U.S. no longer a land of opportunity | The Japan Times Online
As the US presidential election draws nearer, this issue of "fair opportunity" to be successful and have a decent quality of life is very important to me.
One related concept in economics seems to be intergenerational economic mobility: whether or not children of poor parents have a chance to be successful if they work hard. I am not an expert on international comparisons of mobility, so I'm not sure of how reasonable the article is, but the author of the article believes that mobility in the United States in more restricted than Europe. The rich stay rich, and the poor and middle class seem to have little upward mobility.
As an educator, my hope is that all students can have equal opportunity in quality of education regardless of parental income. I hope the next administration will not tell children of struggling families to just "fight in the free market" with no support, but will take resources from those (like Romney and his millionaire buddies) who have too much beyond what they need and allocate it to programs that make a difference in the lives of people who are at a relative disadvantage.
"Meritocracy" is basically a good concept. Those who work hard should be rewarded. Competition for rewards can stimulate creativity and productivity, and that leads to better quality of life for all. But from those who have much talent, must should be required. Those who have millions due to their investment ability or talent should be giving back to worthy causes almost everything except what they really need, whether it is through government programs or private donations.
Hopefully, the next president will not be fighting for the rich minority who finance the large part of political campaigns, but for the quality of life of all people in the nation.
2012年1月11日水曜日
Francis Fukuyama - Genetic Engineering (Chp. Our Posthuman Future)
Main Points:
In chapter 5 "Genetic Engineering" of his book Our Post Human Future: Consequences of The Biotechnology Revolution, political philosopher Francis Fukuyama attempts to predict whether genetic engineering (GE below) will ever be used for enhancing human traits. For a definition and explanation of the process of genetic engineering, click here.
Is GE of humans likely? For plants like Roundup Ready soybeans and animals like the cats above, the technology already exists and is in actual use to some extent. For humans, Fukuyama seems to believe that it can occur as soon as the main obstacles are overcome.
One main obstacle is the complexity of the relationship between DNA and human traits. Will we ever know which genes influence intelligence and master how to manipulate them? However, as computer technology and understanding of genetic increases, it may only be a matter of time before a number of human gene-trait relations are defined clearly.
Another obstacle is the ethics of human experimentation. Failures in human experiments should not be accepted, so confirmation of the technology will not occur until animal GE experiments are considered extremely reliable. Some governments may choose to never allow human GE because the first child will always be an experiment with potentially unknown consequences. After animal experiments are reliable, will we move to GE on humans?? Fukuyama predicts that experiments WILL occur, especially with somatic gene therapy (for adults by their choice) if the risks of the disease outweigh the risks of the gene therapy. But for embryos, GE experimentation is a completely different matter. (He avoids predicting or arguing anything about embryo experimentation in this chapter--I wonder why? Does he deal with it later?)
Finally, Fukuyama talks about the obstacle or risk that GE will lead to altering human nature on a large scale. In other words, a whole population of humans may develop engineered traits and that may have consequences for human society such as discrimination against those who have or don't have those traits. If GE is only available for rich persons, that would limit the effect on the whole population, but if it becomes inexpensive, human society may be affected.
Mostly importantly, assuming that the technology becomes available, what are the ethical problems or dangers of GE? Experimentation has already been mentioned. Another could be unintended consequences or side-effects. Also, there may be problems with inequality if only some people have access to genetic enhancement and it creates a gap or discrimination. Finally, the issue of eugenics must be considered. If we aim for perfection from genetics, how will we treat people who are born with imperfections?
Reactions?
In chapter 5 "Genetic Engineering" of his book Our Post Human Future: Consequences of The Biotechnology Revolution, political philosopher Francis Fukuyama attempts to predict whether genetic engineering (GE below) will ever be used for enhancing human traits. For a definition and explanation of the process of genetic engineering, click here.
 |
| Glow in the Dark Kittens - Genetically Engineered (Fox News Sept. 12, 2011) |
One main obstacle is the complexity of the relationship between DNA and human traits. Will we ever know which genes influence intelligence and master how to manipulate them? However, as computer technology and understanding of genetic increases, it may only be a matter of time before a number of human gene-trait relations are defined clearly.
Another obstacle is the ethics of human experimentation. Failures in human experiments should not be accepted, so confirmation of the technology will not occur until animal GE experiments are considered extremely reliable. Some governments may choose to never allow human GE because the first child will always be an experiment with potentially unknown consequences. After animal experiments are reliable, will we move to GE on humans?? Fukuyama predicts that experiments WILL occur, especially with somatic gene therapy (for adults by their choice) if the risks of the disease outweigh the risks of the gene therapy. But for embryos, GE experimentation is a completely different matter. (He avoids predicting or arguing anything about embryo experimentation in this chapter--I wonder why? Does he deal with it later?)
Finally, Fukuyama talks about the obstacle or risk that GE will lead to altering human nature on a large scale. In other words, a whole population of humans may develop engineered traits and that may have consequences for human society such as discrimination against those who have or don't have those traits. If GE is only available for rich persons, that would limit the effect on the whole population, but if it becomes inexpensive, human society may be affected.
Mostly importantly, assuming that the technology becomes available, what are the ethical problems or dangers of GE? Experimentation has already been mentioned. Another could be unintended consequences or side-effects. Also, there may be problems with inequality if only some people have access to genetic enhancement and it creates a gap or discrimination. Finally, the issue of eugenics must be considered. If we aim for perfection from genetics, how will we treat people who are born with imperfections?
Reactions?
- My overall reaction is that the issue of GE is critical and must be debated extensively by all countries before the technology becomes available for humans. It could have immense consequences.
- In that sense, Fukuyama's listing of the risks is valuable. Actually, he does not talk about the risks enough, in my mind. More discussion about the potential dangers is necessary so that they can be weighed against the benefits. Perhaps that comes in the next chapters?
- So...what would I do if I had an opportunity for genetic enhancement in the future? Honestly, I have to admit that I have many things I want to improve about myself. I would prefer to not get bald, to not gain weight even if I eat and drink as I like, and I want to avoid cancer and other diseases if possible. If a GE cure for something like that becomes available, I may consider it.
- How about selecting traits of children before birth?? My children are wonderful, but if I could have designed my children to be a little less noisy, or a little more mature from an earlier age, that would be tempting (though I love them both just as they are, of course.). Also, I am fortunate to have very healthy children, but parents who struggle with children who are born with diseases may be able to avoid such problems in the future by screening or engineering embryos. Should such trait selection be possible? That will be our debate on Friday.
2012年1月1日日曜日
Happy New Year 2012! Some '11 reflections and '12 resolutions
Happy New Year!
I hope your 2012, the year of the dragon, will be healthy, lively and full of passion.
My goals and resolutions for 2012 are basically the same as last year. I want to live the year like it will be my last, spending time with people I love, doing what I love, and doing what I can to be helpful to others.
Specifically...I want to have many dates with my wife Megumi, take my kids to places that will they will remember for the rest of their lives (still planning), read more with my kids, Skype with my family and friends more often, fearlessly keep trying new things in my teaching and blog about/publish research papers on them, travel to a country I've never been to (Spain is in the planning), run my 6th marathon (and enjoy it--need to lose a bit of weight to achieve the "enjoy" part), and find a new volunteer activity (still searching).
Looking back, 2011 was an unsettling year with the Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima reactor crisis, and I hope 2012 will be safer and more peaceful. Aside from that crisis, 2011 was a very good year and I have many "best of 2011" things to be thankful for. First and foremost, Megumi, Michael, Mei and I stayed healthy and without any major hospital emergencies. I was able to do my usual Tokyo Marathon (4th in a row, 5th one coming in 2012) and a half-marathon as well. We were also able to travel to Seattle in July to visit family and friends. Professionally, I was blessed with another year of stimulating teaching and learning at ICU and TAT with excellent students and colleagues. I was able to present research at the JACET conference in Fukuoka and JALT in Tokyo as well as publish a paper on using 20x20 for presentation training.
There were many other things I wanted to get done, or to do more, of course, but those will carry over into 2012.
I'm looking forward to communicating with all of you in 2012!
今年もよろしくお願いします。
Mark
I hope your 2012, the year of the dragon, will be healthy, lively and full of passion.
My goals and resolutions for 2012 are basically the same as last year. I want to live the year like it will be my last, spending time with people I love, doing what I love, and doing what I can to be helpful to others.
Specifically...I want to have many dates with my wife Megumi, take my kids to places that will they will remember for the rest of their lives (still planning), read more with my kids, Skype with my family and friends more often, fearlessly keep trying new things in my teaching and blog about/publish research papers on them, travel to a country I've never been to (Spain is in the planning), run my 6th marathon (and enjoy it--need to lose a bit of weight to achieve the "enjoy" part), and find a new volunteer activity (still searching).
Looking back, 2011 was an unsettling year with the Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima reactor crisis, and I hope 2012 will be safer and more peaceful. Aside from that crisis, 2011 was a very good year and I have many "best of 2011" things to be thankful for. First and foremost, Megumi, Michael, Mei and I stayed healthy and without any major hospital emergencies. I was able to do my usual Tokyo Marathon (4th in a row, 5th one coming in 2012) and a half-marathon as well. We were also able to travel to Seattle in July to visit family and friends. Professionally, I was blessed with another year of stimulating teaching and learning at ICU and TAT with excellent students and colleagues. I was able to present research at the JACET conference in Fukuoka and JALT in Tokyo as well as publish a paper on using 20x20 for presentation training.
There were many other things I wanted to get done, or to do more, of course, but those will carry over into 2012.
I'm looking forward to communicating with all of you in 2012!
今年もよろしくお願いします。
Mark
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