Seoul at least), and what I have seen of Vietnam.

Over the next few days in Seoul, our group was given a chance to explore the city. Although the city was very modern and western looking, down to the way people dressed and the pervasive use of cell phones, amongst the many futuristic looking skyscrapers, one could find incredible, intricate mazes of alleys and side-streets—all well stocked, mostly, with food vendors. Since I was not quite adventurous during the first couple of days, I did most of my eating indoors, in cleaner (looking) restaurants. What struck me as odd in many of these restaurants, was the great number of people working at the same time, despite the small number of customers in the restaurant.

In our short time in Seoul, we also got to go on a couple of tours of places of historical interest. There was noticeable influence of Chinese culture in many of these places, such as the influence of Confucius thought, as well as noticeable Japanese influence, especially seen in the ancient architecture. From both cultures, a comforting, traditional, harmonious incorporation of man and nature was definitely observable. There was also a noted Western influence. From the rooftop of the YMCA, I could see three buildings with crosses, and when some friends and I went to a teahouse and spent three dollars each on authentic Korean black tea, we were brought cups with Lipton Brisk teabags floating in them.

One night, I decided to go to a club to see what Seoul’s nightlife was like. Except for the fact that I had never heard any of the music, most of the experience was the same as what one would expect in America —mostly drinking, dancing, and loud, repetitious music. But there was a significant difference. The dancing was different. Men danced with men, and women with women. It was certainly a different display of gender roles, but in many ways, didn’t surprise me too much. After all, when I thought about who most of the Western dressed, cell-phone-carrying people were, they were mostly young women—another apparently different set of gender roles. However, I found out from one of our guides that women worked until they were married, at which point they were expected to take up a more submissive, traditional role in the home.

A few days later, and we were ready to leave this expensive metropolis and go to China. We did so by taking a ferry in which we had communal, unisex sleeping rooms—something I don’t think would be acceptable to many Americans. In the morning, approaching Weihai, I saw evidence of land and humanity floating by in the water in the form of trash. It struck me as odd that a culture that has always been in my mind as one that embraces nature and harmony with it would allow for such environmental degradation. This was not the only time that I noticed high degrees of litter. Trashcans were not always available on main streets, but usually only at historical places and tourist attractions. On one of the ferry rides we took, I saw people on other boats simply dumping the contents of their wastebaskets overboard.

When we got to Weihai, two somewhat contradictory events occurred almost simultaneously. Our group had been warned in Santa Barbara that we should expect to feel the presence of authority while in China. One small example was a moment of disciplinary education and the checking of passports and visas of one of my classmates who made the mistake of standing out of line. This power display was a bit odd to me, since, while looking around me, it seemed like the idea of lining up and awaiting your turn was a foreign one to the Chinese. The display of authority, however, was contrasted with a display of sincere kindness: many little Chinese men voluntarily helped us carry our weighty luggage and made no big deal out of it at all.

Three of my experiences in Weihai are worth recounting. The first is of my meeting with a shoe repairman on one of the downtown streets. The second is of the great eating situation in Weihai. A third experience I wish to recount is my meeting with a few Chinese students. All these events gave me a bit of insight into Chinese culture.

On one of our evenings in downtown Weihai, Amy and I ran across one of our fellow students sitting on the sidewalk with a few older Chinese men. They weren’t talking much—just sitting together. Amy and I went over to join them. The men were quick to offer their collapsible stools to us, and we accepted, saying hello and thank you to them in Chinese. Our poor Chinese skills amused the men very much and warmed the atmosphere, encouraging one of them to try to strike up a conversation with us. He was the oldest in the group of men, and he spoke a little English—just enough to actually converse. His son was studying at UC Berkeley, and this man’s extreme enthusiasm and pride in his son’s accomplishment was motivational. From our conversation, there was also a strong feeling of pride about the progress China was making both in terms of economics and in terms of relationships with foreign nations—especially the United States.

Later that evening, back at the dining hall, we ended our day with another massive meal—one of the many that we would shortly become accustomed to. While we did have a traditional meal in Korea where everyone sat down together and shared food, eating in China was an entirely different experience. Eight people to a table, and about six different plates of food to be shared between us. There was a present collective atmosphere, which was in stark contrast with the individual culture I had become accustomed to in America . One of the things that I never got accustomed to was the fact that rice always came at the end, while I always expected it to come first, and all the other dishes be “rice toppers.” There was an explanation for this: to the Chinese, rice was seen as the end dish, and given mostly symbolically as a humble way of apologizing for not having enough (delicious) food available to us.

One evening, we were given the chance to meet Chinese students who were studying English. Although Chinese students are not exactly a fair example of the typical Chinese person—only 1 percent of the population of China gets to go to a university—it is still valuable to meet with them. My initial reaction was that I was impressed by their English skills, and their skills allowed me to have a very good conversation with them. After answering many of their questions about my family life, they came to the conclusion that I was very conservative and traditional. This I found strange, but when I thought about it, I could see what they were referring to. I was not the stereotypical individualist American that they had in mind (though they all agreed a unique looking one). For example, I liked family over freedom and I had dinner almost ritually with my family at six each evening, at a dinner table, and not alone in front of a television.

We talked about politics, and found out that, in their minds, Chairman Mao is still seen as a great man. Taxi drivers have photos of Mao in their car for good luck. But, the general agreement was that most students have come to the conclusion that Joe Enlai is better liked—his pragmatic (these were their words) approach to foreign relations helped bring China where it is today. We agreed that President Clinton has been a good leader, but should have been careful in the image of values and morality that he was projecting to the rest of the world.

The students we met played many of the roles we were told to expect from Chinese people. They arrived on time, not wishing to offend the guest. They showed up with a small gift—a token of friendship. I offered them chocolate; they declined—with a shy smile. I offered again—same response. Third time, and they thankfully accepted. Amy offered them compliments about their mastering of the English language. They responded with the phrase I kept hearing over and over from the people I talked to, “No, no…. My English is not very good.” They left promptly when they felt that it was too late, and promised to write Amy and I. We got letters from them two weeks after we left. The notion of friendship is much different to them. I am afraid to offend them.

Our time in Weihai was too short. We arrived in Jinan after spending just a few days in Weihai. It was nice to finally be somewhere that we could settle down. One of the first things I noticed as similarities between Jinan and Weihai was the level of development that is going on in the cities. There were many buildings that seemed to be just waiting to be filled. Apparently, China is simply very big on construction. I mentioned the buildings in Korea, which seemed to have been neglected for years. I also noticed many such buildings in China, but rather than maintaining the buildings and preventing them from falling into complete disrepair, the Chinese left them, then tore them down, then rebuilt.

Jinan had a lot to take in. There was more environmental degradation, like I had noticed in Weihai with the littering. The air was practically unbreathable. Since this is a major, mid sized city, there were many more people—and a lot more traffic. What was odd to me about the pollution problem is that it is a problem that is well known to the Chinese government—they spent millions cleaning up Beijing for the 50^th anniversary of the PR China, and they knew exactly which industries were the ones contributing to the problem. Why such a policy could not be enacted permanently, and all across China, I’m not sure. I feel it is related to the desire to do what it can to “catch up” with the world’s economic powers.

Late in my stay in Jinan, I met with some more Chinese students. One of them, a history student, impressed me with his factual and statistical knowledge. When I thought about it, I had noticed the Chinese value of statistics back in Weihai, with the lecture given to us by a university historian while there. But it was more than statistics. It was memorization. This was a value passed down from Confucius, who prized knowledge. To the Chinese education authorities, knowledge was simply memorization. For example, one of the English students pointed out to me that the reason so many of the Chinese students hesitate with their English is that they spend most of their time memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules, and very little time getting to speak the language.

One of the strangest experiences I had in China was during one of my computer software shopping days. I was having a wonderful time buying bootlegged software, wondering if China had any laws regarding copyright infringement, and at the same time, letting go of all my morals concerning personal property rights and buying lots of great programs for next to nothing. One of the stores had an entire floor dedicated to bootlegged software, which was stored in shoeboxes under the counter, brought out on request. There were some legitimate software titles on some of the shelves. On this day, I was casually browsing through a couple of boxes, along with maybe thirty other consumers, when I heard a shout from the stairwell. Immediately, all the boxes were snatched off the counter and shoved into the locking cabinets. I was in the midst of a raid. Seven or eight Chinese men, smoking and wearing black sports-coats and sunglasses, entered and began opening the legitimate software boxes and checking their authenticity and warranties. I snuck out. I didn’t want to be caught up in any of this.

But my question about the existence of laws concerning copyright laws was answered. Most likely, the reason such activities are able to exist in the first place is that they can. Enforcement is probably too expensive. When I told the story to one of the Chines students I met, he agreed with my reasoning, but also added that it was also a matter of demand. Many books and audio CDs, for example, are far too expensive for the average Chinese person, especially the average Chinese student, to afford. Bootlegged goods are the only way they can get exposure to most of this sort of stuff.

Soon enough, we had left Jinan, and ended up in Beijing. Although I was the least impressed by Beijing, there was a lot about the city that intrigued me. One thing in particular was the paradox between tradition and modernizing. There were skyscrapers, for example, which would have traditional Chinese rooftops. Tollbooths were built to resemble the traditional gates found at the entrance to different parts of gardens or palaces. Many buildings also had such gates at their entrance.

Modernizing and traditionalism also came into conflict at any tourist spot I went to. Even sacred places, such as the “thousand Buddha caves” in Jinan were Disneyland-ized. Fake antique Buddha statues could be found everywhere. When we went to the Great Wall, there was a section of the wall that was nicely kept up, lined with vendors yelling “Hello! Come take look!” It took a fairly dedicated effort to find a part of the wall that truly felt ancient. But, in many ways, I felt like the tourism factor was not just for the Western tourists—there were many Chinese people at most of these places. What got to be rather frustrating was the persisting opinion of the American tourist as being rich.

As I expected, in Beijing, I did not feel like I stood out as much as I had for the whole trip up to that point. In Shanghai, this feeling was even more accentuated. There were many Westerners everywhere, and in many ways, the city reminded me of something in between London and San Francisco. This was a definite contrast to Beijing, which appeared to me more as a Los Angeles —sprawling, with every destination requiring getting in a car.

Although I would have liked to have gotten to spend more than two days in Shanghai, I do not feel that doing so would have given me much insight into Chinese culture and tradition. It struck me as a modern, prospering city. Whenever I used Chinese to say “Hello” to people, I got responses in English. Like in Beijing, McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken were everywhere—there seemed to be one every four blocks. This was actually interesting in economic terms, for in market oriented economic courses, it is generally accepted that franchises do not generally allow two of their stores to be opened up in great proximity to each other, thus preventing competition and the lowering of prices between each franchise. My only explanation is that perhaps the Chinese government, and not the franchise owners, are the ones who determine where the stores ought to be located.

The richness of Shanghai was soon contrasted with an interesting couple of days in Guangzhou. Walking down the many alleys of the downtown, I was offered hash perhaps fifteen times in one hour. Many of the alleys were filled with hair salon after salon, each of which had about five attractive young Chinese women sitting, doing nothing, just waiting for a passerby to step in. This was also the place that I noticed the most widespread, immediately observable poverty. Of all the cities we spent time in while in China, Guangzhou was the only one where I felt uncomfortable walking around. The reason we were in Guangzhou was that we were hoping to go to Hong Kong for a day. This showed us something interesting about China ‘s policy concerning Hong Kong. Even though it is now a part of China, since it is considered a special economic zone, once you leave China and get into Hong Kong, a new re-entry visa is required to get back on the mainland.

On October 29^th, we ended our trip to China and landed in Vietnam. Our first experience was to encounter a cumbersome customs process where, instead of walking our own luggage through, we had to let airport workers stack them on carts, check each individual tag on the luggage, unstack them onto the conveyor belts, stack them back onto the carts, then stack them in a bus.

The ride to Hanoi from the airport took us through the countryside. It was a strange experience. Everything was like I had pictured it—the rice fields, the particular shades of green, the mossy trees. In many ways, I was getting flashbacks to Trinidad, especially looking at the familiar varieties of plants which grew there, and the yellow and white paint used on so many of the buildings. The countryside in Vietnam is home to some of the poorest people in the world, earning less than $300 per year. What I saw was an agricultural system based largely on manual labor and animal labor. I assume people simply cannot afford more.

Soon, we were in the city, which was nothing like I had expected. Thousands of motorcycles zooming by us, on good roads, with no stop signs or stoplights. Although there were sidewalks, we were usually forced to walk in the streets with the motorcycles since the sidewalk was basically a parking lot for bikes not in use. There were few particularly tall buildings. Many buildings were quite narrow and long, representing, I was told, the response to Vietnam ‘s parcel distribution laws. The French influence on architecture and food was very obvious. There are many Westerners here, and interestingly, every one of them who lives in Hanoi is working with some form of development firm.

The use of English was extremely widespread, making knowledge of Vietnam only useful if we wished to know what people were saying behind our backs. I feel they must be saying something about us behind our backs—I find it hard to believe that there is a nation of people out there as polite as the Vietnamese. When we sat down to dinner, food would not be served until a table was full, to guarantee everyone had fair access to hot food. When we first got to the hotel, these tiny Vietnamese men insisted on taking our luggage up the three flights of stairs, then refused any form of tipping or compensation. When wandering around a Confucius temple one day, a young Vietnamese girl came up to me and said, in flawless English, that she would like to give me a tour of the temple and use the opportunity to practice her English skills. These are just a few examples of their kindness.

This is not to say that there have not been any hostile acts towards us. A postcard seller flicked off a friend and me because we refused to look at his goods and buy anything. Another one of my classmates was grabbed by a Vietnamese man who kept telling her to come with him, and the security guards at the hotel did nothing to stop the act. While shopping one day, a student pointed at a lady on the street cooking something. The student had had the food before and was talking about how good it was. The lady looked up and yelled something in Vietnamese at the girl that translated to, “You don’t need to stare!”

I am sure this lady’s instantaneous reaction is justified. In many ways, it is hard to step into a society so different from your own and resist the temptation to stare and point. It is even harder when you are continuously being stared and pointed at. It is also easy to see only what you wish to see. The poor and homeless people in Guangzhou are the least recalled of my memories of China, but the feeling of poverty I felt in that city is still significantly vivid.

What you have just read is what I remember of what I saw. There are many gaps. There are gaps in observation, comprehension, acknowledgement, contact… the list can go on. I can say that I have a fair notion of what the wealthier (yet still poor) minority of the population of South Korea, China, and Vietnam live like. I can also say that there was a definite feeling of forthcoming change in all these countries, which are all incredibly different from the United States cities with which I am familiar, but which I feel are everyday becoming more like the ones at home.

Those were some of the things I saw.

In what ways did the rise of Islam influence Jewish life?

After the destruction of the second temple, Jews began to disperse and settle outside Israel. They carried with them the canon of scripture, allowing their tradition to live on despite apparent defeat. The diaspora led Jews to places like Spain and Iraq, which were far from Israel, but where Islam was prominent. Islam was (and is usually) very tolerant of Jews and Christians since they are all part of the same family of religious thought—they are the “peoples of the Book.” This tolerance made it such that Jewish thought was allowed to continue to flourish.

From Jewish academies in Babylonia we get the creation (c. 600 CE) of the Babylonian Talmud—which is a collection of material including Biblical laws and applications and commentaries on them—was written. The Babylonian Talmud is second only to the Hebrew Bible in terms of significant Hebrew literature. The process has continued through time with additional commentaries successively added, making it essentially a “large encyclopedia.”

Along with the Babylonian Talmud, Hebrew scriptures were also translated into Arabic to make the material more accessible to a wider audience, including the non-Jewish Muslims who also resided in these areas. Many Jewish scholars flourished in the receptive environment. One of the significant thinkers who made use of Arabic to communicate his message was Moses Maimonides, who said that Judaism was a religion based on rationality and that faith does complement reason. Maimonides also wrote (in Hebrew), a religious code which summarized the Talmud and wrote of the basic principles of Jewish belief.

In broad terms, what impacts did the dominant Christians have on European Jews?

Throughout history, Christianity has had a degree of prejudice against Jews. Medieval European Christianity, which was the dominant religion, accented many of these prejudices. Jews were not seen as loyal. Christians were suspicious of what went on during Jewish religious practices—many of which took place, not in public, but at home. Jews were forced to live in ghettos and excluded from owning farmland.

Economic as well as religious motives in the late Middle Ages forced Jews into exile. Many Christians resented the fact that they owed money to the Jews, who were the only ones allowed to lend money with interest. Christianity proscribed usury. Exiling the Jews would free the borrowers from their debt. Jews in Spain were offered the option to convert to Christianity or to leave. This period of time is significant since it was then that Judaism underwent a great cultural division that resulted in Sephardic Judaism and Ashkenazic Judaism. Sephardic Judaism took root in Mediterranean regions and mixes Latin, Spanish and Hebrew in its language. Ashkenazic Jews were those who eventually settled more towards central Europe. They spoke Yiddish, which was a combination of medieval German mixed with Hebrew, written in Hebrew.

Another major shift for European Jews (and Christians) came during the Renaissance, which produced another split in the Judaism—this time on traditional rather than cultural grounds. One direction taken was that of traditionalism, which emphasized the rules of the Torah and the Talmud. The other direction was that of modernization, or Reform, in which Jews began to become more integrated into society, in the process loosing some elements of traditional Judaism.

Finally, in even more recent times, European Judaism was faced with almost complete destruction in the Holocaust, when Ashkenazic Jewish tradition almost came to an end.

List five practices or beliefs that distinguish Orthodox Judaism.

Until the Reform movement, which began to incorporate Jews into society at the sacrifice of some tradition, all Jews were Orthodox since all Jews were traditional. With the Reform movement, the Orthodox movement began with the intent of retaining traditional Jewish practices and beliefs. Orthodox Jews are reluctant to change anything about their traditions, especially practices mentioned in the Torah.

One of these practices is that services are conducted completely in Hebrew by male rabbis. This, of course, separates those Jews who may have adopted foreign languages, such as Arabic or Ladino (Sephardic Jews), for the sake of either communicating the Jewish message on a larger scale, or as a mean to help their culture survive discrimination from other members of society.

A second practice that distinguishes Orthodox Judaism is the act of keeping social roles for men and women strictly separate. The woman’s place is at home, while the men go out to work—to be the breadwinners. In relation to this is a third distinctive practice: men and women are separated in Orthodox Jewish synagogues.

Orthodox Jews also stick closely to the strict laws about diet which value cleanliness and care in food preparation. These practices were originally developed for hygienic reasons, but through time, became “rules about ritual purity,” or as the Jews would say, Kosher practices.

A fifth practice held by Orthodox Jews is the strict observance of the rules concerning the Sabbath. No work is to be done by anyone, man or animal, on the Sabbath. Food cannot be cooked, and fires can’t be built. In modern times, Orthodox Jews now also refrain from driving cars or using telephones on the Sabbath. In fact, to further separate themselves from Conservative Judaism, which follows the many of the practices of traditional Judaism, Orthodox Jews, won’t even turn lights on or off on the Sabbath.

To many Orthodox Jews it is not difficult to observe these strict practices. Rather, the practices are seen as devotionally fulfilling, with “every moment consciously devoted” to God.

Briefly summarize the development and practice of Reform Judaism.

With the harsh treatment of Jews throughout history came the desire to become integrated into society. Reform Judaism was an attempt by Jews to leave the ghettos in Germany and incorporate themselves into mainstream European culture. It did so with the hopes of survival of Judaism in the world. This has undoubtedly led to some loss of traditional Judaism.

Moses Mendelssohn, in the late 1700s, called for religious tolerance, and for the embracing of the European Enlightenment. An acceptance of the European Enlightenment, which included such ideas as secular education, equality, individual liberty, and scientific development, made Jewish beliefs and practices open for question.

This has resulted in a change in the way Judaism is practiced. Some of the major changes is that men and women sit together in synagogue worship, traditional dress has almost disappeared, and service is conducted in both Hebrew and the native language, thus increasing acceptance and effectiveness. One of the most significant changes brought about through Reform Judaism is the change in the traditional gender roles—equality is now greatly encouraged. One change in practice that is related to the Reform point of view is that girls now also have a coming-of age ceremony, bat mitzvah, which proclaims them “daughters of the commandment.” Thanks to Reform Judaism, the position of rabbi is no longer reserved for males only.

Paul is said to have defined the relationship of Christians to Judaism. Summarize the significant teachings of Paul in this regard.

Much of the early growth of Christianity has been credited to the missionary Paul (Saul), so much so that he is occasionally called “the cofounder of Christianity.” Much of his popularity arose from the accessibility of his interpretations of Jesus’ teachings.

Paul was born and raised under traditional Judaism. He initially opposed the Christian movement, until Jesus came to him in a vision. When he had this vision, he was baptized, and spent several solitary years learning about Jesus. It was then that he decided that he would spend his life spreading the belief in Jesus.

Paul chose not to expend too much effort trying to convert Jews to Christianity, and was not always well received by Jews. Like the first Christians, Paul was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. Not all Christians, however, came from Jewish backgrounds, and the question about differentiation between Judaism and Christianity arose. Much of the controversy and debate centered on whether Christians should keep Jewish religious laws, such as circumcision and dietary practices. Paul felt that one of Jesus’ messages was one encouraging freedom. He felt that laws hindered freedom too much and that they often “hurt more than they helped.” Furthermore, Paul said that it was not through laws that we strengthen our relationship with God, but rather faith and acceptance of Jesus and the love of God. He argued that this did not exempt us from moral rules since the laws of morality are really based on an interior force. This difference of opinion defined a major difference between Judaism and Christianity, and had a fundamental impact of separating their relationship quite early on.

Identify the two key Christian sacraments. Describe the beliefs and practices associated with each.

One of the key elements of most religions is ritual. The most important rituals in Christianity are called sacraments. The two key Christian sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist.

Baptism is the universally used initiation rite in Christianity, and is a cleansing with water. This practice was derived from the Jewish notion of ritual bathing as a form of purification. Some forms of Christianity allow sprinkling of water on the head, instead of immersion of the body in water, as sufficient for the ritual. The early ritual of complete immersion was a symbolic one, letting us recall “the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.” It is also seen as a sign or repentance and of moral purification. Many forms of Christianity perform the ritual on infants, but some forms of Protestantism feel that baptism should be a voluntary ritual, thus making it a ritual for adults ready to make the choice of initiation.

The Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, began with early Christians as a Passover meal imitating Jesus’ Last Supper. The act is a symbol of sharing the life and death of Jesus through the consumption of wine (Jesus’ blood) and bread (Jesus’ body). Some groups take the representation of wine and bread as the blood and body of Jesus quite literally, with some metaphysical transformation, called transubstantiation, taking place while ingestion takes place, if the person’s heart is fully with Jesus. While others simply partake symbolically, all forms of Christianity have this ritual.

What kind of person was Muhammad? How was he viewed by his family, by his followers, and by those who opposed him?

Muhammad saw himself as the last of the prophets to speak God’s word to humanity. His followers felt the same. Although he was an instrument of God, and was seen as the “ideal human being,” Muhammad was not divine.

Muhammad was born in 570 CE in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where among other local religions, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity were practiced. The local religions had a “supreme God,” Allah, who was the creator of life, but not involved in everyday concerns. Allah was not the center of faith and worship in this society, which also paid reverence to many other tribal gods and goddesses. Through his job as a caravan driver, Muhammad was exposed to many of these religions, learned a lot from them, but also noticed major differences within them. He noticed the division between Jews and Christians concerning God and Jesus. He also noted the widespread worship of nature spirits.

Muhammad spent much time meditating and pondering religion. He received his first revelation at the age of 40, but initially doubted the nature of it, attributing it to perhaps madness or hallucination. However, he was urged by his wife to accept the revelation as direct communication with God. After additional revelations came to him, Muhammad decided to share his revelations first with his family, who then became the first Muslims—”people who submit” to Allah.

His open proclamation of his revelations was often not well received. In addition to the insistence that only one God, Allah be worshiped, and the worship of other gods forbidden, Muhammad also had revelations which threatened business people. For example, the lending of money with interest was forbidden by Muhammad’s revelations. Also, the destruction of pillars of worship to the many tribal gods meant a loss in revenue that would normally come in with the many pilgrimages to the shrines in Mecca. The social content of his revelations challenged the existing order, preaching a very democratic message.

Muhammad’s controversial, unwelcomed ideas eventually forced him into exile. He managed to set up a mosque some distance away from Mecca, but always had the intention of returning to Mecca. Eventually, Muslims managed to take control of Mecca and Muhammad was able to return to his homeland.

Describe the Qur’an and its place in Islam.

The Qur’an, or “recitation,” is the sacred book of Islam. The book’s title represents both the origins of the scriptures (the recitations of Muhammad), as well as the way the scriptures should be communicated. The Qur’an which is said to be God’s word delivered through Muhammad in his sermons, was written down during his lifetime (570-632 CE), and completed in an authorized version in 656 CE. The book is read literally and is thought to be the most accurate revelation of God’s will. The Qur’an succeeds where the Old and New Testaments failed, since it accurately records all of the Truth, and since the Old and New Testaments were “partially corrupted in transmission,” as can be seen with the discrepancies which occur between them.

The Qur’an, which has 114 chapters (suras), covers stories from the Jewish and Christian Bibles, tells about events in Muhammad’s life, and gives advice about topics in everyday life. The book is not divided into stories or segments, but within each sura, different topics will be combined. The topics concerned with Muhammad’s life often concern religious matters, such as fasting, divine judgement, and pilgrimage. Topics concerning everyday life include rules about marriage and divorce, money, and property rights.

Passages from the Qur’an are often used in artistic expression, utilizing creative cursive Arabic lettering to embellish and contrast with intricate geometric designs. In addition to the appearance of the written text, the language in which the Qur’an is written is also supposed to have a high degree of fluidity and hypnotism associated with it. This can be attributed to the original nature of the Qur’an—originally commonly a memorized set of Muhammad’s suras.

How does science view the universe, the earth, and human beings?

From the beginning of progress in modern science in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, science and religion have always been in some form of conflict or another. Religious people say that science is trying to undermine notions such as God and morality. To them, science basically often comes into conflict with its worldview. Scientists point out that science is a way to better understand and appreciate our universe—that it helps give us a better picture of reality.

Science finds most things to be quite material and quantifiable. It offers a theory about the creation of the universe—although there are still questions about what preceded the universe—and about the current place of humans in this universe. Furthermore, the universe is no longer unfathomable, but rather we can make good estimates about how many galaxies it contains. We can also look back in time to the moments just after the creation of the modern universe and see what was happening.

Science can explain the formation of the earth through time—the gradual process of heating, cooling, life formation, destruction, revival of life, and the influence of humans on the earth. Every physical thing can be broken down into sub-atomic particles and analyzed. Scientists can make claims to knowing “the building blocks of life.” Many natural phenomena, such as lightning and storm formations, can be explained through scientific experiment rather than relying on faith.

One of the major problems that some religions have with science is human evolution. If we have evolved, for example, how can we also say that we are created in God’s image? Another concern by the religious community is that sometimes scientists may be seen as “playing god,” using medicines to alter our states of being and work against the forces of nature.

Marxist Communism has shown a number of parallels with religions. Explain.

Marxist Communism, which is an atheistic philosophy, has occasionally been called a non-theistic religion. Some people even refer to Communism as “the God that failed.” Many of the key characteristics of religions are present in Marxist Communism. It offers us a worldview, telling us our place in society (social classes), and helping explain why we are there (exploitation), and how we can get out of such a situation (unification and a social uprising representative of the will and belief of the common man).

Religions and Marxist Communism also offer us a social setting—a community—to offer us comfort. Both are also supposed to try to help care for elders and disabled members of society. This implies also that ethics is present as a characteristic of Marxist Communism, and certainly with the notions of exploitation and unequal distribution being clearly wrong, the characteristic fits well.

There is also a level of sacredness concerning the words of many past Communist leaders. Chairman Mao’s “little red book” can serve as an example. Moreover, it is not just the words that are held sacred. Lines of people wait to see the preserved bodies of Mao and Lenin. Taxi-drivers in China have photos of Mao on their dashboards as good luck charms. Marx, Lenin, and Mao are often portrayed as deities in artwork, with rays of light shining from behind them. Karl Marx’s writings are still very prominent in the minds of anyone studying society and economics. The only reason that his God failed was that the economics could not help make it a reality.