ERROR ANALYSIS OF SPOKEN RECOUNT TEXT MADE BY THE EIGHTH GRADERS OF BILINGUAL CLASS AT SMP NEGERI 1 BABAT Muhammad Anwar Habibi English Language Education, Language and Arts Faculty, Surabaya State University anwarhabibi@rocketmail.com Esti Kurniasih, S.Pd., M.Pd. English Language Education, Language and Arts Faculty, Surabaya State University Abstrak Kemampuan berbiara siswa merupakan kemampuan yang alami. Pada satu sisi, siswa mampu menggunakan ilmu kebahasaan mereka dengan berbciara. Pada sisi yang lain, celah dari ilmu kebahasaan yang rendah akan terlihat dari bahasa lisan mereka yang didefinisikan sebagai kesalahan siswa atau Error. Untuk itu, bahasa lisan siswa bisa dijadikan sebagi tolok ukur yang tepat dalam mengukur kemampuan berbahasa mereka. Analisa kesalahan berbahasa siswa adalah salah satu metode yang berarti untuk mengisi celah ilmu kebahasaan siswa. Selanjutnya melalui evaluasi kesalahan berbahasa yang suah mereka buat, mereka mampu meningkatkan kecakapan berbahasa mereka secara bertahap. Studi deskriptif kualitatif ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa dan menjelaskan sebab dari macam-macam error yang telah dibuat oleh subjek penelitian ini dalam teks lisan berbentuk recount. Peneliti menggunakan klasifikasi kesalahan yang diusulkan oleh Hendrickson (1983) dan sebab kesalahan dari James dalam Ellis (2005). Peneliti juga menggunakan teori analisa data kualitaif yang diusulkan oleh Ary et al (2010). Untuk memperoleh data, peneliti merekam dan menuliskan teks lisan siswa berbentuk recount. Dari keseluruhan teks lisan siswa berbentuk recount ditemukan banyak kesalahan yang pada umumnya terjadi pada morphology dan phonology. Peneliti juga menemukan kesalahan yang terjadi pada lexicon dan syntax namun jarang terjadi. Dari keseluruhan kesalahan dalam morphology kebanyakan terjadi pada tense markers dan plural markers. Misanalysis dalam tata bahasa dan kurangnya kesadaran siswa untuk menggunakan tata bahasa yang baik dan benar dalam bahasa lisan merupakan sebab utama dari kesalahan-kesalahan siswa dalam teks lisan berbentuk recount mereka. Kata Kunci: analisa kesalahan, ketrampilan berbicara, teks recount, kelas bilingual, siswa kelas 8. Abstract Students' spoken language is natural. On one hand, through the spoken language the students are going to be able to implement any language knowledge that they have learned. On the other hand, spoken language also provides the students' gaps concern with lack of language knowledge that is referred as an error. Therefore, the students' spoken language could be viewed as an exact object to measure their language ability. Analyzing the errors in learner's language is a significant method to fill the students' gaps. Then they are capable of enhancing their language aptitude through errors evaluation. This descriptive qualitative study is chiefly aimed to analyze the types and causes of errors that were made by the subject of this study on their spoken recount text. In this errors analysis of the students' spoken recount text, error classification by Hendrickson (1983) and causes of error by James in Ellis (2005) are implemented to analyze and describe the errors and their causes. The spoken language data bring the researcher into recording and transcribing the students' spoken recount text before analysis takes place to gain the data of this error analysis study. Theory of qualitative data proposed by Ary (2010) is implemented in analyzing the data of this study. The researcher found very many errors from the entire spoken recount texts. The errors are mostly occurred in morphology, then phonology. Lexicon and syntax are rarely occurred in the students' spoken recount text. Morphological errors mostly occur in tense and plural markers. Misanalysis of the structure rules and lack of consciousness of applying them in oral communication mostly caused those errors occurred. Key words: error analysis, speaking skill, recount text, bilingual class, eighth graders. INTRODUCTION The very heart of using foreign language is able to speak the foreign language (Luoma, 2004). English has been included into the Indonesian education curriculum and taught since Elementary School level and recently young learners are also introduced to English in early age such as in Preschool class. The spoken form has been regarded as the primary form of language (Vachek, 1973 in Hughes, 2002). In fact, oral or written language produced by learners (Ellis, 2005:4) has the same purpose that is as means of communication. In addition, the main point of producing a language is that the speakers or the writers can extend any information they want to share using the senses they have. Learning language and constructing learner strategies (Wenden et al, 1987) are executed by the children through the instruction of the teacher inside the classroom as the continuation of childhood developmental phase in constructing language. Language learners will be curious about the language they are learning (McKay, 2006), so they are willing to accept any feedback that will upgrade their language knowledge. Then they will get into the evaluation part of learning language and the students will be able to use words and phrases fluently without very much conscious thought (Harmer, 2007). It seems rather peculiar to evaluate the students' oral language by showing the errors they have made rather than the right one (Ellis, 1997). Students' oral language is produced by the students naturally as the language features they have learned. Showing the error then noticing the right one will help the students to revise the students' misunderstanding about a certain language feature then their language learning could develop gradually over the time. Yet, to show the students' errors should be extended by the teacher as wise as possible. Ellis (1997) defines the error as reflection of learner's knowledge and it occurs because the learner does not know the correct one. Lack of language knowledge such as pronunciation, accents, words use, vocabulary, and structure can be addressed to the students because of their error occurred. Therefore, they will learn this language knowledge gradually over the time. It means that the students will get their errors at the early moment of learning a new knowledge of a language lesson. Referring to the new lesson of the students in formal language learning level, recount and descriptive text are the new genres text for the 8th graders as in the Basic Competence of Junior High School students in speaking skill of the Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan (BSNP), 2006. Giving information and sharing an account of what happened is the definition of the recount as the typical genre of Derewianka, 1992 in McKay, 2006. Giving and sharing an account of what happened to each of the students would be a fair topic of this error analysis study. Because, they will tell what in their mind using the represent words, phrase, and sentence rather than describing something because, they are going to have opportunities to cheat their friends' words and it will limit their language knowledge. The spoken recount will refer to one of the genre texts for the 8th graders of Junior High School but it will be extended in the form of oral language not in written form. Based on the Basic Competence of Junior High School students in speaking skill of the BSNP, 2006 recount text is one of the genre texts that should be learned by the 8th graders as a new lesson because it is oriented in the first semester and they do not learn this text at the previous grade. Therefore, the new thing for the students will turn up the error of producing oral language. Therefore, they will be able to evaluate and revise their errors by knowing the errors they have made which are going to be the main data of this spoken recount text analysis study. The students will learn such text in the next semester. Thus, it is important to strengthen their language feature of recount text as oral language foundation. Different skill was analyzed in this study than others that differentiate the following error analysis study. Related to error analysis study, Prastiwi (2013) conducted a written error analysis of the eight graders on the problems of students' competence in writing recount text in terms of its content and organization. In addition, the result of this study is that the content and organization of recount composition written by the 8th graders was categorized into average level. Therefore, this error analysis study is different from others error analysis studies that are mostly conducted in analyzing written language of the students. This error analysis study is chiefly aimed to analyze the errors and their causes that are found in spoken recount text made by the 8th graders of bilingual class at SMP Negeri 1 Babat. The students or the error maker will obtain more luck from this error analysis study because they will know and realize the error they have made when they are learning a new material. Being shown the error they have made sometimes will be brought up next to their mind so that they will be aware of having the similar errors. They will be noticeable about the language features as well and it will possibly help the students to self-correct the errors they have made (Ellis, 1997). Teacher is another one who will obtain the luck from this study; the errors known will be the reflection of some aspects of the teacher that they could be attributed to. For example, the teaching method, practice frequency, pronunciation, production, etc. He or she will know the measurement of the speaking skill mastered by the students from the errors they have made. The teacher will know which material should be emphasized in language teaching activity to cover the errors of the students in speaking skill particularly in spoken recount and recount text. METHOD In this study, the researcher used descriptive qualitative research. The researcher tried to describe and explain the students' spoken recount error objectively and naturally as it existed. The data which are described by the researcher were taken from the students' spoken recount text made by the 8th graders of bilingual class at SMP Negeri 1 Babat. The data of this study are in the form of words. Therefore, the researcher applied qualitative method where qualitative data are in the form of words or picture rather than numbers and statistics (Ary, 2010). The steps underwent by the researcher are collecting the students' spoken recount data then transcribing them into written words. After that, the researcher organized and analyzed the error made by the students. Finally, the researcher extended the error analysis study of the spoken recount in the form of words as the result of this study. In addition, there was no any treatment given to the subjects of this study. The subjects of this study are the 8th graders of bilingual class at SMP Negeri 1 Babat and the researcher chose the A cluster. The researcher chose the 8th graders because they are learning recount text particularly in the first semester and will be continued to the next semester so this grade is the appropriate one to be the subjects of this study. Therefore, the researcher would like to know the errors that usually occur in students' speaking. Ellis (2005) stated that the primary data of oral analysis are the recording of talk. The transcripts of the recording are not the data, but rather a representation of the data. However, the transcript and the recordings should be used together during the analysis. Data of this study are the errors which are found in the students' speaking performance and the motives of the students for doing those errors. In analyzing the students' spoken recount text, the researcher used the theory of Hendrickson (1983). The data source of this error analysis study is the spoken recount text performance made by the bilingual class of the 8th graders at SMP Negeri 1 Babat and the representation of the primary data are the transcript of the spoken recount text recording. The research instruments in this study were used to gain the answer of the research questions. In this study, the researcher used two instruments. The primary instrument used in qualitative research is the researcher himself (Ary, 2010). In fact, the researcher conducted the research, collected data until analyzed the data of the study by himself. So the researcher is the primary instrument of this study that is used to answer the first and second research question. To support the primary instrument gained the data, the researcher used a recording as a tool of instrument because the form of the primary data is in the form of audio recording. Audio recording is now widely used to show the language use occur naturally (Ellis et al, 2005). There are three principle methods of collecting sample, they are: (1). Pencil and paper; (2). Audio recording; (3). Video recording (Ellis et al, 2005). In this study, the researcher used the audio recording because the data of this study are in the form of spoken data. Therefore, the first step done by the researcher was recording the spoken recount text made by the bilingual class of the 8th graders at SMP Negeri 1 Babat. After recording the students' spoken recount text, the researcher transcribed the recording into written transcription to ease the researcher in analyzing the students' spoken recount text to find the type of errors. The recording perhaps eases an analysis to go back to the oral performance repeatedly. It helps to ensure that the transcription is detailed and accurate (Ellis et al, 2005). The next step is analyzing the students' spoken recount text through their transcription. The theory of Hendrickson (1983) was used to classify the students' errors found in their spoken performance. By classifying the categories of errors, the researcher will be able to construct the open questionnaire that was used to know the motives of the students for doing those errors. Then the researcher described the data systematically to get the best understanding based on the research questions. There are some theories which define the stages of qualitative data analysis, for instance, Cresswell (2007), Marshall and Roshman (2006), Maxwell (2005), Wolcott (1994), and Ary (2010). Moreover, they have different stages that should be done by the qualitative researcher in analyzing data. In this study, the researcher applied the theory of qualitative data analysis by Ary et al (2010) that consists of familiarizing-organizing, coding-reducing, and interpreting-representing. Familiarizing and organizing is the first stage of analyzing data of this study. In this study, the researcher familiarized himself with the data (Ary, 2010). Listening repeatedly is one way to familiarize with the data because the data of this study are in the form of spoken data. To ease the researcher, he made the transcription of the recording. After being familiar with the data, the researcher organized the data so that the researcher is capable of analyzing the data through the next stage. The second stage is coding and reducing. Coding itself is not to sum but to break apart the data (Ary, 2010). In this stage, the researcher coded the students' spoken recount transcriptions to separate the data based on the coding. In addition, this was used to ease the researcher in analyzing the error of each student's spoken transcription. After being coded and analyzed in detail based on the theory used, the data were then coded in larger coding. The large code is the part where the students' spoken transcription put into three codes based on the content and the errors found. Excellent, good, and poor are the codes used to divide the data into large group and each group will be represented by certain data to be presented in the finding and discussion part. In this stage, unfortunately the researcher did not reduce any data that had been collected because the researcher intentionally analyzed all the students' spoken recount text transcription. The last stage is interpreting and representing. Ary (2010) stated that interpretation is about emerging the meaning, telling whatever it exists, providing an explanation and developing the reasonable explanations. To interpret the data, the researcher used the theory of error analysis as the set of rule so that the researcher is able to interpret them in detail. In addition, this interpretation will be understandable by the availability of the visual representation of the data. The researcher used the table to explain the errors found in detail and chart to show the percentage of the error frequencies or amount. RESULT AND DISCUSSION After recording the spoken recount text then the researcher transcribed them into words with normal orthography supported with codes that are used to represent the data representation as it is existed. In analyzing the data, the researcher implemented familiarizing-organizing and coding-reducing theory of qualitative data analysis by Ari et al (2010). In this chapter, the researcher implemented the interpreting-representing stage of this theory. The entire errors that are found by the researcher occurred in each error linguistic proposed by Hendrickson (1983). After classifying the errors, the researcher found that the local errors found mostly occurred in morphology, phonology, syntax, and lexicon. While the global errors found by the researcher mostly occurred in lexicon, syntax, and morphology. In addition, the researcher did not find any global errors that occurred in phonology. Type of errors Number of local errors Number of global errors Lexicon 55 5 Syntax 63 2 Morphology 150 1 Phonology 95 - Total 363 8 Interlingual errors are caused by the mother tongue interference in learning either second or foreign language. This interference probably gives not only positive but also negative effects that is commonly called transfer. Ellis (1997) stated that facilitation given by the first language in learning second language is positive transfer. While negative transfer is the first language role as the source of errors. In this study, the researcher found so many negative transfer cases where most of the entire students' spoken recount texts were composed and spoken by applying the first language structure rather than the English structure. Interlingual errors in this study occurred in lexicon, syntax, morphology and phonology in particular as the speech of the language learner that contains the characteristic of transfer in its pronunciation and intonation pattern. The errors that were caused by interlingual are mostly occurred in morphology, phonology, syntax and lexicon. To be exact, the entire errors found in spoken recount text made by the subject of this study are assumed as interlingual errors. As Ellis (1997) stated that transfer is common in second language learners' speech. The second major in explaining errors is intralingual. This major reflects the universal process of learning strategy applied by the learners (Ellis, 1997). The intralingual consists of false analogy, misanalysis, incomplete rule application, exploiting redundancy, overlooking co-occurrence restriction, and system-simplification (James, 1998 in Ellis, 1997). Each error made by the students may have more than one cause (Tarone, 2009). Therefore, the researcher found some errors that have more than one cause that will increase the number of cause of error than the errors itself. The researcher found fewer errors that are caused by the intralingual errors than others that are caused by interlingual. These because of the phonological errors are completely caused by interlingual. An error made by the students that is caused by the system-simplification is rarely occurred among the whole of errors. The cause of this error occurs is when the students simplified the rule of the system in English to communicate rather than use the complete one. In false analogy or a kind of overgeneralization error that are caused by the students' false analogy is higher than system simplification. This false analogy mostly occurs in incorrect chosen words where the speaker or the subject thought it was correct. For example, the subject prefers to use long to show the distance rather than far. Literally, those words have different meaning, but the subject's analogy call it same or similar. The subjects also overgeneralized forms that they have found to be easy to learn and process (Ellis, 1997). The use of 'eated' in the place of 'ate', for instance. The errors of overlooking co-occurrence are in same level as the false analogy errors. The errors caused by overlooking occur in inappropriate words chosen who have similar meaning with others but have different collocation. For example, one of the subjects used 'fourteen p.m.' in place of 'two p.m.'. The researcher found higher errors that are caused by incomplete rule application than the previous ones. Incomplete rule application occurs in inappropriate rules applied by the students. They prefer to restructure the grammatical systems with their own as Ellis (1997) stated that restructuring grammatical rules is prevalent in second language acquisition. Word order errors are mostly caused by the incomplete rule application where the students mentioned the part of speech component of a sentence, but they arranged it in the wrong arrangement that trespassing the grammatical rules of English language in particular. From the entire errors caused by incomplete rule application are mostly occurred in word order. Errors that are caused by exploiting redundancy often occurred in students' spoken recount text. James in Ellis (1997) stated that exploiting redundancy is leaving the grammatical features that do not contribute to the meaning of an utterance, for example, omitting –s in verbs of third person singular. The same case also occurs in plural markers and possessive adjectives errors where most of the students leave the –s in plural markers and –'s in possessive adjective. Learners find difficulties of speaking in full sentences so they often leave the words. In second language acquisition, this case is called propositional simplification that happens in the early second language learner speech (Ellis, 1997). Most of errors found in students' spoken recount text are caused by misanalysis. The errors that are caused by misanalysis mostly occurred in verbs and tense markers. The presence, absence, and inappropriateness of verbs are the consideration of the verb errors that are caused by misanalysis. While inappropriate form of verbs is the consideration of the tense marker errors, for example, the use of present participle verb in past tense verb. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS Conclusion The researcher found that the entire bilingual students made errors in their spoken recount text. From entire spoken recount texts made by each student of bilingual class, the errors are mostly occurred in morphology, phonology, syntax, and lexicon. The errors of lexicon are mostly occurred in verbs, noun, and adverb. And errors of adjective are rarely occurred. Therefore, from the whole errors of lexicon are mostly occurred in preposition, possessive adjective, articles, word order. Moreover, errors in syntactic class, modals, conjunction, and demonstrative adjective are rarely occurred. The errors of phonology occurred in mispronunciation entirely. Moreover, most of errors found by the researcher occurred in morphology and tense markers are dominants than plural and negative markers. The causes of the errors made by the students were concerned in the second research question of this study. The researcher found that errors made by the bilingual students are dominantly caused by the interlingual errors or the mother tongue interference. The researcher also found fewer errors that are caused by the intralingual errors than interlingual. System simplification rarely caused the production of errors found in intralingual. False analogy and overlooking co-occurrence caused errors production more than system simplification. In addition, the entire errors are mostly caused by misanalysis, exploiting redundancy, and incomplete rule application. Based on the result of this error analysis on the spoken recount text made by the bilingual students, the researcher concluded that the students' speaking ability is weak. It is reflected from the number of errors found by the researcher. On one hand, the advanced number of errors that is caused by the interlingual errors is possible because English language in the students' point of view is a foreign language that is implemented as the medium language in teaching and learning activity in bilingual class. Moreover, they should be aware of the interlingual errors so that they are not in fossilization (Ellis, 1997). In fact, the descending of students' consciousness and awareness in implementing grammatical rules in spoken language to turn up the readers' comprehension toward the content of the spoken recount text affected the errors production in their spoken language. Suggestions After conducting an error analysis on the students' spoken recount text and resulting the finding as above, the researcher suggests not only the teacher but also the students. In fact, the students made very many errors in their spoken recount then the teacher should evaluate the errors found so that the students are able to learn from their errors. From the teacher's evaluation, the students will be able to develop their language capability gradually, especially in speaking ability. The teacher should also emphasize the material where the errors occurred, it could be in the form of review or discussion. Moreover, the teacher should motivate the students to be aware of the grammar rules in speaking and to have self-consciousness in practicing English. Meanwhile, the researcher suggests the students to be able to learn the errors that they have made so that they could enhance their own language ability gradually. Then they also should raise their awareness and consciousness in implementing grammar rules in communication as well to turn up the readers' comprehension, on behalf of bilingual class tittle that requires them so that they are able to use English and Bahasa as means of oral and written communication. REFERENCES Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, C. K. (2010). Introduction to Research inEducation (8 ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Beeby, C. E. (1979). Indonesian Education, an Experiment in Assessment. Willington: Oxford University Press. Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken Language. New York: Cambridge University Press. Brown, H. D. (2000). 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This article focuses on the historical productive restructuring of the oases in the semi-arid region of Cuyo, in central-western Argentina, particularly in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. From the 1990s onward, as in various latitudes of the arid-South American diagonal, the famous slogan of "making the desert bloom" has found in the agro-export boom its new raison d'être. Several areas of oasis agriculture production, traditionally structured around a surface-water distribution network, have undergone an expansion of their agricultural frontiers through intensive exploitation of its aquifers. Through groundwater access and the systematic application of modern irrigation technologies, domestic and foreign investors converted land branded as "dry", "marginal" or "empty" into sources of profit. As a result, several oases are increasingly serving export markets and ultimately a global diet. In these dry environments, commodity flows, as either fresh or processed goods, depend of course on significant water supply. In the case of world wine capitals like Mendoza and San Juan, such rural dynamics go hand in hand with the commodification of the countryside for the tourist and real estate sectors. By exercising effective control over land and (mostly underground) water corporate actors contribute to the growing commoditization and enclosure of spaces of the arid piedmonts.In this work we propose an analytical conceptualization of the oases as built environments, historically constructed through intensive and systematic water management. But we also understand them as an epistemic and ontological approach, challenging the usual society/nature dualism, as produced natures (Smith, 1984; Moore, 2015). Although the most recent agro-export restructuring of the oases were carried out within the framework of the current neoliberal and corporate agro-food regime, we show that such transformations are the culmination of a long insertion in the development of capitalism as a world ecology (Moore, 2015; Walker and Moore, 2019). From this hybrid, cross-border, and relational perspective we trace how the logic of endless capital accumulation and the production of nature have been central to the region's history.Cuyo rivers originate in the snow-crested mountain range of the Cordillera de los Andes and flow toward the lower plains providing diverted water for five main oases developed on the piedmont. In this arid land with 100-350 mm of annual precipitation, no rain-fed agriculture is possible; water control is thus essential for the subsistence of the created and domesticated oasis ecosystems. The irrigation of the piedmont oases dates back to remote times but an important change in land use came in the colonial period when oasis economy was gradually modified in order to develop cattle fattening activities dependent on irrigated alfalfa, and complemented by wine production and subsistence crops. Another mayor revolution came in the late nineteenth century with the arrival of the railroad and a massive wave of Mediterranean migration. At the time, the provincial government and elite became active in a hydraulic mission by financing the expansion of a run-of-the-river irrigation system. This hydraulic mission goes hand and hand with a process of land and water commodification that results in the dispossession of native and peasant groups from their traditional land and water rights. Concomitantly, such massive hydraulic infrastructure has been at the core of a winegrowing and winemaking historical production model, supplemented by other fruit and vegetable crops. This model, which has been boosted by the growth in the domestic consumption of low-quality table wine, entered into absolute collapse in 1980. Since the late 1980s larger and better capitalized firms began a process that would become known as the reconversión of the Argentine wine industry. As the decade of the 1990s progressed, Mendoza's oases started arousing great interest from transnational investors. At the same time a restructuring process started to reveal its spatial consequences: while some areas were abandoned, others expanded. In particular, the expansion of the agricultural frontier was made possible by intensive aquifer exploitation in the context of loosely regulated groundwater management. Led by intensive, mainly large-scale and export-oriented projects, this conquest of the piedmont involved not only the high-quality wine-making sector but also the production of fruit, tree nuts, vegetables and olive oil. Former "marginal lands" were now in the sights of firms, who saw the peripheral areas of the oases as potentially highly profitable. With access to groundwater, corporate actors became disconnected and independent from the complex run-off-the-river irrigation system by irrigating their fields at their leisure. In particular, drip irrigation was used not only to overcome physical constraints in conquering the new space of production but also to optimize farming performance, guaranteeing quality and quantity. Many business groups, seeking to diversify their activities or finding stability in the face of financial market turbulence, have chosen to combine export wine production with other sources of profit, such as tourism and luxury real estate complexes.Our article is structured in three moments. Firstly, we propose an ontology of the concept of oasis through the thesis of the production of nature. We will give an account of different forms of internalisation of nature through production in general, for exchange, and finally through the circulation and accumulation of capital. Secondly, we develop a periodization of capitalism in its relation to the production, commercialization and consumption of food, resorting to the discussions on the so-called agro-food regimes. From this approach, we propose to reconstruct the fragmented spatial trajectory of the main oases of Cuyo from their pre-Hispanic origin to their articulation in three successive regimes: the diaspora-agro-export, the mercantile-industrial and the neoliberal corporate regimes. Thirdly, drawing on the concept of commodity frontiers we focus on three products for export-markets: wine, olive oil and pre-fried potatoes. Drawing upon these short examples and in resonance with the world ecology approach we will show that the oases as such represent a renewed attempt to expand, but also to maintain active commodity frontiers. We argue that strategies employed by investors to gain access to the land and water –or to maintain their initial business plans– may encounter obstacles, such as policy shifts, legal constraints or lack of economic openness. In other words, the commodity frontier is not always a worry-free process. Finally, this work aims to show that the relational processes embodied by such commodities and frontier-making not only transcend the Cartesian binary society/nature, but also make more complex the comfortable compartmentalisation between local and global processes. ; En las últimas décadas, los oasis de Mendoza y San Juan (Argentina) se transformaron dramáticamente al calor de reestructuraciones agro-exportadoras que se produjeron en el marco del actual régimen agro-alimentario corporativo neoliberal. Estos procesos no son sino la culminación de una larga trayectoria de inserción en el desarrollo del capitalismo como ecología-mundo. De este modo, nos proponemos, desde este enfoque híbrido, transfronterizo y relacional, reconstruir históricamente la fragmentaria trayectoria espacial de los principales oasis cuyanos desde su origen prehispánico hasta su articulación en tres regímenes agroalimentarios sucesivos. En segundo término, nos proponemos describir la reciente expansión de la frontera agrícola mediante el uso no controlado de reservas de agua subterráneas en el marco del último régimen. Evidenciamos los procesos relacionales que, a partir del enfoque de la ecología-mundo, están a la base de la producción y comercialización de tres mercancías emblemáticas en estos oasis: el vino, el aceite de oliva y la papa prefrita. La metodología que adoptamos estuvo destinada a describir las trayectorias históricas de los oasis recurriendo a una selección de fuentes documentales y bibliografía regional. Entre los principales hallazgos encontramos que el tercer régimen agroalimentario permitió a los oasis agro-industriales una nueva expansión de fronteras de mercancías. Esta se sustentó en la explotación sistemática del agua subterránea, hasta este momento esencialmente complementaria a la fuente superficial. En este marco neoliberal, la agricultura de precisión permite el control de las etapas claves del proceso productivo a partir de criterios estandarizados de demanda internacional de calidad y cantidad. Como conclusión, entendemos que el acceso a fuentes de Naturaleza barata (ya sea agua, suelos o trabajo humano) permitió no sólo la elaboración de mercancías apetecibles en exigentes mercados mundiales, sino que también reconfiguró el propio modelo de gestión del agua desde uno más estatalista y socialmente condicionado a uno más privatista, telecontrolado y autónomo. No obstante, estos procesos de expansión de la frontera de mercancías están condicionados por elementos locales propios de dinámicas socioecológicas preexistentes, por lo que esta frontera encuentra límites, a menudo, infranqueables.
La tesi di dottorato di Bruno Brancati concerne il ruolo delle corti nella crisi economica europea, con particolare attenzione alle decisioni relative ai diritti sociali. La tesi principale della ricerca è che, in questo particolare momento, il diritto pubblico europeo richiede un'espansione del ruolo delle corti. Infatti, l'autorità del diritto in Europa è in crisi, perché i confini tra i poteri nazionali e sovranazionali sono incerti. Questo contesto richiede un'espansione della "cultura della giustificazione". "Cultura dell'autorità" e "cultura della giustificazione" sono entrambe necessarie. La prima si concentra sull'autorizzazione ad agire dei vari attori. La seconda si concentra sulle ragioni sostanziali delle decisioni. Quando l' "autorità" è in crisi, l'espansione della "cultura della giustificazione" diventa molto importante, ed anche il ruolo delle corti. La "giurisdizionalizzazione" della crisi economica è un fatto, come dimostrano decisioni quali quella sull'ESM e il Fiscal Compact del Tribunale costituzionale tedesco (settembre 2012) o la decisione n. 187 del 2013 del Tribunale costituzionale portoghese, vertente su alcune misure di austerità. Il primo capitolo della ricerca spiega la tesi principale e la struttura del lavoro. Nel secondo capitolo è illustrata la prospettiva dei "conflitti d'autorità". Il costituzionalismo democratico nazionale e il diritto sovranazionale condividono un orizzonte ideale, ma nella storia della loro relazione è possibile distinguere due fasi: quella della "divergenza" e quella della "convergenza". Il diritto nazionale e quello sovranazionale si sovrappongono, e questa sovrapposizione innesca conflitti, perché essi sono diventati simili, ma non identici. Casi come Viking e Laval sono emblema di un importante conflitto tra queste due sfere. Nel terzo capitolo si può vedere che il livello nazionale e quello sovranazionale si intrecciano nella governance economica e finanziaria. Lo spazio per le valutazioni discrezionali in quest'area incrementa le incertezze dei confini tra i due livelli. Nel quarto capitolo, viene presentato il ruolo del rinvio pregiudiziale alla Corte di Giustizia dell'Unione europea nella prospettiva dei "conflitti d'autorità" e viene considerato il caso OMT. Poi, il capitolo si concentra sui rapporti tra diritto nazionale e diritto sovranazionale nelle "giurisprudenze costituzionali della crisi" portoghese e italiana. Nel quinto capitolo sono stati presentati alcuni argomenti classici, usati contro la giurisdizionalizzazione dei diritti sociali: legittimazione democratica, policentricità, expertise, flessibilità. Le relazioni tra il giudice ed il legislatore in quest'area sono spesso problematiche ed il controllo di proporzionalità può essere molto utile da questo punto di vista. Esso può rispettare la sfera legislativa, ma può anche essere molto pervasivo. Nel sesto capitolo, sono considerati alcuni modi di fare uso del controllo di proporzionalità nella giurisprudenza costituzionale della crisi italiana e portoghese. Le due Corti costituzionali si sono confrontate con la questione dell'equa distribuzione dei sacrifici, ma non sono state sempre persuasive. In altre decisioni, la mancata ricezione di adeguate giustificazioni del sacrificio di un diritto ha giocato un ruolo importante. Allocando l' "onere della giustificazione" sul legislatore, il giudice riconosce i suoi deficit, ma svolge anche un controllo molto efficace. Il settimo capitolo si concentra sulla limitazione degli effetti delle decisioni di incostituzionalità. Questa tecnica è molto utile, a causa della policentricità dei casi riguardanti l'allocazione delle risorse. Sia la Corte costituzionale italiana che il Tribunale costituzionale portoghese sono stati criticati per l'uso di questa tecnica. Inoltre, la giurisprudenza della crisi fornisce un'altra indicazione: il giudice può essere molto efficace se le sue decisioni sono pronunciate subito dopo l'adozione della misura. L'ottavo capitolo contiene le conclusioni del lavoro. La crisi mette alla prova le costituzioni, e le costituzioni appaiono "minimalizzate". Esse riescono a limitare la durezza della politica di austerità, ma non possono stravolgerla. Esse potrebbero perfino legittimarla, addomesticandola. Nella giurisprudenza della crisi, le corti corrono il rischio di perdere la propria legittimazione. La proporzionalità è una tecnica che può enfatizzare la discrezionalità del giudice. L'allocazione di un onere di giustificazione sul legislatore può limitarla, senza eliminarla. La limitazione degli effetti temporali della decisione comporta il rischio di politicizzazione del giudice, ma questa tecnica è molto utile in tempo di crisi, perché consente al giudice di adottare un' "etica della responsabilità". Tuttavia, l'adozione di una tale etica deve rispettare le regole che disciplinano il processo davanti alla corte costituzionale e deve essere controllata da un rigoroso ragionamento giuridico. Bruno Brancati's Phd thesis concerns the role of courts in the European economic crisis, with particular attention paid to decisions related to social rights. The main claim of the research is that, in this particular moment, European public law requires an expansion of the role of courts. In fact, the authority of law in Europe is in crisis, because the boundaries between national and supranational powers are uncertain. This context requires an expansion of the "culture of justification". "Culture of authority" and "culture of justification" are both necessary. The first one focuses on the authorization to act of the various actors. The second one focuses on the substantive reasons in support of the decisions to be taken. When the "authority" is in crisis, the expansion of the "culture of justification" becomes very important, and the role of the courts too. The "judicialization" of the economic crisis is a fact. Decisions such as the one about ESM and Fiscal Compact of the German Constitutional Court (September 2012) or decision n. 187/2013 of the Portuguese Constitutional Court, about austerity measures, demonstrate that. The first chapter of the research explains the main claim and the structure of the work. In the second chapter the perspective of the "conflicts of authority" is illustrated. National democratic constitutionalism and supranational law share an ideal horizon, but in the history of their relationship it is possible to distinguish two phases: a phase of "divergence" and a phase of "convergence". The national law and the supranational one overlap, and this overlapping triggers conflicts, because they have become similar, but not identical. Cases such as Viking and Laval are emblematic of an important conflict between these two spheres. In the third chapter one can see that the national level and the supranational one interweave in the economic and financial governance. The space for discretionary evaluations in this area increases the uncertainties of the boundaries between the two levels. In the fourth chapter, the role of the preliminary ruling question sent to CJEU is presented in the perspective of the "conflicts of authority" and the OMT case is considered. Then, this chapter focuses on the relationships between national law and supranational one in the Portuguese and Italian "crisis constitutional case law". In the fifth chapter, some classical arguments, used against the judicialization of social rights, are presented: democratic legitimacy, polycentricity, expertise, flexibility. The relationships between the judge and the legislature in this area are often problematic and proportionality review can be very useful in this respect. It can respect the legislative sphere, but can also be very pervasive. In the sixth chapter, some ways of making use of proportionality review in the Portuguese and Italian crisis constitutional case law are considered. The two Constitutional Courts have faced the issue of the fair distribution of sacrifices, but they have not always been persuasive. In other decisions the failure to receive adequate justification of a sacrifice of a right played an important role. By allocating the "burden of justification" to the legislature,, the judge recognizes its deficits, but also plays a very effective control. The seventh chapter focuses on the limitation of the effects of the decisions of unconstitutionality. This technique is very useful, because of the polycentricity of the cases regarding the allocation of resources. Both the Portuguese and the Italian Constitutional Courts have been criticized because of the use of this technique. Then, the crisis case law provides another insight: the judge can be very effective if its decisions are delivered soon after the adoption of the measure. The eighth chapter contains the conclusions of the work. The crisis represents a test for constitutions, and constitutions appear "minimized". They manage to limit the hardness of the austerity policy, but they cannot upset it. They could even legitimize it, by taming it. In the crisis case law, the courts run the risk of losing their legitimacy. Proportionality is a technique that can emphasize the discretion of the judge. The allocation of the burden of justification to the legislature can limit it, without eliminating it. The limitation of the temporal effects of the decision involves the risk of politicization of the judge, but this technique is very helpful in times of crisis, because it allows the judge to adopt an "ethics of responsibility". Yet, the adoption of such an ethics must respect the rules that regulate the trial before the constitutional court and must be controlled by a rigorous legal reasoning.
This guide accompanies the following article: Michael M. Wehrman, 'Examining Race and Sex Inequality in Recidivism', Sociology Compass 5/3 (2011): 179–189, 10.1111/j.1751‐9020.2011.00362.x.Author's introductionScholars and policymakers are well aware of the high likelihood of failure for recent releases from prison. High recidivism rates are expected, though not necessarily welcome. This article highlights some of the issues that go beyond noting that recidivism rates are simply high: they are higher for some groups than others. Identifying some of the unique mechanisms and processes that lead to race and gender disparity in recidivism rates will help inform policymakers as they seek to write effective policies aimed at a growing population of prisoners facing re‐entry.Author recommendsBroidy, Lisa and Robert Agnew. 1997. 'Gender and Crime: A General Strain Theory Perspective.'Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34: 275–306.This article offers up a theoretical explanation specifically aimed at how women are influenced by General Strain Theory differently than men. In short, men are prone to respond to sources of strain with aggression and external attribution of blame; women, with depression and internal attribution of blame. As a result, they would be less likely to seek out external sources as a means of criminal coping. Of the many gender‐specific theories, this has a unique application to those re‐entering society, as the disruption they experience during transitioning out of prison is a significant source of strain.Clear, Todd R. 2009. Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse. Oxford University Press.This book looks at the impact of mass incarceration on disadvantaged communities. As most prisoners come from poor neighborhoods, they return to (often the same) poor neighborhoods upon release. Such communities are characterized by strained resources and weak job opportunities for all its citizens – something that only exacerbates the high likelihood of recidivism for those leaving prison. An additional focus here is the concentration of African‐Americans in impoverished communities, something that contributes to their markedly high recidivism rates.Pager, Devah. 2009. Marked: Race, Crime and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration. University of Chicago Press.Pager focuses on comparing racial discrimination and felon exclusion in hiring practices in her highly regarded research. While racial discrimination in hiring is illegal and socially taboo, in most states failing to hire a felon due to their criminal history is not only legal, but considered a sensible business practice (at least in the eyes of the business owner). Pager finds that racial discrimination is greater than felon discrimination. However, she finds that African‐Americans with a criminal background suffer from a 'two strikes, you're out' pattern, as they experience the fewest chances of all at being hired. The policy implications for recidivism are clear, as being continually denied employment will only enhance the likelihood of reoffending (and, in this case, racial disparity in reoffending).Reisig, Michael D., Kristy Holtfreter and Merry Morash. 2006. 'Assessing Recidivism Risk Across Female Pathways to Crime.'Justice Quarterly 23: 384–405.Female prisoners have lower recidivism rates compared with males. This article tests the predictive validity of a widely used risk assessment instrument, the Level of Service Inventory‐Revised (LSI‐R). By comparing groups of women based on their motivation (economic motivation versus gendered pathways to crime), the authors find that the LSI‐R was able to reliably predict recidivism for women whose offenses were economically motivated. For women whose motivations were gendered (e.g. drug‐connected or harmed/harming women), the LSI‐R's predictions were significantly less successful. This reinforces that women's pathways to crime, and also to reoffending, are influenced by different factors compared with men.Western, Bruce. 2007. Punishment and Inequality in America. Russell Sage Foundation Publications.Westerns' work here summarizes the political causes of the mass incarceration period in American history. The impact of punitive policies of the past several decades has disproportionately targeted poor and minority populations. Similar to Clear's book, Western discusses the impact of mass incarceration on poor minority communities, paying attention to the high likelihood of recidivism for those who reside in and return to such neighborhoods. In addition, he notes the impact of mass incarceration on masking wage disparity between non‐incarcerated Whites and African‐Americans.Online materials National Reentry Resource Center: http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/ Established in 2008 with the passage of the Second Chance Act, the National Reentry Resource Center is a group of the Council of State Governments (CSG). The center recognizes the need to identify policies that work to assist the ever growing number of people leaving prison in transitioning to life outside of prison walls. They provide education, training, and assistance to states that seek to implement re‐entry programs and policies in order to curb recidivism. Prison Policy Initiative: http://www.prisonpolicy.org/ This organization is devoted to studying and presenting research findings on the impact of mass incarceration in individuals, communities, and the nation at large. Their research has helped show, in one example, how mandatory sentencing policies in Massachusetts neglected to protect children from exposure to crime, and additionally perpetuated racial disparity in prison populations (as the policy disproportionately impacted densely populated largely African‐American communities). This American Life Episode 430: Very Tough Love: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio‐archives/episode/430/very‐tough‐love This radio program (approx. 60 min) tells of a drug court in Glynn County, GA. The judge in this court is well known for shouting down defendants, offering the harshest sentences possible, and in some cases imposing indefinite sentences. Such programs not only run contrary to the guiding philosophy of drug courts, but also impact a number of women as noted in the story – one of whom spent over 10 years behind bars and can not find work (due to felon status), all because she was found to have had two off‐prescription pills in her purse. Office of Justice Programs – Reentry: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reentry/ The United States Department of Justice built this page to serve as a portal for news and resources on re‐entry programs organized by the government. This includes programs and policies that emphasize the need for job training and job placement, as well as councils to study effective programs and policies. Links provide access to publications, as well as a list of available resources, opportunities, and programs. The National H.I.R.E. Network: http://www.hirenetwork.org/index.html The H.I.R.E. Network is an organization focused on helping formerly incarcerated offenders find work. Unlike other organizations that focus on developing and implementing programs, H.I.R.E. is closer to a lobbying organization, trying to impact state‐level policy as well as educate the public on matters of re‐entry, recidivism, and the risk current practices pose to communities. Special attention is paid to the disparate racial impact of policies that impact African‐Americans and the communities they reside in. Sample syllabusA sociology course focusing on corrections and punishment should necessarily address issues of inequality. The sample section here specifically addresses inequality found in the outcomes of the corrections system. The Pager article focuses on inequality in hiring potential and discrimination for recent felons (and how it interacts with race). The Wehrman article is an summary of research on how race and sex influence postrelease outcomes, and the probability of recidivism.Topics for lecture and discussion, sociology of corrections and punishmentWeek 8: Inequality in punishment outcomesReadings:Pager, Devah. 2003. 'The Mark of a Criminal Record.'American Journal of Sociology108: 937–75.Wehrman, Michael M. 2011. 'Examining Race and Sex Inequality in Recidivism.'Sociology Compass5(3): 179–89.OptionalFocus questions Given disparate recidivism rates for racial groups, should politicians consider possible policy solutions to reduce recidivism rates in minority populations? Discuss the pros and cons of such targeted policies. What are some means of reducing disparate minority representation in prisons (as a means of reducing disparity in recidivism rates)? Research shows that job opportunities for ex‐felons, who are legally obligated to disclose their status, are few and far between. Should states reconsider forcing felons to disclose their background, or do business owners have the right to knowing who they are hiring? How might the public respond to policy changes that promote successful re‐entry programs, such as furloughs, treatment centers, or employment policies? Which policies might be difficult to implement in light of public opinion? Identify some of the unique factors women experience during and after incarceration compared to men. What can be done to address those factors? Seminar/Project ideaGroup project – develop a re‐entry agencyStudents in this project will develop and present a plan for an agency focused on assisting recently released prisoners. They will use their knowledge to identify risks and needs for specific populations, research effective solutions, and identify potential sources of funding. They will develop programs to help provide solutions to the most pressing needs for prisoners returning to society. Students will present their plans for the program, and respond to questions and critiques of those plans from their classmates.
Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan kansanmusiikin tallentamiseen ja keräämiseen liittyviä ideologioita ja arvovalintoja 1900-luvun alusta 1970-luvulle saakka. Tutkimuksen kohteena on kansanmusiikin tutkimuksen tärkeimmän sotienjälkeisen auktoriteetin, tutkijan ja tallentajan Erkki Ala-Könnin (1911–1996) toiminta. Keskeinen tutkimuskäsite ovat metodologinen nationalismi, kansallinen katse, jolla viitataan tapaan rakentaa käsitystä suomalaisesta kansanmusiikista. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan, miten kansakunnan rakentaminen ja kansallinen katse ohjasivat keruutoimintaa, ja minkälaisia metodologisen nationalismin muotoja arkistokokoelmien keruuseen liittyi. Tutkimuksen näkökulma on oppihistoriallinen; tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, miten kansanmusiikin keruutyö asettui osaksi musiikkitieteen ja kansanmusiikin tutkimuksen oppiaineiden painopisteitä. Erkki Ala-Könnin toiminta nivoutui näiden oppialojen kehittymiseen, ja Ala-Könnin tavalla määritellä kansanmusiikkia on ollut merkittäviä ja edelleen vaikuttavia seurauksia monin tavoin. Se on vaikuttanut muun muassa arkistokokoelmien sisältöihin, kansanmusiikin tutkimukseen, Yleisradion ohjelmapolitiikkaan ja kansanmusiikkitapahtumiin. Tutkimuksen aikarajaus, vuodet 1941–1974, kattaa Ala-Könnin uran hänen ensimmäisestä kansanmusiikin keruumatkastaan professorin arvonimen saamiseen saakka. Tutkittavalla ajanjaksolla kansanmusiikin tutkimus kuului niin sanottuihin kansallisiin tieteisiin, jotka käsittivät myös kotimaisten kielten ja suomen sukukielten, kotimaisen kirjallisuuden, kansatieteen ja folkloristiikan tutkimuksen. Nämä oppialat joutuivat ristipaineeseen sen suhteen, mitä käsitykset kansasta ja kansakunnasta pitivät sisällään ja mitä ne sulkivat ulkopuolelleen. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu haastatteluaineistoista ja Erkki Ala-Könnin keräämien äänitallenteiden sisällysluetteloista. Näitä tarkastellaan laadullisin ja tilastollisin menetelmin. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan kansalliseen katseeseen liittyneitä ihanteita ja kansan käsitteen määrittelyjä toisen tasavallan Suomessa, jolla tarkoitetaan sotien jälkeistä aikaa. Toisen tasavallan Suomen osalta nojataan Pertti Alasuutarin (1996) jaotteluun: moraalitalouden vaiheeseen (sotien jälkeisestä ajasta 1960-luvun puoliväliin) ja suunnittelutalouden vaiheeseen (1960-luvun lopulta 1980-luvun alkupuolelle). Ensimmäisen tasavallan aikana 1917–1944 keruutyöstä vastasivat pääasiassa Ala-Könnin opettajat ja esikuvat, kaksi jälkimmäistä vaihetta ajoittuvat toisen tasavallan Suomeen, eli Ala- Könnin aktiivisen työuran ajalle. Perinteen keräämistä ja tallentamista leimasivat Suomessa 1800-luvulta aina sotien jälkeiseen aikaan asti ihanteet, joissa luku- ja kirjoitustaidoton kansa kuvattiin sivistyneistöön nähden alemmalle tasolle. Ala-Könni noudatti tätä näkemystä aina 1960- luvulle asti ja korosti kansanmusiikin esittäjien nuotinlukutaidottomuutta. Tutkijoiden ja tallentajien mielenkiinto kohdistui ensimmäisen tasavallan aikana itään, mutta sotien jälkeen Itä-Karjala jäi uusien rajojen taakse, ja Ala-Könni kohdensi keruu- työnsä 1940- ja 1950-luvuilla monien muiden perinnetieteiden kentällä toimineiden tutkijoiden tavoin varsinkin Etelä- ja Keski-Pohjanmaalle, talonpoikaiseen Suomeen. Kokoelmat rakensivat kansasta varsin yhtenäistä kuvaa, mutta todellisuudessa kansa ei kuitenkaan ollut 1940-luvun Suomessa niin eheää kuin kokoelmat antavat ymmärtää. Jo yksin sisällissotaa koskeva muistitieto jakoi kansaa kahteen eri leiriin. Ala-Könnin näkemykset muuttuivat ja talonpoikaisen idyllin ihanne alkoi murtua siinä vaiheessa, kun hän aloitti neuvottelut kokoelmiensa siirrosta osaksi Tampereen Yhteiskunnallista Korkeakoulua ennen 1960-luvun puoliväliä. Tähän vaikuttivat Yhteiskunnallisen Korkeakoulun ja sittemmin Tampereen yliopiston sisällä painottuneet sosiologiset virtaukset. Erityisesti nuoremman ikäpolven sosiologit painottivat ristiriitojen tunnistamista osana yhteiskunnallisten ongelmien ratkaisua. Tämä oli selkeä sysäys, jonka myötä Ala-Könnin keruutyö laajeni kaupunkeihin ja huomioi myös sisällissodan molempien osapuolten tulkinnat. Kansanperinteen laitos perustettiin vuonna 1965, ja laitoksen johtajana Ala-Könni järjesteli useita kuntakeruita ympäri Suomen. Valtion kunnille myöntämä aluepoliittinen tuki mahdollisti keruumatkojen kustantamisen ja paikallismuseoiden perustamisen, mitä Ala-Könnin toiminta osaltaan edisti. Keruiden suosion rinnalla yhtenä 1960-luvun lopun uusista yhteiskunnal- lisista ja kulttuurisista liikkeistä nousi myös kansanmusiikkiliike, joka pyrki muun muassa vakiinnuttamaan kansanmusiikin tutkimuksen. Poliittisena tukipylväänä kansan- musiikkiliikkeelle oli Keskustapuolue, jonka ideologisista päämääristä alueellinen hajasijoittaminen ja maaseudun puolesta puhuminen sopivat myös kansanmusiikkiliikkeen päämääriin. Kun kansallinen katse määrittyi vielä ensimmäisen tasavallan aikana poliittisen oikeiston suunnasta, siirtyi se sodan jälkeen kohti poliittista keskustaa. Kansanmusiikkiliikkeen vahvistuessa Ala-Könni ryhtyi myös tukemaan uuden kansanmusiikin sovitus- ja sävellystyötä, mikä mursi aiempaa erontekoa kansan ja sivistyneistön välille. Tilanne ei kuitenkaan ollut edelleenkään joka suhteessa tasa-arvoinen, mikä arkistokokoelmissa näkyy erityisesti naisten, alkuperäisväestön ja vähemmistöjen asemaa tarkasteltaessa. Näitä ryhmiä koskevaa tallennettua aineistoa on vähän, eikä suhtautumista voi pitää nykymittapuilla kulttuurisensitiivisenä. Kansallisen katseen eri kehitysvaiheiden hahmottaminen auttaa Ala-Könnin keräämien aineistojen luonteen ymmärtämistä, niihin liittyvien valintojen tekemistä näkyväksi sekä metodologisen nationalismin osuutta suomalaisessa (kansan)musiikin- tutkimuksessa. Ala-Könnin tallentamia arkistonauhoitteita hyödynnetään aktiivisesti niin tieteellisessä kuin taiteellisessa tutkimuksessa yhä tänä päivänä. Arkistot tarjoavat tärkeää ja ainutkertaista lähdemateriaalia, mutta hankalampaa voi olla hahmottaa, mitä arkistoihin on tallennettu valikoiden tai jätetty tallentamatta. Tutkimuksessani pyrin tuomaan esiin myös näitä arkistojen hiljaisuuksia ja uusia tapoja tarkastella arkistokokoelmia, jotta hiljaisuudet pääsevät paremmin esiin. ; This doctoral dissertation explores the ideologies and guiding principles for the col- lection of traditional folk music in Finland from the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1970s. It focuses on the work of folk music scholar and collector Erkki Ala-Könni (1911–1996), who was a leading authority on Finnish folk music research. It takes its analytical stance from the concept of methodological nationalism, adopting a national gaze to scrutinise how the concept of Finnish folk music was con- structed. The analysis concentrates on how nation-building and a national gaze guided data collection practices and what characteristics of methodological nationalism were involved in the collection of archive materials in Finland. The study is situated within a framework of intellectual history: it examines how the collecting of traditional Finnish folk music was emphasised as a part of musicology and folk music research. Ala-Könni's work intertwined with the development of these disciplines and his conceptualizations about folk music have had a lasting im- pact. For example, they have affected archive collections, folk music research, the music policy of the Finnish Broadcasting Company and folk music events. This study addresses the period from 1941 to 1974, covering Ala-Könni's early career, from his first fieldwork until he received the title of professor. During this period, folk music research was a part of the so-called national disciplines, which also encompassed research on domestic and Finno-Ugric languages, Finnish literature, ethnology and folkloristics. These disciplines were soon in a state of cross-pressure in terms of what the concepts of folk and nation included and excluded. The sources used for this dissertation include interviews and lists of contents for audio recordings compiled by Ala-Könni, which are subjected to qualitative and statistical analyses, respectively. The analyses illuminate the changing ideological foundations of the national gaze and how the definitions of Finnish folk were set during the time that historian Pertti Alasuutari (1996) calls the second republic of Finland. Alasuutari further divides this period into the stage of moral economy (from the end of the Second World War until the mid-1960s) and the stage of planned economy (from the late 1960s until the early 1980s). During the period of the first republic (from 1917, when Finland gained independence, to 1944), the collection work was mainly carried out by Ala-Könni's teachers and mentors, while the two stages comprising the second republic of Finland coincided with his active professional career. From the 19th century until the end of the Second World War, ethnographic collection practices were characterised by ideals that portrayed the illiterate population as inferior compared to the intelligentsia. Ala-Könni followed this view by pointing out musical illiteracy of traditional folk music performers. During the first republic, ethnographers were mainly interested in East Finnish traditions. However, this emphasis shifted when Finnish Eastern Karelia was ceded to the Soviet Union after the Continuation War (1941–1944). Along with many other researchers, Ala- Könni redirected his fieldwork in the 1940s and 1950s to Western Finland, in particular the land-owning rural population of Southern and Central Ostrobothnia. These collection interests gave an image of an apparent coherent population. In reality, however, the population of Finland during the 1940s was not as homogenous as the collections might imply. For example, oral histories relaying the Finnish Civil War separate the population into two camps. The analysis shows that Ala-Könni's views changed over time and that the ideal of a rural idyll started to crumble in the early 1960s, when he began negotiations on transferring his collections to Tampere School of Social Sciences ( Tampereen Yhteiskunnallinen Korkeakoulu , soon thereafter renamed the University of Tampere). This change was driven by sociological trends favoured within the school. In particular, the younger generation of sociologists stressed that acknowledging conflicts should be part of the solution to social problems. This was a clear impetus for Ala- Könni to expand his fieldwork to urban areas and to take both parties of the Finnish Civil War into account. The Department of Folk Tradition was established in 1965, and as head of the department, Ala-Könni organised several fieldwork courses to municipalities all around Finland. Regional policy support, as granted to the municipalities by the State, allowed for the financing of these trips and the establishment of local museums, to which Ala-Könni's activities also contributed. As collecting folk tradition rose in popularity, new movements emerged in the late 1960s, including a folk music movement aimed at establishing the discipline of folk music re- search. A politically supportive structure for this was the Centre Party of Finland, whose objectives of promoting an ideology of regional decentralisation and rural advocacy were in line with the aims of the folk music movement. While the national gaze during the first republic of Finland was highly influenced by the political right, after the war, it was increasingly determined from the political centre. As the folk music movement gained momentum, Ala-Könni supported the work of musical composition and arrangement in contemporary folk music, which tore down the earlier division between the ordinary Finnish people and the intelligentsia. Circumstances, however, were still not equal, and the archive collections show this, especially in examining the status of women, indigenous people and minorities. The amount of the archive material related to these groups is relatively small and, from a contemporary point of view, the attitudes represented cannot be understood as culturally sensitive. Understanding the various stages of the Finnish national gaze is useful for com- prehending the nature of the materials Ala-Könni collected and the role of methodological nationalism in Finnish (folk) music research. The audio samples he recorded are still actively worked with to this day in both academic and artistic research. This dissertation also stresses the importance of studying not only what the archives contain but also how the materials in the collections were chosen and what was left out. Thus, these archival silences, as well as new ways to examine collections so that these silences can be better represented, are also highlighted in this study.
The article examines the principles of elitcreation at the regional level in accordance with the objectives and priorities of the national political science and the specificity of the domestic political process. Identified tendencies of the structure formation of regional elites from both formal and informal institutions advocacy and aggregation of local communities. The aim of the paper is to establish features of the formation and functioning of regional political elites in contemporary Ukraine in the context of political and socialeconomic transformation. By means of structuralfunctional analysis determined that the functioning of regional political elites of contemporary Ukraine as integral units, based on nonpublic bonds, which are not generally associated with political influence or connection to the social and political forces. Mechanisms of regional political elites functioning in modern Ukraine are closely linked to the progress of administrative and territorial division. These tendencies are conceptual discussion about decentralization, and suggestions for increasing regions after administrative reform. However, the basic trend of the regional elites functioning in modern Ukraine have a device as the primary way of interacting with center. Attention of regional political elites to transformation models of politicaladministrative system of Ukraine is low. Regional political elites in modern Ukraine have a number of features of its formation and functioning. The structure of political elites at the regional level conditioned by the economic structure and the influence of business groups. In addition, these groups are not in a relationship of free competition or struggle for spheres of influence, and are in a hierarchical relationship of subordination. The social composition of Ukrainian regional political elites is in the making and is linked to all of the nomenclature and administrative staff of the Regional management of the former USSR. However, after events of 2014 occurs a change of age generations and changing of professional and gender composition of elites. These factors represent regional political elite of Ukraine as a phenomenon that requires deep analysis and attracting new empirical data. Functioning of the regional political elites in Ukraine is based on the existence of local and regional political regimes that reflect the current socioeconomic regionspecific, as well as their priority and importance to the central level. Political and administrative structure of regional political elites substantially corrected by businesses and public organizations. The basic requirement for the operation of regional political elites from the center is handling the overall political situation and socioeconomic development. In these circumstances, the regional political elites grouped around a figurehead, mostly governor or head of the regional council. Interaction with the center and ensure loyalty among regional and local elites on the ruling party and the incumbent president formed a special approach to the operation of regional elites who are in pursuit of selfsufficiency. Loyalty to the center allows to protect their position against a possible removal from the levers of political influence. Social, age and gender structure of the regional political elites provides insight on the relative relevance of these indicators of basic social indicators society. However, democratic principles to ensure gender parity and social mobility through democratic procedures are still in the formative stage. Functioning of the regional political elites, as integral formations, based on nonpublic bonds, which are generally not related to political influence, or due to social and political forces. Improvement of these practices is the foundation of modernization of current regional political elites in Ukraine. Regional political elite in Ukraine is constantly under pressure of the allukrainian political processlevel. This complicates the transformation of regional and local elites to real decision makers for the organization of the relevant areas development. A significant problem for domestic regional elites, in the author's opinion, is the leaching of personnel recruiting local and regional leaders to fill positions at the capital level. ; Стаття розглядає принципи елітотворення на регіональному рівні відповідно до завдань та пріоритетів вітчизняної політичної науки та специфіки політичного процесу. Визначаються тенденції структурування регіональних еліт на основі формальних і неформальних інститутів відстоювання інтересів та агрегування місцевих спільнот. Мета статті: встановлює особливості формування і функціонування регіональних політичних еліт в сучасній Україні в контексті політичних та соціальноекономічних перетворень. Засобами структурнофункціонального аналізу визначено, що функціонування регіональних політичних еліт сучасної України, як цілісних утворень, здійснюється на основі непублічних зв'язків, які, загалом не пов'язані з політичним впливом, або зв'язком з соціальнополітичними силами. Механізми функціонування регіональних політичних еліт в сучасній Україні тісно пов'язані з тенденціями реформування адміністративнотериторіального устрою. Такими тенденціями є концептуальна дискусія щодо децентралізації, а також пропозиції щодо збільшення обсягу регіонів. Водночас базовою тенденцією функціонування регіональних еліт в сучасній Україні є пристосування, як основного способу взаємодії з центром. Увага регіональних політичних еліт до моделей перетворення політикоадміністративного устрою України є низькою. Регіональні політичні еліти в сучасній Україні мають низку особливостей свого формування і функціонування. До складу політичних еліт на рівні регіонів, зумовлених економічною структурою та впливом бізнесгруп. Крім того, зазначені групи не перебувають у відносинах вільної конкуренції або боротьби за сферу впливу, а перебувають у відносинах ієрархічного підпорядкування. Соціальний склад українських регіональних політичних еліт перебуває у стадії формування і до 2014 року був детермінований, передусім, специфікою номенклатурного та адміністративного складу пострадянського регіонального управління. Після «революції гідності» відбувається болісний процес зміни вікових поколінь та зміна професійного і гендерного складу еліт. Ці чинники репрезентують регіональні політичні еліти України як явище, яке потребує глибокого аналізу і залучення нових емпіричних даних. Функціонування сучасних регіональних політичних еліт в Україні відбувається на основі існування місцевих та регіональних політичних режимів, які відображають наявну соціальноекономічну специфіку регіонів, а також пріоритетність і значення їх для центрального рівня. Політикоадміністративний склад регіональних політичних еліт істотно коригується за рахунок представників бізнесу та громадських організацій. Основною вимогою щодо функціонування регіональних політичних еліт з боку центру є керованість загальною політичною ситуацією та соціальноекономічним розвитком регіонів. В цих умовах регіональні політичні еліти групуються навколо однієї провідної постаті, здебільшого губернатора або голови обласної ради. Взаємодія з центром та забезпечення лояльності серед регіональних та місцевих еліт щодо правлячої партії та діючого президента сформували особливі підходи до функціонування регіональних еліт, які полягають у прагненні до самозабезпечення. Лояльність до центру надає можливість убезпечити своє становище від можливого усунення від важелів політичного впливу. Соціальний, віковий та гендерний склад регіональних політичних еліт забезпечує уявлення щодо відносної відповідності цих показників основним соціальним показникам суспільства. Водночас демократичні засади забезпечення гендерного паритету, а також соціальної мобільності за рахунок демократичних процедур ще перебувають на стадії формування. Функціонування регіональних політичних еліт, як цілісних утворень, здійснюється на основі не публічних зв'язків, які загалом не пов'язані з політичним впливом, або зв'язком з соціальнополітичними силами. Покращення цих практик є основою модернізації сучасних регіональних політичних еліт в Україні. Регіональні політичні еліти в Україні постійно перебувають під тиском обставин та процесів загальнодержавного рівня. Це ускладнює перетворення регіональних та місцевих еліт на реальні центри прийняття рішень щодо організації розвитку відповідних територій. Істотною проблемою для вітчизняних регіональних еліт, на думку автора, є вимивання кадрів внаслідок рекрутування місцевих та регіональних лідерів для заміщення посад на столичному рівні. ; Стаття розглядає принципи елітотворення на регіональному рівні відповідно до завдань та пріоритетів вітчизняної політичної науки та специфіки політичного процесу. Визначаються тенденції структурування регіональних еліт на основі формальних і неформальних інститутів відстоювання інтересів та агрегування місцевих спільнот. Мета статті: встановлює особливості формування і функціонування регіональних політичних еліт в сучасній Україні в контексті політичних та соціальноекономічних перетворень. Засобами структурнофункціонального аналізу визначено, що функціонування регіональних політичних еліт сучасної України, як цілісних утворень, здійснюється на основі непублічних зв'язків, які, загалом не пов'язані з політичним впливом, або зв'язком з соціальнополітичними силами. Механізми функціонування регіональних політичних еліт в сучасній Україні тісно пов'язані з тенденціями реформування адміністративнотериторіального устрою. Такими тенденціями є концептуальна дискусія щодо децентралізації, а також пропозиції щодо збільшення обсягу регіонів. Водночас базовою тенденцією функціонування регіональних еліт в сучасній Україні є пристосування, як основного способу взаємодії з центром. Увага регіональних політичних еліт до моделей перетворення політикоадміністративного устрою України є низькою. Регіональні політичні еліти в сучасній Україні мають низку особливостей свого формування і функціонування. До складу політичних еліт на рівні регіонів, зумовлених економічною структурою та впливом бізнесгруп. Крім того, зазначені групи не перебувають у відносинах вільної конкуренції або боротьби за сферу впливу, а перебувають у відносинах ієрархічного підпорядкування. Соціальний склад українських регіональних політичних еліт перебуває у стадії формування і до 2014 року був детермінований, передусім, специфікою номенклатурного та адміністративного складу пострадянського регіонального управління. Після «революції гідності» відбувається болісний процес зміни вікових поколінь та зміна професійного і гендерного складу еліт. Ці чинники репрезентують регіональні політичні еліти України як явище, яке потребує глибокого аналізу і залучення нових емпіричних даних. Функціонування сучасних регіональних політичних еліт в Україні відбувається на основі існування місцевих та регіональних політичних режимів, які відображають наявну соціальноекономічну специфіку регіонів, а також пріоритетність і значення їх для центрального рівня. Політикоадміністративний склад регіональних політичних еліт істотно коригується за рахунок представників бізнесу та громадських організацій. Основною вимогою щодо функціонування регіональних політичних еліт з боку центру є керованість загальною політичною ситуацією та соціальноекономічним розвитком регіонів. В цих умовах регіональні політичні еліти групуються навколо однієї провідної постаті, здебільшого губернатора або голови обласної ради. Взаємодія з центром та забезпечення лояльності серед регіональних та місцевих еліт щодо правлячої партії та діючого президента сформували особливі підходи до функціонування регіональних еліт, які полягають у прагненні до самозабезпечення. Лояльність до центру надає можливість убезпечити своє становище від можливого усунення від важелів політичного впливу. Соціальний, віковий та гендерний склад регіональних політичних еліт забезпечує уявлення щодо відносної відповідності цих показників основним соціальним показникам суспільства. Водночас демократичні засади забезпечення гендерного паритету, а також соціальної мобільності за рахунок демократичних процедур ще перебувають на стадії формування. Функціонування регіональних політичних еліт, як цілісних утворень, здійснюється на основі не публічних зв'язків, які загалом не пов'язані з політичним впливом, або зв'язком з соціальнополітичними силами. Покращення цих практик є основою модернізації сучасних регіональних політичних еліт в Україні. Регіональні політичні еліти в Україні постійно перебувають під тиском обставин та процесів загальнодержавного рівня. Це ускладнює перетворення регіональних та місцевих еліт на реальні центри прийняття рішень щодо організації розвитку відповідних територій. Істотною проблемою для вітчизняних регіональних еліт, на думку автора, є вимивання кадрів внаслідок рекрутування місцевих та регіональних лідерів для заміщення посад на столичному рівні.
Issue 35.5 of the Review for Religious, 1976. ; REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS IS edited by faculty members of St Louis University, the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Braiding, 539 North Grand Boule-vard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, Missouri. Published bimonthly and copyright (~) 1976 by REVlEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Composed, printed, and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $2.00. Subscription U.S.A. and Canada: $7.00 a year; $13.00 for two years; other countries, $8.00 a year, $15.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should be accompanied by check or money order payable to REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Change of address requests should include former address. Daniel F. X. Meenan, S.J. Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Robert Williams, S.J. Jean Read Editor Associate Editor Questions and Answers Editor Book Editor Assistant Editor September 1976 I"olume 35 Number 5 Renewals,-new subscriptions, and changes of address should be sent to REVIEW FOR RELICtOUS; P.O. BOX 6070; Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Correspondence with the editor and the associate editor together with manuscripts and books for review should be sent to REVIEW FOrt REL~CIOt~S; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boule-vard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gailen, S.J.; St. Joseph's College; City Avenue at 54th Street; Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania 19131. The Prayer of Jesus' Paul VI The Holy Father delivered the following address~ in the General Audience of June 14, 1976. The text is taken from Osservatore Roma/to, no. 26 (430), June 24, 1976. In these times, in these days so busy with human events, we are ~till mind- " ful of the spiritual cyclone that Pentecost was for the world and especially for the Church. We turn our thought again to prayer, to its legitimacy, its necessity, its procedure. We are well aware that the study of religions, the study of Christian prayer, the study of human psychology, have dwelt upon this expression of the human spirit. This almost places in a quandary one who, from such a great mass of experiences, customs and literature, wishes to draw a comprehensive and guiding idea,, sufficient for the modern secular man to classify in the summary of a mental index-card that which it is enough to know on this subject, now alien to his empirical and positive mentality. Accepting this imperious simplifying method, we conclude our reflection on prayer with two major propositions. These are: prayer, first, presupposes oft God's side an interest, a listening to the voices addressed to him by man, that is, a "Providence"; and, second, it presupposes on man's side, a hope, an expectation of being satisfied 'and helped. Thus we see that we have, it is true, constructed the essential pattern of prayer, that is, a possible con-versation betweeh man. and God, but that we still know very little, if any-thing, about the validity of this conversation. Is it an imaginary hypothesis, or does it really establish a relationship; a bilateral relationship, a bene-ficial relationship? Meaning of Prayer Well, among the greatest favors tha~t Christianity, faith, nay more Jesus 641 642 / Review lor Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Christ in person, conferred on mankind, there is precisely this real, valid, indispensable, very opportune prayer. Christ established communication between man and God; and this communication, which prevails over all our marvelous modern technical and social communications, has as its first, normal expression, prayer. Praying means communicating with God. Christ is himself this fundamental communication with the manifestation o[ himself. We enter the sanctuary of the exploration of who Christ is, the subject, today still, of tormented and, fundamentally, inevitably negative investigations for those who break with the Chalcedon definition of the one person of the Word, living in two natures, divinerand human (cf. Denz- Schoen. 301-302; Bouyer, Le Fils eternel, 469 ft.); the "bridge," as St. Catherine said (Dial 25, ft.). Jesus himself is the most luminous example of prayer, which, documented in the Gospel, becomes for us the highway to prayer and spiritual life. People who follow him and believe are still tireless students in this school. "By what way can I reach Christ and his message?", a well-known modern Catholic thinker asks himself; and he answers: "there is one very short and simple way: I look into the soul of Jesus as he prays, and 1 believe" (C. Adam, Cristo nostro Fratello, 37, see the fine chapter: "la preghiera di Gesh,"). And likewise the powerful synthesig on the "'Message de Jdsus,'" by L. De Grandmaison, Jdsus Christ, 1I, 347, ft.). Jesus Prays But, how and when did Jesus pray? Oh, how beautiful and instructive an excursion into the Gospel pages would be, picking like wildflowers the almost incidental references to the Lord's prayer! The" evangelist Mark writes: "And rising up long before daybreak, he (Jesus) went out (probably it was Peter's house, at Capharnaum, see V. 29), and departed into a desert place, and there he prayed" (1, 35). See, for example, after the multiplica-tion of the loaves: "And when he had dismissed the crowd, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. And when it was late, he Was alone" (Mt 14, 23). The Lord's prayers, about which the Gospel informs us, would deserve such long meditation. The famous one, for example, in chapter XI of Matthew, which lets us "enter the deepest secret of his life';: "At that time Jesus spoke and said. 'I praise thee Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones' " (verse 25). And what can we say of the prayer that concludes the talks of the Last Supper? "And raising his eyes to heaven, he said, 'Father, the hour has come!~-.Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee', . " We recall it: it is the prayer for unity: "that all may be one" (Jn 17, 21-22). And then the triple groaning, heroic praye~" at Gethsemane, just before the passion: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me! Yet not my will but thine be done" (Lk 22, 42). The Prayer o] Jesus / 643 Union in prayer What a revelation not only of the drama of the Saviour's life, but also of the complexity and depth of human destinies, which even in their most tragic and mysterious expressions can be linked, by means of prayer, to the goodness, the mercy, the salvation deriving from God. Pray, then, like Jesus. Pray intensely. Pray today: always in the con-fident communion that prayer has established between us and the Father. Because it is to a father, it is to the Father that our humble voice is ad-dressed. So let it be, always. .O ¯ . . be silent now and try to listen within yourselves to an inner proclama-tion! The Lord is saying: "Be assured, i am with you" (see Mt 28:20). I am here. he is saying, because this is nay Body! This is the cup of my Blood!'. Yes, he is calling you, each one by. name! The mystery of the Eucharist is, above all, a personal mystery: personal, because of his divine presence-- the presence of Christ, the Word of God made man; personal, because the Eucharist is meant for each of us: for this reason Christ has become living bread, and js multiplied in the sacrament, in order 'to be accessible to every human being who receives him worthily, and who opens to him the door of faith and love. Paul VI to the Eucharistic Congress in L'Osservatore Romano, August 19, 1976, p. 3. Prayer Father Joris,, O.F.M. Father Joris (Heise) has taught scripture at St. Leonard's College in Dayton, has recently completed an as-yet-unpublished translation of the Gospel o] St. Matthew, and regularly contributes Old Testament exegesis to "Homily Helps" published by St. Anthony Messenger: he is presently on detached service in metropoliffan Washington. He usually signs his name simply Joris, in imitation of evangelical simplicity. Prayer is not a thing, not even an action. It is a quality, a dimension of living. Prayer is not the words you say. Jesus says for us togo into our cryptic place, and pray in the dark. He tells us not to say, "Lord, Lord!" He tells us not to go up front and rattle off repetitious or self-centered information. Prayerbooks--we will always have them. The Book of Psalms is the prayerbook, and it is a good one. It has in it litanies and moods and orchestras (Psalm 150); it stiggests common prayer and has some very pri-vate ones that are shared with the world. But no prayerbook is a prayer. Prayer is us, me, when I stop and my soul's face turns to God, when I really edge into desperation and need and joy. Prayer is that quality of openness that happens in response to discovery of newness, whether of pain, of belief, or sharing, or insight--into the real state of things. Prayer is that dimension when the person's bud blooms into a maturity beyond just coping, just drifting. For instance, when I talk with God (talking sort of to "myself) about how to treat some visitors who have complicated my life, really, and no particular answer is ready--that is prayer. When I find myself in a new territory where I do not have an answer at all, and I am waiting for onew that is prayer. When I discover someone else shares a shame or a wonder 644 Prayer / 645 or an interest--that discovering is itself a prayer. That edge-of-truth, like a blade that enters skin, is prayer. Established Prayer (the Pr,ayerbooks of Liturgy and Childhood) I received in the mail recen.tly a "prayerbook" that included many of my childhood prayers and songs: "The Way of the Cross," litanies, prayers to Mary, prayers to "Most Sweet Jesus." It served to remind me of the differences between Prayer and prayers, between the things, called "prayer" pointed to by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and the kind of prayer he thought was right. ,, I think that children need "prayers." They need to hear litanies and to memorize grace at meals. They need to hear the repetitions of Mass prayers, the "Our Father," songs that will be sung over and over as "old favorites." I think that the.child who continues to live inside us throughout our lives--that child--needs to hear old and familiar "prayers" that give us a comfortable feeling, a sense of belonging here to the club of tradition. I think that this set of simple prayers, memorized, repetitious and senti-mental, needs to be accompanied by other non-verbal features: stained-glass windows, incense, vestments, an intonation of authority in the priestly voice, familiar tunes that are even mawkishly sentimental (like some Mary-hymns based on old romatic or drinking songs). But it is essential that we remember that these traditional prayers, as they are done, are done so as to cater to the child-in-us. If these are the only prayers, the only forms of prayer we_ take seriously, then we are not adults who have "turned and become a child again," but rather we are simply immature persons. We never grew up in the first place; we "fixated," to borrow a term from psychological jargon. Furthermore, a person who limits himself to forms that just come close to these, a person not creating his or her. own forms of prayer, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as Jesus warned. They are receiving their reward already: the comfortedness they feel, the sense of belonging, the nurturedness, the peace. These are all qualities, of the drug world, too-- qualities condemned throughout th~ Gospels. It is a false world, a self-centered, self-rewarding form of prayer. It is valid for children and valid to begin with. It is not valid to stay there. It is the validity of blossom that needs the autumn fruit. Conversation ~vith God All of us talk tO ourselves. Sometimes we really talk, in deep conversa-tion, with other people. We reach a stage of conversation that is just more than usual, it means something more than the day-to-day exchange of com-ments. Prayer is that talking--that talking when we have no answer, when our need or, question or wonder or shame or comments form into words but 646 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 without any answer ready,set and cut. Not ~rambling;~on the contrary, the words focus some human matter that is definitely bothering us--or helping us grow. It is a moment when we gather "it" together and say it, not know-ing what the answer is or whether there is an answer. That is prayer--that "talking out" of what is inside of me. It has that quality of truth-which-is-more-than-facts, more than honesty even, because "honesty" is "saying something that is true." This "talking out" is the very creation of truth, the appearance of truth that is discovery of it. Real prayer is the birth of the words of truth--it has been carried inside of oneself, but has not yet come to light. Everybody who matures, 1 think, begins this conversation with God, this phrasing of problems (and expression of wonder and they are often the same thing. They certainly have the same quality.) ~ This kind of prayer-~-these prayers--occur during moments of pause and work, during habitual actions. (like driving, scrubbing, planning jobs, parties, schedules). They touch .significant elements of life as well as little things. (God is interested in it all, of course.) ~The solitary person as well as the very active person can discover to their surprise that they both do the very same thing on the inside--and perhaps spend as much time at it. Some people do it with deliberate advertence to God: the words are ad-dressed to "You, God." (Both the Tevye of Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus used such ~xpressions of direct address--they half, praise God for such good-ness and half-haggle with God about the possibilities of the future.) Other people are officially atheistic. The conversations of such people may, surprisingly, contain references to "God" in the form of cursing or "bad language"; and the surprise is that the very reference indicates the quality of prayer that it really is. I have. known an agnostic administrator-- a Dr. Bill Fitzgerald--whose determination 'and decisions were colored by some kind of "swearing": "By God, . . o " or "Jesus Christ! We're going to . " I studied his habit and noticed that he used these words only in connection with this quality of truth, this edging into a real commitment, this formulating of a communion of the office people so that .action would result. It was a "creation of truth"--and I found it funny that the little '~flag of prayer" was his reference to God. Still others do not connect their serious self-conversations with "re-ligion" or God. But they are prayer, they are real prayer. They are truth emerging and commitment forming. They are care rising into practice. They are small and large crises--listening then for what is the "right thing to do." They are a turning on of the radio to the "station" of God. The very turning on is the listening for God, the words that come to mind are the presence of fresh truth; the coining of the phrases the way the situation appears--is itself the belief in solution, the belief that some intrusion, from somewhere, from Someone, can measure up to the words uttered. Prayer / 647 Into the darkness the words go, and a response is expected that may be beyond words. Such a "conversation" is of God, is prayer. Beyond Conversation with God Years ago, some monk wrote a book titled something like Common Mystical 'Prayer. His point as I recall it, was tO ~.say that "mystical prayer" is far more common than we suppose. I'agree with that monk. Prayer is a quality, a facet, of the good person, it is a habit or even a limb of the good person.In the end, 1 cannot picture a good person without a "side" that is prayer--a side that faces God nor-mally, continuously. Bye that I mean that, besides successful actions~ deliberateness, care, kindness, strength and truth, there is in the good person an attention to what is, right, an internal facing forwards that is nothing else but prayer. By prayer here I mean that quality of a person which is his or her validity-and-awareness, an aliveness that is more than simply living. To be alive is a gift. It happens to every human being born and growing. But prayer is the "choice to live" and the many ramifications of that choice --all the nobility and pain and acceptance which mark the person who is doing more than "suffering through life." In other Words, prayer is as~integral to the good person as blood; as thought, as the electrical charge of all the body's cells. Prayer is the mystery gurrounding someone who is "different" when we cannot quite say why he is different. Prayer is the "reason" for our feeling that this person is mature and that ~person is not; prayer is the quality bf deliberateness that makes some mistakes "all right," but other mistakes are in fact ',guilty" ones. Prayer is the humble honesty of a person who retrieves a mistake or failure, and converts it into a more valuable event than could be thought. Prayer is the, power to make decisions on a basis deeper than the facts would indi, cate, on principles beyond the conflicting, shallower principles of popular debating. Prayer is the way we are--the whole root of, and then reflection on the meaning of the decisions that we make. Prayer is the connection we keep making .between the momentary commitments and the larger ripples--and ultimate results, those commitments which we make in our lifetime and in our world. Prayer is the belief that everything I do has meaning--and mean-ings-- touching far beyond what I can see. And so i need a constant help in doing them. God, of course, is the you for whom this attention, this search for principles, this belief in. value, is done. It is not that we pay attention to a mere "god of tradition" out there. The One we are paying attention to in this silent discourse is our God. We are paying attention to a Mystery, to a quiet source of answers, of truth, to someone who is beyond being just a 648 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 person or a "non-im-personal." T.his "wail" we address with our very self, so often without even any words at all, is God, the very meaning of a god. This is the value-giver, the ultimate, the Final One we "bounce against" at the end. Community, Shared Prayer ~ Without living these previous forms of mature, complex, and human prayer, community-shared prayer is meaningless. When 1 go into a church on Sunday, I find so often that there is so little effort to connect community prayer with these other elements of--- "elemental prayer." No effort at all, sometimes. Such liturgical prayers then are the empty voicing of words, gestures "and pomposity which Jesus condemned so strongly. They are magic and not prayer. They are sleight of mind and hand; but not prayer at all. We have Great Traditions. ' We have the Gathering of People regularly and the wonderful gift of ever-fresh Scripture. We have the hierarchical leadership of order and the application of talents, such as in music. We have all the right elements to comprise a living body of shared prayer. But there is almost a conspiracy to suppress quality, to reduce Prayer to prayers, to eliminate human communication as though that hinders Holy Communion, to supply clich6s instead of truth, to repeat anything that once proved good in the past, without realizing that such a repetition is to freeze and kill prayer that is alive. Shared prayer--contrary to all of this--is the sharing of elemental selves, the gathering of the greatness of our past and pouring it into our present as a "way of life." (Incidentally, I hate "relevancy" as simply a plastic imitation of real prayer. Prayer is relevant, but because it is prayer, not because its ideas or words or stories or music are "relevant:") Shared prayer is the spirit of wonder ("What really does it mean?") at the traditional Scripture. The repetition of the act of Jesus in giving, breaking, blessing the bread needs to be seen as a strange and puzzling thing, a curiosity that makes our minds wonder what is going on. The readings from the Bible become praye~ in the exploration of what it means--not the assurance of what that meaning is. The readings--when read with appro-priate emotional and intellectual sincerity--are themselves prayer and beget prayer. (How tragically often the Bible is read in church with an over-pious tone of voice. The finest reading I heard, 6ver, was a boy of ten who read Genesis, chapter one, as though he was just discovering the whole wonder of how creation has happened.) The community at prayer needs to receive everything as wonder and gift--the words from the past, the songs with their emotional impact, the presence of one another (and the mystery we are to one another). Hassling about ~clothing and place, about whether to stand or sit or kneel, about themes or style--these are distractions, inappropriate, even sinful--is alien Prayer / 649 to the quality which is the prayer of the gathering group of people. Every-thing there is to serve the prayer of the praying persons. The leader of such prayer, the priest, is the uncommon person whose heart and eyes, are as a sponge absorbing the people here. The leader uses the p~ast and the future to focus on these people; this is the nature of his prayer. The leader draws the sacred attention of. all together towards the mystery where all the threads meet, where all the human wants and joys hunger for fulfillment, where all the quests for meaning meet in their com-monness. The persons who enter the praying community on Sunday morning come not just for religious reasons, but for their entire lives and the meanings hunted and mysteries encountered in day-to-day events. They need religious jargon--but only insofar as it enlightens and judges the unfolding of daily ,work and play, of marriage responsibilities and growth, of jobs and adoles-cent children and political choices, andso on. The person of prayer is in the habit of scrutinizing all these things for what they mean--or might mean. In coming together, this person is searching with others to find where they, the ones who pray, are, what they have concluded, how they are cre-ating and finding true directions for living. The coming together becomes a matter of "spirit" when this quest and this finding is perceived in other persons who care and ripen like oneself. Without some "communion" between people in church (not just the leader to each individual, or the past .words to the present--but sideways, one to another), the whole gathering is only partial towards its fulfillment. The facets need to interlock, the side of true prayer in each good person to fit the sides of others. We need one another. We need the surprising side of each other, the edging into revelation that is faith that there is someone worthwhile--someone godly--there. We need to hear the admissions of guilt which this truthfulness so often is. We need to hear the shared needs, the outspoken hungers that are new discOveries. We need to feed one another with a handed-on Bread, the sharing of the single Cup. (This physical act, so rarely seen i~nd' practiced in our churches, is designed [by Jesus, no less] to represent and facilitate the.~ore significant one of hand-ing on our care, our truth towards one another, our passion, interest, in-volvement- our love.) Essential Prayer , Prayer is not a concept. It is even "inconceivable." Prayer is a "person facing." Prayer is a reflectiveness outward. Prayer is a tone of our life, a "how" we look at someth!ng. Prayer is a deliberate meaning towards choices--a meaning not in words, and certainly not a meaning that comes afterwards! Prayer is the meaning I sense for doing something, the ~ood I am when I am about to make a choice. Prayer erupts'into words (but is 650 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 not the words afterwards repeated); it is the developing process (like a photograph) from a need into making a decision that is the "good reason why," as well as the commitmeni itself involved in the ~lecision. Prayer, in other words, is never simply something we do or say: Prayer, rather, is the quality with which we do something, the rootedness and hope-fulness involved in living, our deliberate Jiving. It is the thinking and thank-ing which is our delicate dialogue with our environment and with ourselves. Prayer is facing God as God really is (and not just' some religious, narrow view of God, a religious jargon about God). Prayer presumes an ultimate of truth for some issue I face--and God provides it. Prayer means confronting' this new edge of truth for me, this searching for it and into it, and believing it when it is found. Prayer means involving the best we can do in what we do. Prayer, then, is an "always-freshness" about our lives, a constant ripen-ing towards fruition. Prayer is .my opening to discovery, my lifting up of myself towards exposure of some divine light, my waiting for whatever comes next from God. Prayer is placing myself to wait for what God wants. I ~m black, but comely, daughters o] Jerusalem . . . Do not regard me only as one dark With sin, for there is God-like beauty here. Too easily i'm seen to miss the mark Of all my high resolves, and it is clear That dark 1 will remain. With angry scorn My loved ones gave to me a servant's place Which I have filled, with patient merit borne, A Quie.t joy upon my dusky face, Because I am beloved. Like to the tents of Kedar on the glowing summer sand 1 take from each day's gift the light from whence My shadowed beauty shines. Simply to know I am beloved of Him--this is the band Of golden hope that gives my life its glow. Cornelius Askren P.O. Box 783 Bothell, WA 98011 Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet M. Basil, Pennington, O.C.S.O. Father Pennington is a frequent contributor to these pages. He resides at St. Joseph's Abbey; Spencer, MA 01562. We live in one of the greatest moments in the history of the human race. We live in the Christian era when God has sent his very own Son to bring to us the fullest revelation of his love and his inner life and to share that life with us. We live" in the time of a council, when there is a special out-pouring of grace and light to enable the People of God to achieve a deeper and fuller insight into the Revelation, And certainly the Second Vatican Council was one of the more significant of the twenty Councils which the Lord has granted to his Church in the course of her twenty centuries of life. But over and beyond this, we live in the time of a Second Pentecost. The humble-Vicar of Christ, Pope John XXIII, dared to call upon the Father to send forth the Holy Spirit in that same powerful and unique way in which he did at the birth of Christianity. The Spirit is abroad new, among us as never before, enlivening us and calling us forth to ever fuller life. In a very real sense this is absolutely necessary. For the human family has made such strides forward that .it is only by a greater infusion of the Spirit that the Christian can hope to respond to the many new challenges of our times in a faith-full way. One of the more significant changes for Western civilization, where Christianity largely resides, is the evolution from a conceptual era to an experiential one. Since Gutenberg's wood-_cuts first touched paper, the printed word and the ideas it disseminated more and more dominated Western culture. But in these last decades audiovisuals have led men to seek an ever fuller experience of reality. Technology's success has awakened desires.; its failure to satisfy awakens yet deeper desires. The spirit of man has come alive in a way that now transcends cultures. And the man of the West finds that the stirring within him is the same as that which stirs within 651 652 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 his brothers and sisters in what has sometimes been considered the "primi-tive" culture of the natives of many lands and in the more ancient cultures of the East. The Christian nurtured in this climate is no longer c6ntent to ruminate on truths of dogma to develop motivating thoughts and feelings in an effort towards union with God. He wants to ex.perience God as present, loving and caring. And the Lord seems to be very willing to respond to this aspira-tion which ultimately springs from his providential care of those whom his love has created. I think this is the significance of the widespread charismatic movement. Among those who open themselves to the Spirit of God, he seems to be granting, in what is commonly referred to as the "Baptism of the Spirit," that experience of himself which the classical mystical writers have called a grace of union. ,But not all are attracted to seek the experience of God in the enthusiastic and communicative climate which surrounds most charismatic groups. Many are drawn rather to seek this experience in the quiet of their own inner sanctuary where the Word dwells in his eternal stillness. There is ample evidence of this in the multitude of Christians who are flocking to the masters from the East to learn the methods of Zen and Yogic meditation, especially the Transcendental Meditation taught by Maharishi Mehesh Yogi. Turning to the East A ~:ouple of years ago I had occasion to visit a Ramakrishna temple in Chicago. Here I found twenty-four disciples gatheredaround a relatively young swami. The man was not unusually impressive, but he lived what he taught and spoke out of a~ personal inner experience. His disciples were an impressive group, twenty-two to fifty-five years of age. They expected an-other twenty-four disciples to join them that year and were inaugurating a subsidiary ahsram in nearby Michigan. All twenty-four disciples were from Christian backgrounds. When I asked them what had drawn them to the temple, they invariably answered that they were not able to find anyone in their own Church who was willing to lead them into the deeper ways of the spirit where they could truly experience God. Then they met the swami and he was willing to do that. They still worshipped Christ, but now, un-fortunately, as only one of many incarnations of God. In their search they have somewhat lost their way because there was no Christian master (or, to be: more faithful to our own traditional terminologyi no spiritual father) ready to guide them, sharing with them from the fullness of his own lived experience. Over the years in retreat work I have talked to many, many priests and religious. I have found that in most cases, though not all, in the .seminary or the novitiate they have been taught methods, of prayer and active meditation. In many cases they have also had a course in ascetical and Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet / 653 mystical theology in which they have heard about the various stages of con-templative prayer. Unfortunately they have usually been left with the im-pression or have been actually taught that it is a very rare sort of.thing, usually found only in enclosed monasteries. To seek it is presumptuous. One must plug away faithfully at active meditation and perhaps some day, in the far distant future, after long years of fidelity, God might give one this precious but rare gift of contemplative prayer. In no instance have 4 yet found anyone who had been taught in the seminary or the novitiate a simple method for entering into passive meditation or contemplative prayer. This is sad. Especially in face of the fact that St. Teresa of Avila.had taught that those who were faithful to prayer' could expect in a relatively short time--six months or a year--to be led into a prayer of quiet. Dom Marmion believed that by the end of his novitiate, a religious was usually ready for contemplative prayer. One of the signs that St. John of the Cross pointed to as an indication that one is ready for contemplative prayer is that active meditation no longer works--an experience very many priests and religious do have. Faced with this experience, and ~vith no one showing them how to move on to contemplative prayer, many give up regular prayer. A faithful few plug on, sometimes for years, in making painful meditations that are any-thing but refreshing. Given this state of affairs, it is not surprising that Christians seeking help to enter into the quiet, inner experience of God find little guidance among their priests and religious. If a person desiring, to seek the experience of God. in deep meditation does go to one of the many swamis found in the West today, he or she will be quickly taught a simple method to pursue this goal. "Sit this way. Hold your hands this way. Breathe thus. Say this word in this manner. Do this twice a day for so many minutes." And if the rec'ipient does this, he usually has very good experiences. We can see this~ practice, up to a point, as a good thing. For often, whether the person kno~ws his name or not, he or she is in fact seeking God. And in carrying through this exercise, in devoting mind and heart to,this pursuit, he is actually engaging in a very pure form of prayer. The sad part of it is that his pursuit and his experience, probably of God's very real presence in him in his creative love, is not informed by faith. Sadder still is the fact that, in .not a few cases, grateful recipients, so helped by the swami's meditation-technique, begin to accept from him as well his philoso-phy of life, thus abandoning their Christian heritage. Some of the greater swapnis, such as Swami Satchidinanda and Maharishi Mehesh Yogi, certainly advise against this. But such advice can fall on ears deafened by an almost cultic veneration for a truly' selfless master. These good masters from the East are truly a challenge, whether they intend to be or not, and in more ways than one. For one thing they cer-. tainly remind us that the effective teacher, at least in the area of life-giving 654 / Review lor Religious, VoluJne 35, 1976/5 teaching, must be one who lives what he teaches. For a minister to try to teach the Christian Gospel with its strong bias for the poor' and its way of daily abnegation ("If you would be my disciple, take up your cross daily and come follow me.") and still to be busy pursuing the same pleasures and immediate goals as the wc~rldly'materialist is to condemn himself to a fruit-less ministry. We must teach more by what we are and how we live than by what we say, if we want our hearers to take us seriously. The swamis' response to seekers makes us ask ourselves, are there not in our own Christian tradition some simple methods, some meditation techniques, which we can use to enter into quiet, contemplative union with God? Before responding, I would like .to say, we Christians should not hesitate to make use of the good techniques that our wise friends from the East are offering, if. we find them,' in fact, helpful. As St: Paul said: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's and Christ is God's." Many Chris-tians, in fact, who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to giv~ inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences. But to return to our question: Do we have, in our Christian tradition, simple methods or techniques for entering into contemplative prayer? Yes, we certainly do. The Use of "Technique" First of all, "techniques," methods, are certainly not foreign to the prayer experience of the average Catholic. The rosary is a "technique"-- and certainly not one to be readily discounted. It has led many, many Chris-tians to deep contemplative union with God. The Stations of the Cross are another "techn!que." So are the Ignatian Exercises, which are directly ordered to contemplation. Well enough known in the West today, at least by name and reputation, is the ancient Eastern Christian technique of the "Jesus Prayer." We have, in fact, many Christian techniques. The use of a technique or method in prayer to help us come into con-tact with God present to us, in us, and to bring our whole selves into quiet-ness to enjoy that presence and be refreshed by it, is certainly not, in itself, Pelagian. Mystical theologians have not.hesitated to speak of an "acquired contemplation" (in distinction to "infused contemplation"), a state or experience which the contemplator has taken some part in bringing into being. All prayer is a response to God and begins with him. To deny this would be Pelagian. God's grace is not operative only in infused contemplation. When the little child lisps his "Now I lay me down to sleep . . ." if there is any movementi of faith and love there, any true prayer, grace is present and operative. Every prayer is a response to a movement of grace, whether we are explicitly aware of it or not, whether we conscious!y experience the Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet/ 655 movement, the call, the attraction, or not. God present in us, present all around us, is calling us. to respond to his presence, his love, his caring. We are missing reality if we think otherwise. When we use a technique, a method, to pray, we are doing so because God?s grace, to which we are freely responding, is efficaciously, inviting us to do this. That we have been taught the technique and have responded to the teaching is all his grace at work, inviting us, leading us, guiding us to have a deeper experience of our union with him. That iswhy it takes a certain courage---or foolhardiness--to learn such a technique. For it is, indeed, an invitation from the Lord to enter and abide within. The Prayer of the Cloud Yes, we do have in our Christian tradition simple methods~ "tech-niques," for entering into contemplative prayer, a. prayer of quiet. I would like to share one such method with you, drawn from a little book called The Cloud of Unknowing. This is indeed a.popular book in our time.1 At the time of our author's writing there was a vibrant spirituality alive and widespread in ~the Christian West. The swell had begun with the great Gregorian reform in the eleventh century and the ensuing monastic revival. This was followed by the enthusiasm of the sons of St. Francis and the other mendicant orders. All, even the poorest, the most illiterate, the vil-lainous, were invited to intimacy with the Lord. The fourteenth century was a high tide for the Christian spirit in the West. Unfortunately it would soon enough ebb. With the Reformation, the monastic centers of spiritual life would be swept away by the new currents that flowed through much of Europe. And on the rest of the continent the prosecution of Quietists and Illuminists by an overly zealous and defensive Inquisition would send contemplation to hide fearfully in the corners of a few convents and monasteries. A great movement of the Christian spirit flowed away with the undercurrent, only to surface and return under the impulsion of the mighty .winds of a Second Pentecost, These winds blow across the face of the whole earth. They certainly are not contained by the Church. But the Church, the Christian commuhity, cannot afford to be slow to respond to them: True renewal must begin with each .Christian, respond-ing to the call of the Spirit within, to the call to the center where God dwells, waiting to refresh, revitalize, renew. There is a simple method of entering into contemplative prayer which has been aptly called "centering prayer." The name is inspired by Thomas 1At p.resent the book is available in 'four different paperback editions. The one edited by William Johnston and published by D~ubleday is the best. The author is an un-known English Catholic writer of the fourteenth century. He could hardly have put his name to the work, for all that it teaches belongs to the common heritage of the Christian c~mmunity. 656 / Review Ior, Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Merton. In his writings he stressed that the only way to come into contact with the living God is to go to'one's center and from there pass into God. This is the way the author of The Cloud of Unknowing would lead us, although his imagery is somewhat different. The simple method he teaches really belongs to the. common heritage of man. I remember on one occasion describing it to a teacher of Tran-scendental Meditation. He repli,ed, "Why, that's TMo" I could not agree with him. There are very significant differences, but perhaps it takes faith really to perceive them. I can also remember, when I was in Greece a. couple of years ago, finding a Greek translation of The Cloud. The late Orthodox Archbishop of Corinth had written the Introduction. In it he stated that this was the work of an unknown fourteenth-century, English, Orthodox writer. He was certain it belonged to his own Christian tradition. If one reads The Cloud of Unknowing on his own, as perhaps many of my readers have, he is not apt effectively to draw from the text the simple technique the author offers. This is not to be wondered at. One would have the same experience reading books on the "Jesus Prayer." As the spiritual fathers on Mount Athos pointed out to me, no spiritual father would seek to teach this method of prayer by a book~ It is meant to be handed on per-sonally, through a tradition. The writings are but to support the learner in his experience and help him place the practice in the full context of his life. This, too, I believe is the case with The Cloud o] Unknowing. Simply read-ing it will not usually teach the method. And so let me try to spell out the "technique" of The Cloud of Un-knowing quite concretely, adding some practical advice and explanation. To do this I would like to sum up the method in three rules. Posture and Relaxation But "first let me say a word about posture. Some wonderful ways of sitting have come to us from the East. They are ideal for meditation. But unless we are 10ng practiced, and in most cases, have gotten an early start, our muscles and bones do not too readily adapt° themse.lves to these pos-tures. I think for most of us Westerners the best posture for prayer is to be comfortably settled in a good chair--one that gives firm support to the back, but at the same time is not too hard or stiff. As the author of The Cloud says, "Simply sit relaxed and quiet . " Most imprrtant, the body should be relaxed. When our Lord said, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you," he meant the whole man, body, soul and spirit--not just the spirit. But the body is not apt to be refreshed if we begin the prayer physically tense. Settling down in our chair ahd "letting go," letting the chair fully support the body, is sacramental of what is to take place in the prayer. In centering prayer we settle in God, "let ourselves go," let him fully support us, rest us, refresh us. Centering Prayer--Prayer o] Quiet / 657 Posture and relaxation-are important. It is good, too, if we close our eyes during this prayer.: The more we can gently eliminate outside distur-bances the better. That is why it is good, if possible, to make this prayer in a quiet place, a place apart, though this is not essential. More important is it that it be a situation in which we will not be disturbed in the course of the meditation. Quiet will usually be found helpful. Psychologically, also, it is experienced as helpful if one has a sort of special place for meditation--a place apart, even though "apart" may be only a corner of a room where there is a presence sacramentalized in Bible, icon or sacred image, and the going apart simply involves swinging around in our chair from desk to shrine. The physical set-up and the bodily movement itself reinforce the sense of passing now from the frenetic activities of the day to a deeper state of prayerful rest and divine refreshment. Three Rules the But now let us get on with the "rules" for entering into centering prayer, prayer of quiet, contemplation. Rule One: At the beginizing o] the prayer we take a minute or two to quiet down and then move in ]aith to God dwelling .in our depths; attd at the end oI the' prayer we take several minutes to come out, mentally praying the "Our Father." Once we are settled down in our chair and relaxed, we enter into a short period of silence, Sixty seconds can initially seem like a long time when we are doing nothing and are used to being constantly on the go. Better to take a little more time rather than less. Then we move in faith to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwelling in creative love in the depths of our being. This is the whole essence of the prayer. "Center all your attention and desire on him and let this be the sole concern of your mind and heart" (The Cloud oI Unknowing, c.3). Faith moving towards its Object is hope and love--this is the whole of the theological, the Christian life. All the rest of the method is simply a means to enable us to abide quietly in this center, and to allow our whole being to share in this refreshing contact with its Source. Faith is fundamental for this prayer, as for any prayer. We will have no desire to enter into union and communion, to pray, if we do not have at least some glimmer in faith of the all-Lovable, the all,Desirable. But it is more especially a "wonderfUl work of love," a °response to him who is known, by living faith. -"It is true, some techniques like Zen call for keeping the eyes open. But these are usually effortful techniques. This method, however, is effortless; it is a letting go. "It is simply a spontaneous desire, springing from God . . ." (The Cloud, c.4). 658 / Review [or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 The Inner Presence When God. makes things, he does not just put them together and toss them out there, to let them fly along in his creation. "One is good--God.'':~ And One'is true, and beautiful, and all ':being--our God. And everything else is only insofar as it here and now actively participates in him and shares his :being. At every moment God is intimately present to each and every particle of his creation, sharing with it, in creative love, his very own being. And so, if we really see this paper, we do not just see the paper, but we see God bringing it into being and sustaining it in being. We perceive the divine presence. If this i~ true of all the other elements, how much more true is it for the greatest of God's creation: man, made to his own image and likeness. When we go to our depths we find not only the image of God, but God himself, bringing us forth in his creative love. We go to our center and pass from there into the present God. Yet there is still something even more wonderful here for the Christian. We have been baptized into Christ. We are in some very real, though mysteri-ous way, Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me." As we go to the depths, we realize in faith our identity with Christ the Son. Even now, .with him and in him, we comeforth from the Father in eternal generation, and return to the Father in that perfect Love which is the Holy Spirit. What prayer! This is really beyond adequate conception. Yet our faith°tells us it is so. It is part of that whole reality that revelation has opened up to us. And it is for us to take possession of it. We have been made sharers in the divine nature by baptism. We have been given the gi]t of the Holy Spirit. We have but to enter into what is ours, what we truly are. And that is what we do in this prayer. In a movement of faith that is hope and love, we go to the center and turn ourselves bver to God in a simple being there, in a presence that is perfect and complete .adoration, response, love, an "Amen" to that movement that we are in the Son to the Father. This is what St. Paul was talking about when he said, "We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself prays for us . " Coming Out 'of Contemplation In this prayer we go .very deep into ourselves. Some speak of a fourth state of consciousness, a state beyond waking, sleeping or dreaming states. Tests have shown that meditators do achieve a state of rest which is deeper than that attained in sleep. We do not want to come out of contemplative prayer in a jarring way. Rather we want to bring its deep peace into the whole of our life. That is why it is prescribed that we take several minutes :~See Mt 19, 17. Centering Prayer Prayer o] Quiet / 659 ~zoming out, moving from the level ot~ deep, self, forgetful contemplation to silent awareness and then a conscious interior prayer, before moving further into full activity. When the time we have determined to pray is over, we stop using the prayer word we have chosen," savor the silence, the Presence, for a bit, and then begin interiorly to pray the "Our Father." I suggest saying the "Our Father." It is a perfect prayer, taught us by the Lord himself. We gently let the successive phrases come to mind. We savor' them, enter into them. What matter if in fact it takes a good while. It is a beginning of letting our contemplative prayer flow out into the rest of our live~. A Valuable Asceticism I strongly recommend two periods of contemplative prayer in the course of a day. It introduces into our day a good rhythm: a period of deep rest and refreshment in the Lord flowing out into eight or ten hours of fruitful activity, and then anotho: period of renewal to carry us through (what is for almost everyone today) a long evening of activity. This is certainly much better than trying to base sixteen hours of activity on the morning prayer. Twenty minutes seems to be a good period to start with. Less tharl this hardly gives, one a chance to get fully into the prayer and be wholly re-freshed. Some will feel themselves drawn to extend the period to twenty-five or thirty minutes or perhaps thirty-five. On a day of retreat or when we are sick in bed, and our activity is curtailed, we can easily add more periods of .contemplative prayer. This might be better than prolonging individual periods. Those who are generally living a contemplative life'may find somewhat longer periods helpful. For most of. us, the real asceticism of this form ot~ prayer comes in scheduling into*our daily life two periods for it. Once we are going full steam, it is difficult to stop, drop everything, go apart and simply be to the Lord. And yet there is a tremendous value ,here. All of us theoretically subscribe to the theme, "Unless the Lord build the house, in vain the masons toil." But in practice most of us work as though God could not possibly get things done if we did not do them for him.The fact is there is nothing that we :are doing that God could not raise up a stone in the field to do for him. The realization of this puts us in our true place. Though, lest we do get too defeated by such a realization, let me hastento add that there is one thing that we alone can give God-- our personal love. The very God of heaven and earth wants, and needs because he wants, our personal love. And if, while we pray, someone 'has to wait at our door, for ten or fifteen minutes, he will probably learn a lot about prayer while he waits-- certainly more than if he were inside listening to us talk about prayer. 4See below, under Rule 2. 660 / Review Ior Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Actions speak louder than words. Those around us will not fail to notice, even though we might prefer they would not, when we begin to give prayer prime time in our busy lives. Rule Two: Alter resting ]or a bit ~it~ the center in ]aith-lull love, we take up a single simple word that expresses this response attd begiu to let it repeat itsel] within. As the author of The Cloud puts it: "If you want to gather all your desire into one simple word that the mind can easily retain, choose a short word rather than a long one. A one-syllable word such as 'God'. or 'love' is best. But choose one that is meaningful to you. Then fix it in your mind so that it will remain there, come what may . Be careful in this work and never strain your mind or imagination, for truly you will not succeed in this way. Leave these faculties at peace" (c.4,7). What we are concerned with here is a simple, effortless prolongation ~'or abiding in the act of faith--love--presence. This is so simple, so effort-less, so restful, that it is a bit subtle and so needs some explanation. A spiritual act is an instantaneous act, an act without time, "The will needs only this brief fraction of a moment to move toward the object of its desires" (The Cloud, c.4). As soon as we move in love to God present in our depths, we are there. There a perfect prayer of adoration, love and presence is. And we simply want to remain there and be what we are: Christ responding to the Father in perfect Love, the Holy Spirit. To facilitate our abiding quietly there, and to bring our whole being as much as 'possible to rest in this abiding, after a brief experience of silent presence we take up a single~ simple word that expresses for us our faith-love movement. We have seen that the author of The Cloud suggests such words as "God" or "love." A word in the vocative case seems usually to be best. We begin very simply to let this word repeat itself within us. We let it take its own pace, louder or softer, faster or slower; it may even drift off into silence. "It is best'when this word is wholly interior without a definite thought or actual sound" (The Cloud o[ Unknowing, c. 4). We might think of it as though the Lord himself, present in our depths, were quietly repeating his own name, evoking his presence and very gently summoning us to an attentive response. We are quite passive. We let it happen. "Let this little word represent to you God .in all his fullness and 'nothing less than the fullness of God. Let nothing except God hold sway in your mind and heart" (The Cloud, c.4). The subtle thing here is the effortlessness. We are so .used to being effortful. We are a people out to succeed, to accomplish, to do. It is hard for us to ',let go" and let God do. Yet we have but to let go and let it be done unto us according to his revealed Word. The temptation for us is to change the quiet mental repetition of the prayer-word (which simply pro-longs a state of being-present) into an effortfui repetition of an ejaculation Centering Prayer Prayer ol Quiet / 661 and to use it energetically to knock out any thoughts or "distractions" that come along.' This brings us to our third rule. Rule Three: Whenever in the course o[ the prayer we become aware o] any-thing else, we simply gently return to the prayer word. I want to underline that word aware. Unfortunately we are not able to turn off our minds and imaginations by the flick of a switch. Thoughts and images keep coming in a steady stream. "No sooner has a man turned toward God in love when through human frailty he finds himself distracted by the remembrance of some created thing or some daily care. But no matter. No harm done: For such a person quickly returns to deep recollec-tion" (The Cloud, c.4), In this.prayer we go below the thoughts and images offered by the mind and imagination. But at times they will grab at our attention and try to draw it away from the restful Presence. This is so because thoughts or images refer to something that has a hold on us, something wefear, or desire, or are in some other way intensely involved with. When we become aware of these thoughts, if we continue to dwell on them, we leave our prayer and become involved again in tensions. But if, at the moment we become aware, we simply, gently, return to our prayer-word (thus implicitly renewing our act of presence in faith-full .love), the thought or image with its attendant tension will be released and flow out of our awareness. And we will come into a greater freedom and peace that will remain with us after our prayer is ended. Should some thought go on annoying you demanding to know what you are doing, answer with this one word alone. If your mind begins to intellectualize over the meaning and connotation of this little word, remind yourself that its value lies in its simplicity. Do this and I assure you these thoughts will vanish (The Cloud o! Unknowing, c.7). We can see how pure this prayer is. In active forms of prayer we use thoughts and images as sacramentals and means for reaching out to God. In this prayer we go beyond them, we leave them behind, as we go to .God himself abiding in our depths. It is a very pure act of faith. Perhaps in this prayer we will for the first time really act in pure faith. So often our faith is leaning on the concepts and images of faith. Here we go beyond them to the Object' himself of faith, leaving all the concepts and images behind. We can see, too, how Christian this prayer is. For we truly die to our-selves, our more superficial selves, the level of our thoughts, images and feelings in order to live to Christ, to enter into our Christ-being in the depths. We "die" to all our thoughts arid imaginings, no matter how beau-tiful they may be or how useful they might seem. We leave them all be-hind, for we want immediate contact with God himself, and not some thought, image or vision of him-~only the faith-experience of himself. "You are to concern yourself with no creature, whether material or spiri- 662 / Review 1or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 tual, nor with their situation or doings, whether good or ill. To put it briefly, during this work you must abandon them all" (The Cloud o[ Un-knowing, c.5). "By Their Fruils . . ." There is another consequence of this transcending of thought and image. This prayer cannot be judged in itself. As it goes beyond thought, beyond image, there is nothing left by which to judge it. In active medita-tion, at the end of the prayer we can make some iudgments: "I had some good thoughts, I felt some good affections, I had lots of distractions, and so forth." But all that is irrelevant to this prayer, If we have rots of thoughts--good, lots of tension is being released; if we have few thoughts --good, there was no need for them. The same for feelings, images, and more. All these are purely accidental; they do not touch the essence of the prayer, which goes on in all its purity, whether these be present or not. There i~ nothing left by which to judge the prayer in itself. If we simply follow the three rules, the prayer is always good, no matter what we think or feel. There is, however, one way in which the goodness of this pra)Ter is con-firmed for us. Our Lord has said, "You can judge a tree by its fruits." If we are faithful to this form of prayer, making it a regular part of our day, we very quickly come to discern--and often others discern it even more quickly--the maturing in our lives of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, benignity, kindness, gentleness--all the fruits of the Spirit. I have experienced this in my own life and I have seen this again and again in the lives of others, sometimes in a most remarkable way. What happens, ¯ the way the Spirit seems to bring this about, is that in this prayer we experi-ence not only our oneness with God in Christ, but also our oneness with all the rest of the Body of Christ, and indeed with the whole of creation, in God's creative love and sharing of being. Thus we begin, connaturally as it were, to experience the presence of God in all things, the presence of Christ in each person we meet. Moreover, we sense a oneness with them. From this ~flows a true compassion--a "feeling-with." This contemplative prayer, far from removing us from others, makes us live more and more conscious of our oneness with them. Love, kindness, gentleness, patience grow. Joy and peace, too, in the pervasive presence of God's caring love in all. Not only does contemplative prayer help us to take possession of our real transcendent relationship with God in Christ, but also of our real relationship with each and every person in Christ. 'Charismatic Spirituality and. the Catechist Johannes Ho[inger, S.J. Father Hofinger is well known for his work and writing in the field of catechetics. He resides at the Center of Jesus the Lord~; 1236 N. Rampart St.; New Orleans, LA 70116. The true value of any ramification of Christian spirituality must always be judged according to its potential of leading to authentic union with God in a life lived according to God's saving plan. Some valuable side-effects or some partial aspects of this basic criterion cannot ultimately determine the worth of a given spirituality. But good side-effects, too, have their value and deserve to be properly estimated, of course always in the light of the cen-tral aim: an ever closer union with God. With this in mind it may be worthwhile to ask what charismatic spiritu-ality can contribute to a fruitful-engagement in the apostolate of catechetics. A large percentage of religious serve the Kingdom of God in one or other activity'involving religious education. A continuously growing number of them also participate in charismatic prayer meetings. Thus the question may well arise: what can authentic charismatic spirituality contribute to their cate-chetical apostolate?. How can genuine charismatic spirituality dispose them to become ever more perfectly what Christ expects of them if they are to proclaim with him the Good News of God's saving love.? No one would say that all who regularly participate in charismatic prayer meetings have therefore grasped genuine charismatic spirituality and really live it, just as no one would contend that all who live in Jesuit communities have grasped and really live genuine Jesuit spirituality. Be-cause of this, it is definitely meaningful to make explicit inquiry into the apostolic values of the spirituality of Jesuits---or of charismatics. 663 664 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 The Pentecostal Origin of Christian Catechesis Before entering into an analysis of charismatic spirituality and its potential for the catechetical apostolate, it may be worthwhile to remember the pentecostal origin of Christian catechesis. The New Testament is very explicit in this regard. True, all gospels mention how, even before Pente-cost, Christ had commissioned his disciples to preach the Good News in his name, but John (14, 15-17) and Luke (24, 49; Ac 1, 8) insist that Christ explicitly promised them the indispensable assistance of the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill their difficult task. In Acts 2 we are given a detailed report as to how the first powerful proclamation of the Good News started with Pentecost. It may truly be said, then, that Christ formed his first messengers through the Holy Spirit. The catechesis of the primitive Church was plainly charismatic in character. To this historical fact Acts and the epistles of the apostles give irrefutable testimony. The starting point of the original evangelization is the pentecostal experience of the life and exaltation of the risen Christ, the emphatic proclamation that he is Lord. "All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that it is this Jesus, whom you nailed to the cross, that God has made Lord and Messiah" (Ac 2, 36). This experience of the apostles was so overwhelming that they could simply not cease to speak of what they had seen and heard (see Ac 4, 20). The extraordinary results of this apostolic preaching were not due to any particular method, but to the religious depth of their charismatic ex-perience and the power of the Holy Spirit which accompanied it. "When I came to you," St. Paul reminded the Corinthians, "I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not de-livered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit. Your faith, then, does not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Co 2, 3-5. See also Ga 3, 1-5). Is there any indication in the Scriptures or in ecclesial tradition that God later on wanted to lose the original intimate connection of charismatic experience and the proclamation of his Good News? What does the testi-mony of history tell us about the spirituality of the most outstanding heralds of the Gospel throughout all the centuries? Surrender to Christ Even a good number of charismatics may not be sufficiently aware of what constitutes the basic charismatic experience. They may overrate some valuable, particular gift such as prophecies, healing, or the gift of speaking or singing in tongues, and not see these particular gifts clearly enough against the background of the much more' fundamental gift which consists in the total surrender to Christ under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. Surely we cannot blame the Scriptures for such misunderstandings. Although they were showered with the particular gifts we have just men- Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 665 tioned, the e.mphasis of the primitive Church and of its leaders rested unequivocally upon the overwhelming experience they had of God's saving power and love as experienced in their Spirit-given encounter with Christ the Lord and Savior. This holds good not only for the very first disciples who personally have seen and heard the risen Christ, but also for the others who, on the word of the apostles, believed in Christ and accepted him as the Lord of their lives. The original preaching of the Gospel was the enthusiastic proclama-tion of God's saving power with the Christ-event at its very center. "It is the.Good News," St. Paul wrote to the Romans: "I preach, the message about Jesus Christ . . . the secret truth which was hidden for long ages in the past. Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open" (Ro 16, 25f). It is "a message that is'offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called . . . this message is Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Co 1, 23f). The effect which this faith-surrender to Christ should have on our lives is perhaps nowhere described as impressively as in the writings of St. Paul. In Chapter 3 of his letter to the Philippians--his favorite Christian com-munity- he described the first impact of this surrender to Christ as he experienced it in his own life. After his encounter with Christ (which was real, but definitely charismatic in character) he says, "All things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss, for Christ's sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything ~s complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so'that--I might gain Christ, and be completely united with him . All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power.of his resurrection; to share in his sufferings and to become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life" (Ph 3, 7-11 ). St. Paul leaves no doubt that he .expects a similar Christ experience in the lives of all His friends. Significantly he concludes this passage of his epistle with the remark: All of us who are spiritually mature should have this attitude . Keep on imitating me, my brothers. We have set the right example, for you, so pay attention to those who follow it" (Ph 3, 15-17). Admittedly every surrender to Christ isn't always charismatic to this same degree. The impulse of the Holy Spirit that leads to it is not always experienced with the same awareness and depth of experience that was Paul's. But any true surrender to Christ is in fact always the result of the impulse of the Spirit. "No one can confess 'Jesus is Lord' unless he is guided by the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Co 12, 3). . What is important here is simply this. On the one hand we know that genuine Pentecostalism, as we find it at the beginning of Christianity, has the surrender to Christ as its fundamental experience. On the other hand, we all agree that authentic catechetical activity continues the preaching 666 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 of the Apostles; thus, it, too, must have Christ as its center and it, too, must communicate an existential knowledge of Christ that leads to a life of union with Christ the Lord'. What does this mean for the spiritual life of the religion-teacher him- .self? Must he not first himself live in an exemplary way what he teaches others? Could not the charismatic renewal bring him the spiritual encounter with Christ which is indispensable for his catechetical apostolate? Herald of the Good News The first "Pentecostals" were also the first catechists of the early Church. Although Christ had commissioned the Twelve with the proclama-tion of the Good News, and although they must have been aware of their apostolic obligation, there is nothing to indicate that their preaching was primarily the discharge of an incumbent task, but was rather the spontane-ous consequence of their overwhelming experience of God's saving power. Their own deep and joyful experience simply compelled them to com-municate their own spiritual riches. In the pentecostal movement of our times there is question again of a very similar experience. Whatever one may think of this movement, it is impossible to deny the fact of its tremendous evangelizing power which results from the experience of God's forgiving love. For various reasons the pentecostal experience may not always be equally sotind, but we should not overlook its unusual power of communication. Fundamentally it is the joyful experience of liberation and salvation through the undeserved love of God. Fcr a long time we did not stress enough in Catholic catechetics and homiletics the essentially joyful character of God's message which, by its very nature, is the "gospel," the "Good Tidings." The way, for example, that the message was presented for a long time in the Baltimore Catechism surely did not do justice to the "evangelic" character of God's saving mes-sage. Sorry to say, very few priests and even bishops noticed that some-thing was wrong. The kerygmatic renewal of the late 50's and early 60's opened our eyes; yet there was still much to be desired. All too many re-ligion teachers considered kerygmatics only as a new "method," and did not even grasp its basic point. What kerygmatics intended before all else was a new religious attitude on the part of the teacher himself, not simply a change of textbooks. The teacher of religion is called to proclaim. God's message as Good News. But he cannot do this properly if he has not first in his own life experienced the Christian religion as a liberating power and as the source of deep, interior peace and joy. As long as Christianity for the teacher of religion ,means primarily a matter of inescapable duty or a complex of "good and venerable traditions" which, after all, still deserve to be kept, he will never become a true "evangelizer." His message may be correct, but Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 667 it will not be the "Gospel" which God intended to be given to his beloved children. It would be naive to think that only within the charismatic renewal of our times can the Christian message and Christian life be experienced as the source and guarantee of deep and lasting joy., But it is sufficient ,for our purpose here simply to show that authentic charismatic renewal can make a valid and powerful contribution in this regard. Catechetical and Religious Concentration Before Vatican II Catholic preaching and religious observance often suffered from a deplorable lack of concentration on the essentials, a fact which caused real scandal to our fellow-Christians. That devotional themes, often presented in a sentimental way, could for so long a~ time hold a preferential position .before essential themes, such as the meaning of the Holy Spirit, of true conversion and justice--and this even in the priestly catechesis in the course of the Eucharist--was a fact which clamored for correction. This is not the place to demonstrate how much the Council was aware of this shortcoming, and how it tried to remedy it (see, e,g., J. Hofinger, Our Message is Christ/Notre Dame, Fides, 1974; pp. 6-8). Preconciliar religion teachers (priests, religious, and lay-teachers alike) were usually very cohcerned about the orthodoxy of their teaching. Their c6ncern resulted from the conviction that, in the teaching of religion, the teacher is acting as a messenger of. God whose saving word must be faith-fully transmitted from generation to generation without any falsification. (In fact, we religion teachers of today could learn much from our predeces-sors and their concern to be faithful messengers of God!) But, while giving full credit to the validity of this concern, we might also mention that authentic orthodoxy in the messenger was often understood in much too narrow a way. In order to transmit a given message correctly and faithfully, it is not endugh merely to avoid particular statements which contradict the original message. A faithful messenger must also concentrate upon the central idea of the message that is given to him. He must make sure that all who listen to him grasp at least the main message and act accordingly. Secondary e~lements must be relegated to the peril0hery, or even .omitted altogether in circumstances in which the solid presentation of the more important ele-ments might demand it. Teachers of religion who speak more about the Little Flower or about Fatima than they do about the Holy Spirit are not heretics in the technical sense. But they do commit, objectively, a serious fault against one indispensable element of' their role as conscientious messengers. Historical studies of the last thirty years have proven convincingly that the. evangelization of the early Church excelled in its concentration upon the core of the Christian message. In our times, we might almost be 668 / Review lor Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 shocked by this resolute concentration, putting, as it does, its whole empha-sis on the core, while it remains surprisingly broad-minded in treating of the rest. The early catechesis forcefully proclaimed God's saving love "now," in the fullness of time, offered to everyone who accepts this love and believes in~.Christ the Lord and Savior. The center of the original message was, beyond any doubt, the Christ-event: tile exaltation of Christ crucified as the Lord of all. It is a joyful message of salvation, but it de-mands a thorough change of life. Ih the name of his Heavenly Father, the risen Christ calls his beloved brothers and sisters to a new life; he fills them with his Spirit; he unites them with himself in a communion .of life and love. The charismatic renewal has as its special purpose a ~horough renova-tion of Christian faith and Christian life in the spirit of its origins. Catholic charismatics are sufficiently aware that we cannot simply copy the primitive Church. Mere .pristine returns never work in history. But from the spirit of the early Church we can all learn. In dealing with the renewal of religious life, th~ Council rightly insisted that authentic renewal in a religious community must be characterized by the revival of the original spirit of the particular institute. This principle is equally valid for any authentic renewal in the Church as a whole. And the return to the original spirit of Pentecost and of the early Church includes, as one of its main points, a healthy concentration upon the essentials of both the Christian mes-sage- and the Christian life. Charismatic renewal in our times has under-stood this, and so has resulted in a noticeable improvement among its adherents precisely in this regard. It is only realistic to note the fact that many of our most dedicated religion teachers come from those segments of the Christian people who were deeply influenced by the earlier, more devotional approach to re-ligion. These individuals often excel in their abundance of good will. But, at the same time, in their spiritual life they lack this necessary concentra-tion which, thus, was also lacking in their catechetical activities. It is en-tirely possible that participation in one or other solid charismatic p~:ayer group could help them to develop still more what was best in their earlier experience and, at the'same time, introduce into their lives and into their teaching the concentration that is so necessary to any life of faith and of apostolate. Importance of Prayer and Religious Experience The concentration that characterized evangelization and life in the early Church was not the product of professional theological reflection, but rather the result of God's gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring was received in a situation of personal encounter with God expressed, above all, in prayer. The Pentecostal experience, throughout, was distinguished by exuberant and powerful religious emotions, but 'not in Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 669 the sense of a purposeless emotionalism in which emotions figured as ends in themselves. Rather the experience was the result of their vivid aware-ness of our Lord's presence among them and of their astonishment about the marvels God had accomplished in their midst (see Ac 2:11 ). The Acts and all the epistles of the canon present" in this regard a similar picture. Apostolic preaching and apostolic ministry'was not geared to the cultivation of exuberant but irrational emotions. Rather they were geared to the implantation of faith in the sense of an unconditional accept-ance. of the gospel which was then, under the guidance of the Spirit, to lead to an authentic r61igious experience with profound and vigorou.s emotions. Whenever it came to the point of an overflow of emotions, the Apostles insisted upon the necessity of discernment and balance (see, for example, 1 Co 12:3; 14:23, 33; 1 Th 5:19-22). The pentecostal movement of our century must be understood as a re-action against a one-sided rational approach to religion; one which did not do iustice to its emotional side. In this reaction, the movement may at times have expressed itself exaggeratedly in the opposite direction. Still, overall, it would be easy to show that Catholic charismatics have moved toward a sound balance of religious insight, commitment and sentiment just as they have also demonstrated an awareness of their Catholic identity, keeping themselves open to the recommendations and warnings of. the best Catholic spiritual traditions. Even in cases where groups have yet to reach this de-sired balance, we still have to acknowledge their valuable contribution to religious renewal in bringing so many people to a new appreciation and practice of genuine prayer, and through their insistence on more spontaneity in the expression of religious conviction and sentiments. The significance of this contribution for catechetics becomes immedi-ately evident as soon ~as we try to evaluate it against the backg~:ound of our present catechetical situation. An impartial assessment o1~ this present situa-tion would disclose an unprecedentedly low general interest in religion, which stems primarily from our present culture with its secularized outlook on life. In this kind of situation, we need a powerful catechetical movement, one which insists above all on a new awareness of God in life, one which helps those affected to encounter God again in a very existential way. Yet, in fact, we have to admit that the catechetics of the past ten years have more and more stressed the merely human aspects of religious education, that catechetics have quite often favored a secularized outlook on life in-stead of a genuinely religious approach to it. Misled by a wrong interpreta-tion of God's immanence in his world, teachers of religion today seem.to be inclined to content themselves more and more with the "discovery" of inner-worldly values and with a proper use of such values in life without ascending from them to God, to a personal encounter with God in genuine prayer. Thus, catechetics in the past ten years may often have neglected, the 670 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 vertical dimension in the process of religious education, but they have surely not neglected at ail to stress the great importance of spontaneity, of gen-uine human experience and emotions in all spheres of'human activity. Mod-ern man, growing up as he is in a secularized culture, may find great difficul-ties in discovering God. But whenever he does discover God and does come to personal contact with ~him, modern man definitely favors the kind: of dialogue which is characterized by great spontaneity and by 'the engage-ment of strong emotions. Especially among younger people, today's person shox~s interest only in a religious movement which gives a great deal of room for spontaneity, for emotional expression. The Spirit of Community The charismatic spirituality of the early Christians was distinguished by conspicuous spontaneity. But this spontaneity must not be misinterpreted as religious individualism! Their pentecostal experience united them inti-mately into a single, closely knit community. When Luke describes (Ac 2:42-47) the life of the first Christians, he may well have idealized somewhat the historical reality. But he certainly expressed well the ideal image which the early Church had formed of herself and which she labored to realize in the various Christian communities of those early days--of course without ever realizing this ideal. Luke, of course, is fully aware of the leaciing position of the Apostles and of their important task, and even stresses it in unambiguous fashion. However, as he portrays her, the early Church is above all a communion of life and of love. His pentecostal community is exactly the ideal of what we call now-a-days the "basic community." There is no ~need to enter here upon an historical investigation of the causes which led this initial ideal of the Christian life to lose its original ur-gency and attraction. Suffice it to say that the change definitely did not come from a change on the part of the Holy Spirit and of his basic in-spiration. Rather it stemmed from a change on the part of ~the Christians-who did not listen to the Holy Spirit in the same way as did the first Chris-tians. As a result of unfavorable influences from without, and from a faulty development within the Church, Catholic theology and its catechetics have, for a long time, overly stressed the ingtitutional aspect of the Church. It needed the assistance of the Holy Spirit in the last council to restore once more the right balance, to see the Church again as, above all, a "communion" (withou.t forgetting or minimizing the God-given aspects of its institutional character). The General Catechetical Directory, published by the Holy See in 1971 as a guideline for all catechetical work, tries to make teachers of religion aware of this shift in emphasis: "The Church is a communion: She herself acquired a fuller awareness of that truth in the Second Vatican Council" (n. 66). Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 671 In order to experience once again the Church as a communion of life and love, there is need for more than a mere shift in catechetical emphasis. There is. need for the formation of relatiVely sma.ll but dynamic Christian communities which can truly come to this experience. Our typical mammoth parishes cannot achieve this experience unless they build up within their structure much smaller groups of deeply committed Christians. Since the begin~ning of this century, small groups have been forming themselves in this renew~il of pentecostal experience. For the most part non- Catholic, these bands have regularly shown strong cohesion within the par-ticular group, while at the same time manifesting little concern for the universal church, coupled with a noticeable tendency to split among them-selves into yet smaller groups with markedly~ sectarian attitudes. Many years' later, when the pentecostal movement began to lay hold of Catholic circles, many feared that something similar would happen among Catholic charismatics. In fact, however, just the opposite took place. Pre-cisely at the time when many Catholics began to waver in their loyalty to the Church, the overwhelming majority of Catholic charismatics "were giv-ing convincing proofs of their loyalty. In fact, through the charismatic move-ment,, many Catholics found a new and vital contact with the institutional Church. In fact, an impartial assessment would lead to the impression that, in the overall scene; there is more interest on the part of charismatic groups in the institutional Church than there is interest on the part of the parochial clergy to provide pastoral care for the charismatic groups within their area --and this at a time when we desperately need the development of such small groups within the Church. It is not impossible that participation in some solid charismatic group. could give to today's religion teacher a valuable experience of Christian community of precisely the kind that he would need in order to present the Church'as a communion! A Zest for Scripture One characteristic feature of pentecostal spirituality is a zest for Scrip-ture. We encounter this everywhere in pentecostal prayer-meetings and in the members' daily prayer-life. This zest for Scripture comes from the first "Pentecostals"; it is a basic element of the spirituality of the early Church. In fact, we can even say that it is a valuable heritage which the young Church received from the Synagogue. The painful break with the Synagogue did not affect Christian attitudes toward the Scripture. Rather, early Chris-tians continued in their deep appreciation and ardent use of them. In our own time, many Catholics found new access to Scripture through the charismatic renewal. True, long before the beginning of Catholic charis-matic renewal, there was in the Church a powerful biblical renewal which had a decisive impact on the discussions and decisions of Vatican II. Just a few years before the first Catholic charismatic groups started, the Council had 672 ,/ Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 already vindicated, with unusual emphasis, the role of the Scriptures in authentic Christian spirituality (see Constitution on Revelation, nn. 21-26). There is no need for us to decide here which had in fact brought more Catholics back once again to the Scriptures: the teachings of Vatican II or the later charismatic prayer-meetings, It is sufficient for our purpose simply to point out that a genuine zest for Scripture and its religious wealth is not just a fad among charismatics, but an indispensable element of the spiritual-ity which is to be expected from any true Christian, and, of course, most especially, from the teacher of religion who acts as a messenger of God. Vatican II tells us: "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets his children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of spiritual life" (Constitution on Revelation, n. 21). If the Council really meant what it so emphatically stressed, what must follow for anyone who would take the Council seriously? In describing charismatic spirituality, we are fully aware that any move-ment like the pentecostal renewal is going to include groups which express and live this spirituality with enormous differences of perfection. It could easily happen that a given individual sincerely appreciates charismatic spirituality, yet is not at all satisfied with its realization in the group which meets next door. In such a situation, his remedy may well be to seek out another, more congenial group. The ideal solution for teachers of religion who work as a team~would be to form their own group from the members of the. team. That wotild, be the best answer to their special needs and to their particular aspirations. The Rope When a man reaches the' end of his rope, he comes to the beginning of God. Edward A. Gloeggler P.O. Box 486 Far Rockaway, NY 11~91 On Burying Our Isaacs Sister Mary Catherine Barron, C.S.J. Sister Mary Cath~erine has been a frequent contributor to ,our pages, her last having appeared in the March issue. Her address in the coming year will be: St. loseph's Provincial House; 91 Overlook Ax;e.; Latham, NY 12110. Th~ word of God is something alive and active: it i~uts',like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place ~vhere the soul is divided from the spirit, or joint.s from the mar~row; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account of ourselves (Heb 4, 12-13). It happened Sometime' ,later that God put Abraham to the test (Gn 22, 1). Abraham was a vulnerable man. He could never-quite master the art ~of resisting God. Always, he was too available. Had he been a more pragmatic human being, he would have quickly cultivated a quality of deafness where God.was concerned---rr at least a fair pretense of it. But that was his weak-ness: he was too receptive. Whenever God called, he answered. Such alacrity can be dangerous, especially wtiere Yahweh is involved. He is all-consuming. And so when, after a short span of years of relative peace and quiet, God once again cried out his name: "Abraham~ Abraham," our Old Testa-ment forefather responded as could be expected: "Here I am." He should have known better. He should have realized toe incipient danger of those words, because he had uttered them before and they had cost him quite a bit of pain. In ~fact, they had brought him to where he was then: in a strange land of strange people with a young son, the fruit of his and Sarah's old age. It had been a weary journey to this destination, filled with suffering and hope, alienation and promise, discouragement and fulfillment. But today, existence was peaceful and ,.God was benign and Abraham was happy in the new life growing up around him: Isaac, his son. So he never should have " 673 674 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 answered with such openness, such literalness, when he said: "Here I am." Those three words capsulized a whole lifetime of givenness and surrender on Abraham's part and God knew that. He knew the implied depths of Abraham's response because long ago he had blasted his foundation, carved him out, and molded him in faith. So God was not surprised at Abraham's reply. Hehad tested him before. Purgation is a messy business. No matter how finely wrought the.instru-ment, there is always pain and a certain amount of blood-letting. Ironically, although we are quite familiar with the concept, we are never much at ease in the throes of the process. Double-edged swords are dangerous, especially the ones that slip into the hidden place "where the soul is divided from the spirit," because eventually they strike the heart. Abraham had been prodded and probed before. But he had also lived long enough to realize that there are always untouched recesses, crevices of the heart, where the finger of God has not yet been felt. One of those crevices contained Isaac. And so Yahweh commands: "Take your son, your only child Isaac, wh~m you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as~a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you" (Gn 22, 2). God couldn't have~ been more blunt nor, apparently, more unfeeling~ With near ferocity, he highlights the very nadir points involved in Abraham's sacrifice: '~'son," "only child," "Isaac," "whom you love." And then he conjures up a picture of that supple-limbed first fruit of endless expectation: blackened--a burr~t offering on a wilder-ness mountaintop. Abraham makes no response because he has already made the 'total one of "Here I am." We are. simply told that early next .morning he rises and begins the three days' journey to Moriah. Whatever the outcome, the journey itself is part of the purgation, is already a piece of the burnt offer-ing, and the fact that.it is leading to final consummation only intensifies the pain. Anguish is not a very communicable emotion. It is too deep for utter-ance. So insistent is it that all other~feelings.give way before its flood. So Abraham says little on the pilgrimage to holocaust, but in grim irony loads Isaac with the wood and himself takes the knife and the fire. In stolid faith, Abraham bears in his own hands the purgative instruments that will cut. and sear his son. But more deeply, he bears the instruments that will cut and sear himsel[.olsaac is to suffer a holocaust ,of body; Abraham suffers a holocaust of heart. iOutrage always accompanies the destruction.of an innocent---outrage on the part of the non-participants. But who can fathom the outrage Abraham feels as he binds his only son and lays him on the altar? We cannot begin to plumb the depths of his grieving heart that still believes in the~irrevocable word of Yahweh. "Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son" (Gn 22, 10). On Burying Our "lsaacs / 675 Once again the cry comes: "Abraham, Abraham" and once again the familiar responseis given:. ','I am here." And then come the sal~,ific words: "Do not raise your hand against the boy; do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son" (Gn 22, 11~13). Isaac is spared. What about Abraham? The holocaust of the body does not occur; the holocaust of the heart is complete. We are accustomed to naming Abraham our "Father in Faith." Is he not also the ',Father of Freed Love!'? All the time he thought the journey was made to annihilate Isaac. Now he discovers that it was made to annihi-late Abraham. Father van Breemen in his book, Called By Name, offers the following analysis: When Abraham descends from tl~e mountai'n~ with his son, both he and Isaac have changed; something has happened on that hilltop . Like a tree which has been turned full circle in the ground, Abraham's~roots have been cut loose, and he has returned a new man (p. 19). in what does his newness consist?' Abraham comes down the mountain with a living Isaac: Yetsomething in both of them is dead. Because he wag bent over the prone Isaac on the altar, we Could not 'see the pain in Abra-ham'S eyes, the look of utter bewilderment at what he was about to do, the trembling terror at the death of love by his o~wn hand. But Isaac could see~ And in that look of love that 'was exchanged b6tw~en them--father and son--the holocaust of the heart is accomplished. In that inst"~n't, Isaac cedes over his life to his father in trust and surrender. And Abraham cedes over his heart to Yahweh in a similar fashion. Because part of Abraham's heart is Isaac, that part of Isaac in Abraham's heart dies forever on Mount Moriah. Abraham returns to Beersheba with a son, but no longer with his son. Isaac is irrevocably gone, yielded over to Yahweh. Isaac returns ~vith a father who is no longer solely his father, but more radically is father to Yahweh's people. Both lose and gain life; both surrender the other and are given the other in return--but transformed. In The Letter to the Hebrews we are told: It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead (Heb 11, 17-19). Centuries later, when speaking of losing and gaining life, Jesus would use the analogy of the wheat grain dying in the earth to produce a rich harvest. We might say that out of.the seed of love for Isaac which Abraham allows to die in the holy ground of Yahweh, com~s the rich harvest of transformed life. For Abraham, indeed, has Isaac back from the dead, but only after he has first let him go. In a sense, he leaves Mount Moriah having buried part of himself and his son there. 676 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 So what does the story mean to us? Certainly we are relieved that Isaac is not slain. We are glad that: Abraham's faith was vindicated: And we hope that we are never put to such a test. It is just such a latter mentality that is our mistake and our misfortune. For we all have our Isaacs--those, hidden crevices of the heart.where we do not even realize that "the soul is divided from the spirit." Unless we are willing to bur), them (our Isaacs) in a holo-caust of: the heart, our faith is weak and our love is unfree. And to that extent We,are poor spiritual progeny of our great desert patriarch. ' The Book of Judith tells us: We should be grateful to the Lord, our God, for putting us to the'test, as he did Our forefathers. Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how' he tried Isaac; and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother. Not for vengeance did the Lord p,ut them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that' fie chastises those who are close to him (J~t 8:25-27), Admonition for what? Admonition, so that eventually our hearts in the crucible will be so tot~ally purified'that we will, indeed, have lai~ to final rest all our Isaacs. Admonition, so that eventually our hearts in the cruc!.- ble will be so totally free that we too will be able to respond as did Abraham to Yahweh's cali :~ "Here I am." "The @ord of God is something alive and active"--in Abraham'~ day and in our own.'~Will we let it pierce us, double-edged though it might be? Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation Pedro Arrupe, S.]. Father, Arrupe, General of the Society of Jesus, originallY, gave this talk as part of a series of cbnferences on the 32rid General Congregation which was sponsored by the Centrum lgnatianum Spiritualitatis (CIS; Borgo S. Spirito, 5; C. P. 9048; 00100 Roma, Italy),~which ~s presently preparing the conferences (in the languages in which they were delivered) in book form. I would like to speak tO you about the last section of Decree 4 of the recent 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. As you know, Decree 4 was on "Our Mission Today," and the last section of it dea!.t with "Prac-tical Dispositions." These practical dispo~sitions are applications that follow from t,h~e general decisions and guidelines developed throughout the decree. When the, Congregation states~, in this.decree, that "the mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of jus~tice is an absolute requirement," it is not in the slightest way restricting the purpose, of the Society. That Society was founded, as you know, princi-pally "to serve the divine Majesty and his holy Church, under the Roman Pontiff, th~ Vicar of Christ on earth" and "to devote itself totally to.~the defense and spre~ad of the holy Catholic faith." Those words are taken from the F'ormula ol the Institute, approved by Pope Julius III (MI [ser. 3] I, 375-~76). The Soci.ety's purpose thus remains the same as ever: the ex-pression that,the 32nd General Congregation used is.simply a reformulation to meet the needs of the present-day world, which is characterized by so many and such flagrant injustices. And so, in discussing this D.ecree 4, we are simply showing how the So-ciety i~sflu~f!,~ll!ng its overall purpose:, how it is living up to its mission. The principle~s, attitu~.es and methods that the decree proposes thus acquire a 677 6711 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 universal value much more far-reaching than the Decree itself, since every- ~thing is included in, and exemplified by, the way the Society carries out its purpose. The Originaiity of St. Ignatius The originality of St. Ignatius is to be found, not so much in the rea-sons that he "put down in writing, so as to be able to reflect on them" (Spiritual Diary, Feb. 11, 1544), as in "other illuminations" that he re-ceived from the Holy Trinity, with "feelings of intense emotion" (ibid.). 'Clearly, his originality will keep the same creativity and apostolic vigor down through .history, and the Society of today wants to continue to be--and should continue to be--what St. Ignatius made it. But there are certain moments in history when an inner force appears, stirring that originality to new external manifestations, and its dynamism acts with greater exuberance and creativity. Today is such a moment. In the aggiornamento that Vatican II called for, the Holy Spirit speaks more clearly to the Church (See Per- [ectae Caritatis, 2), and hence to the Society too, inviting us to a "thorough-going reassessment of our traditional apostolic methods, attitudes and in-stitutions, so as to adapt them to the changed conditions of our day" (De-cree 4:9). Our effort, then, after the congregation even more than during it, has to be to discern how we can provide the Society's distinctive service and carry out its mission with all its consequences. The new way of exercising this mission will require of the updated Society new or renewed attitudes, en-deavors, undertakings and institutions, which in turn presuppose new men, similarly reriewed fo~ today's generation. All these elements--"the Society of Jesus, its mission, its apostolate, its way of life"--are closely in~e'rrelated and cannot be considered or achieved separately. We cannot, therefore, discuss how the decree would have us carry out our apostolate, prescinding from our Order's special charism, or from the Jesuit'of today and his life style. In the constant advance of the pilgrim Church, which, vivified' by the Holy Spirit and under his impulse, comes ever closer to Christ (s~e LG 4), amid persecutions from the world" and consolations from God, the 32nd General Congregation is merely one episode in 'the life of this universal Church moving toward its eschatological perfection. The congregation too, as part of humanity and of the people of God, has felt itself inspired, guided and strengthened by that Spirit "who writes and impresses on hearts the law of charity and love" (Introd. to Constitutions, 1.) and keeps pressing toward "what is most conducive" (Sp. Ex. 23). A Return to Sources At this moment of history, the challenge the world offers has'brought the Society to a limit-situation, forcing it to go: back to the original soui'ces Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 679 of Ignatian spirituality, to find there more effective means, to be able to face today's problems vigorously, not only in order to survive, but to come out of them purified and rejuvenated, and thus to.be more apt for giving the Church the service it desires. The return to Loyola, Manresa, Paris, La Storta and Rome was a .spontaneous movement in the Society of Jesus, and especially in the fathers of the General Congregation. We were, and we are, conscious that any renewal must always be inspired by those funda-mental :graces that St. Ignatius received for himself and the whole Society, by those mystical intuitions that begar~ with the spiritual infancy of Ignatius (.God treated him as an infant then, he tells us in his Autobiography) and continued through his full spiritual maturity, when he composed the Con-stitutions. The-me(hod that the congregation suggests for our ~practical applica-tion of what Decree 4 recommends is very simple, yet it is based on a deep theology and a logic and practical sense that give us the greatest guarantees. The Method Is the Message It has been said in another context that "the medium is the message." Here we may say that "the method is the message," because it includes such a wealth of elements that, though perhaps not altogether new, are under-stood and applied in so profound a way that their meaning and implications and correlations give them a great novelty. It is a method that uses new concepts, and when applied, sheds a new light on those concepts on which it is based. This method was not excogitated in an abstract or a priori way, but results fr6m a number of enriching ideas and concepts, of better studied, better tested situations. Thus it arose almost spontaneously, not so much as a logical deduction, but rather as the fruit of many vital° elements and their mutual Correlations, e.g., the concepts of mission, ofcommunity, of interpersonal relations, of service, of authority, bf poverty, and so' forth. It would be very easy to describe superficially thee manner of applying this decree, but that wa3~ we would not reach the real profundity of its method, nor would we catch the meaning and concrete manner of its application. It would b~ totally ineffective to proceed that way. Our deeper know!edge of certain concepts and circumstances enables us to work out a method v,e~ suited to the situations of this new world of ours. Thus, the application of this method, plus the experience, the intuitions and tile difficulties that contact with reality adds to it, enriches the ~concepts and gives them a greater r6alism. But that is not all: our new understanding of the ideas and their prac-tical apostolic applications call for renewed men~.who, incarnating this men-tality, will react in a fresh way, or at least will be able to adapt their ser-vice to the new needs of a Church and of a mankind we see rapidly becom-ing the great, universal human family. 680 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 35, 1976/5 A Process of Reflection and Revision The final section of this decree, subtitled "Practical Dispositions," 6pen~ with a clearly Ignatian principle: "Considering the variety of situations in which Jesuits work, the°General Congregation cannot pi~ovide a single, uni-versally applicable program for producing this awareness and reducing it to 15ractice acco~rding to th~ decisions and guidelines gi,~en. Each province or group of provinces 'must undertake a program of reflection.and a review of our apostolate to discover what action is ,appropriate in each particular con-text" .(4.'71): It is the same princip!e that P.ope Paul stated for the whole Church in his Octogesima adveniens: "Faced with such varying situations, it is hard for Us~to formulate a single statement and propose a Solution with universal validity . It is for the Christian communities to analyse objec-tively their country's situation, to clarify' it in the light ofr'the unchanging words of the gospel" (4). ~ To find the appropriate mode of action, the congregation .gives us tWO basic principles that are implicitly contained in the Constitutions, the norms for the selection of ministries and those for the preparation of the instru-ment. We express these principles today by the terms "discernment" and "continuing formation." They are like two roads leading us to a personal knowledge, a conviction, and a more perfect pe~rformance of what God wants of us at each moment. Discernment , Discernment is, in all its profundity, the best way (I would say, con-sidering it in all its breadth, the only way) to be able to plan and choose among our concrete options, the proper apostolic strategy, in other words, to discover God's will for us here and now. The congregation recommends precisely this to us when it says that we need, "not so much a research program, as a process of reflection and evalua-tion, based on the.Ignatian tradition of spiritual discernment" (4:72). Psy-chological or purely t~chnical procedures are not sufficient; we need a deter-mination to .really "find God," using all the means, objective and subjective, indiVi~dual and collective, social, political, and so forth, through which he manifestos his will to us. A process of this sort requires a special divine assistance and a constant effol:t on our part to rid ourselves of every inordinate affection. For that reason, the °decree very properly underlines the word "indifference," when it tells us: "The primary stress is on prayer and the effort to attain 'indiffer-ence,' that is, an apostolic readiness for anything" (72). The seriousness of this discernment 6alls for thos~e perfect dispositions that St. Ignatius demands' inthe election, that culminating point in his Exer-cises. This .is a divine-human, personal, ecclesial act, inserted into the one plan of salvation that leads to the building up of the Kingdom of Christ in time, and comes, even now,~under eschatological judgment. St. Paul d~fines Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 681 it: "Think+before you do anything; hold on,to what is good and avoid every form of evil" (1 Th 5,21~22)., .4 This~Pauline discernment is not~only a key to the New Testament; it is also a key for apostolic planning in the exercise of our :~'mission," remind-ing us of the interplay of divine grace and human freedom in Christian ilife. Thus the apostle feels integrated into salvation history, associated with the central kairos of the Incarnation and Resurrection, and:the final eschatologi-cal~ kairos. Understood in this,way, discernment explains and renews the meaning of,Ignatian solid pruden(e, "discreet charity," And thus the "mis-sion" received under0obedience can be applied concretely to the different and changeable situations of the problematic of today's world. At the same time, discernment is the great force that enables us" to grow spiritually,,in a rapid but solid way, since it obliges us to have our soul always inca disposition of total detachment from created things. As a conse-quence Of this active-passive "indifference,, discernment disposes the soul for the inspirations of the Spirit, no-matter .how they come or where ~they come-from. In particular, it disposes the soul for that basic inspiration of faith,~ hope and "discreet charity" that awakens it to desire the magis, i.e., to choose always what is better, what iS~"~.'God's will'here and now." An ac-tive indifference, always seeking the'magis, is, indeed, the Ignatian equiva-lent~ of ~"finding God in all things," or as Nadal put it in a dense and pro-found, phrase, the "contemplativus in actione" (contemplative in action). In addition to this inner disposition of Spirit, so necessary for a real dis-cernment, we also need as complete and deep a knowledge as possible of the reality that is the object of our .discernment, so that we can discover in that reality the expression of God's will f6r the world. To discover this, we need, first of all, a real "conscientization,, or critical contact with reality; and after that, an "insertion," an "evaluation," and finally an "incultura-tion." The basic elements of.,this process of discernment and conscientization, of insertion and inculturation~ are described briefly in Octogesima adveniens, which the 32nd General Congregation. quoted. They are: experience, re-flection, choices, action,, a constant reciprocal relationship. These are steps that lead, by their own inner force, to a "change in our.thought patterns and a conversion of souls and hearts so that we can make apostolic decisions" (4:73). ¯ Conscientization To know thoroughly the reality that we meet or in which we live, we need more than a superficial glance at it in a random contact, or a one-time experience of that reality. "Knowing thoroughly"means going beyond a mere spontaneous grasp, to a critical understanding. Real conscientization is a critical insertion into historical reality. This obliges man to accept the role of a subject who makes the world---or better, remakes it. It forces man to 6112 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 create his existence out of the material that life offers him. This is based, naturally, on the human capacity to work consciously on reality: hence conscientization necessarily includes the combination of our reflection on the world and our action on it. It also follows from this that real conscientization has to be a process constantly in act, so that the new reality that is evolving can in turn be grasped in a new conscientization, which again will produce a still newer reality. It is an ongoing process; conscientization is always creative. "Think-ing of the new reality as something-untouchable is simplistic and reactionary, just as much as saying that the old reality was untouchable; if men, as working beings, continue to accept a 'made' world, they will very soon be plunged into a new darkness."' And so, as conscientization increases, the manifestation of.reality also increases, and the penetration of its phenomenological sense. If we merely contemplate reality, we are no more than false intellectualists. Without the binomial action-reflection, there can be no conscientization; in other words, there can be no conscientization apart from practical action. The dialectical unity "action-reflection" will always be man's most distinctive mode of being, his only effective way of changing the world (see ibid. 30). There has to be, therefore, an insertion into reality 'and a reflection on reality. This double function enables us to know and act on re.ality, which in turn then acts on us. In other words, the external reality that we change then changes us in our very. depths, and that very change makes us become "agents for change." This interaction is a manifestation and an effect of the intimate action of the Holy Spirit, who integrates, simultaneously and har-moniously, the progress of a pilgrim mankind toward its true fatherland and each one's growth in divine life that the Spirit cbmmunicates to him. Insertion To~ know reality, to change our attitudes and achieve a true discern-ment, we must first be inserted into reality in an effective way, When I speak of insertion, I am referring to a real, critical insertion among the men of today, in order to create and shape society in an evangelical way. A genuine, insertion thus requires a change of personal attitude, the giving up, under many aspects, of our manner of being, thinking and acting, so we can understand and come closer to the new realities that we want to evangelize. It is a real problem of life and experience, which gives us a special profound and realistic knowledge which makes us solidary with men, particularly with the poor and the weak. Scripture itself and the entire theology of evangelization invite us to this insertion: "To become all things to all men" (1 Co 9, 22), to make other 1(See Paulo Freire, Conscientizaci6n [Sp. version], 2a ed., 30-36, in Coll. Educaci6n hoy, 4, Asociaci6n de publicaciones educativas, Bogot~i). ~ Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 6113 people's problems ours, "to make ourselves servants of others" (Decree 2". 29), to. be "segregatus in evangelium" ["specially chosen to preach the Good News"] (Rom 1, 1), and to become the "salt of the earth" (Mt 5, 13). For that re.ason, the 31st Congregation recommended that our residences be built and set up among workers and the most downtrodden classes, so that Ours, spending their lives with the poor Christ, may [thus] practice their various apostolates (27: 8). This insertion or "incarnation" means solidarity with those who suffer, even to being identified with their lives. Here we find the most profound meaning of the poverty of the poor Christ, whom we want to imitate and follow. That phrase of the Exercises that describes our contemplation "as if I were actually present" (Ex 114)~-takes on a vivid meaning that re-flects the gospel words: "What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me" (M~ 25, 40). If we juxtapose St. Ignatius's tw.o key lines from the Exercises: "What shall I do for Christ?" (Ex 53) and "being poor with the poor Christ" (Ex 167), with those words of Christ: "What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me," everything takes on a new light, whose brilliance shakes our consience. It_is the apparition of Christ among the poor, his real presence among them.: This reality of Christ in the world of today plays a decisive role in our choice of ministries and in our lives. "Have we realized that conversion to Christ implies a conversion to our neighbor, particularly our most abandoned neighbor? This requires a change of mentality that is not at all easy, a change of attitude and of life on the personal, collective and apostolic level. In a word, it transports us. to the heart of the painful tension of the election" (ibid. 199). Not every insertion has~ the value and meaning of a truly apostolic in-sertion. To see if our insertion is apostolic, we will have to look for some of its characteristic features. First of all, it should be evangelical, i.e., inspired and guided by the Gospel, by the spirit of the Gospel, which we find in the Beatitudes, in the cross and the resurrection of Christ. On the contrary, an insertion inspired by radicalism or a revolutionary spirit, one seeking class struggle or vindica-tion, one that exalts itself, regarding itself as a model far better than any other, is not the insertion a religious should seek. In practice, we often lose sight of our evangelical spirit, even though we~protest that our aim is to "evangelize." Sec6nd, this insertion should be apostolic, i.e., inspired by an apostolic motivation and idealism, not by merely sociological or humanitarian con- ~iderations, which are a completely different thing. It has to be rooted in '-'(See J. ,Alfaro, "Ejercicios y Constituciones: Unidad Vital," in Mensajero, Bilbao, 1974, 195-199). 61~4 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 faith, built on prayer, purified of all,selfishness. Such an attitude cannot be had from natural forces alone, but comes only from the force of the Spirit. Third, the insertion of the religious has to be the expression of a mission, that is, something more than the fruit of one's own ideas or some project oil-one's own. It has to be the object of a mission that follows, under obedi-ence, God's will, rather than the whims of a self-appointed group thatmakes independent decisions, ignoring or opposing those of their superiors. It must be the result of mission precisely conferred or approved by Obedience. A true insertion requires a series of qualities in the individual or the community: ,. --First of all, it calls for humility and conversion, i.e.; the desire of leading a more evangelical life and the recognition of one's own limita-tions, without considering oneself superior to anyone--and especially without~judging anyone, even if exteriorly he may seem to be leading a less evangelical life. --Second,. such an insertion calls for a clear sense o] one's identity, inas, much as the harsh experiences that can come to those who live such an insertion, and the observance of others' sufferings and injustices can strike us in so forceful and passionate a way as to take away our re-ligious and evangelical sense and lead us to adopt' positions and atti-tudes foreign to the Institute to which we belong. --Third, to be truly and solidly inserted, we need a well'integrated personality, capable of resisting the "shock" caused by the effort of adapting to a very different set of surroundings. Not a few.religious~men and women, full of generosity but without a solidly integrated personal-ity, have lost their vocations because of this "shock," and h'ave then succumbed to irreparable crises. -~Fourth, we need a solid [ormation. Some'have to learn to experience this insertion in surroundings and situations that are not sufficiently formed for that level of hardship. A full insertion into new s.urroundings calls for a very'solid and balanced formation,'which'usually takes a long time and experience. Only a serious preparation can give su~cient maturity and ability to integrate all the elements of the apostolic pro-cess: experience-reflection-choice-action. With it, the insertion can be kept within proper limits and will allow the maximum .of productivity. --Fifth, it requires serious reflection. Experience alone is not enough; it has to be tested by reflection, without which we can never have opti-mum results and avoid the mistakes due to either excess°or deficiency. Reflection on the concrete experience will expand o~r understanding of the situation, and will suggest the proper options find the changes that must be made for a more. effective apostolate. That is, it will make our action not only tend in the right direction, but have some likelihood of continuing and succeeding; too. Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 685 ¯ ---Sixth,~-we need~ close collaboration with others. A genuine insertion invites and produces such collaboration. It is a stimulus and an apt means for fitting into the overall pastoral plan and activities of other groups and sectors. -z-Seventh, we need pluralism. Insertion needs and introduces a broad pluralism in the sense that modes of service have to be different urider differing circumstances. Insertion is not limited to a particular social stratum, e.g., the poor, but takes in all worlds: intellectual, univei'sity, ~ ,.professional, cultural, infracultural, etc. ~ If all these conditions are verified, the insertion will be 'much more ef-fective, organic and "differentiated: W~ will avoidduplications--and 6mis-" sions--of projects and methods for ~vhich, others~ are better qualified; each one will ,produce to the maximiam, having found his plac.e in the overall pastoral' plan of the local and universal Church. This insertion can also resolve the tension betweenthose who learn and those who teach, because, as experience shows, p~articularly in times of rapid change, life and human contact, even with the less cultured and humbler," are a "marvelous school, in which we learn from others th~it very lofty science, the "science of man," which we can never acquire without this contact with reality and every-day life. Insertion will make us feel the need to be always in the posture of a disciple, which is indispensable .for the apostle working for contemporary man in the world of today. Eyaluation TO ~be able to make an objective and effective discernment, so we can give to our labors, 6ur projects and institutions a new orientation, we need not only conscientization iihd insertion, but an~evaluation of our activitie~ too. Decree 4 suggests this to us very clearly: "Where do'we live? Where do we work? How? With whom? What, in the final analysis, really is our in-volvement with, dependence on, or commitment tO ideologies, or to those who wield power? Is it only to the converted that we know how to preach ,Jesus, Christ? These are some Of the questions w~ should ask about ourselves individually, as well as about our commumtles and restitutions (4:74). It0is very important to evaluate~ our acti~'ities and our works. We are urged to make such an evaluation by Decrees 4, 6 and ]5: "Our Mission Today," "The Formation of Jesuits," and "Ceritral Government." Our evalu-ation would consist in analyzing the quantity and quality of the results we are obtaining, in relation to our.objectives, in, order to have some'idea of their effectiveness. Evaluation presupposes that we have'logically ~¢ell-defined goals, suffi-ciently recognized as such.- : o Unfortunately, the Society has not always stopped to evaluat~ its work, or at least it has not always done so with precision, scientifically. Usually, 6116 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 35, 1976/5, it has.gone about this effort in an improVised and haphazard fashio.n, mak-ing obvious, superficial judgments that do not enable us to reach valid con-clusions. What is more, we seem to be afraid of such evaluations at least subconsciously, considering them a threat. When they are asked to rate their efforts, some feel threatened and called into question, as though such a re-quest implied a negative judgment or a challenge to the project in which they are engaged. But an evaluation is the indispensable means for being able to upgrade. our projects. If in certain cases it should turn.out that a certain project.ought to be revised or disappear completely because it no longer accomplishes its purpose,~ or because ~it blocks projects of ~greater importance, that is the moment for Ignatian indifference. Indeed, why should ~we keep a work going that once upon,a time was co~astructive, but now has become an ob-stacle? The sufferings we naturally feel when told to give up some work are not against indifference; they are an understandable human reaction, a normal manifestation of the love we feel for a project on which we' have ~pent.ourselves, perhaps for many years. But such an evaluation has to be made. The argument from authority comes into play here, since not only GC 32, but the Holy Father, too, wants such evaluations (Acta Romana XVI, 432). Moreover, experience a.nd the intrinsic value of making periodic evaluations also. urge us,to make them, if we want to be consistent with the Ignatian magis which bids us always to offer the greatest possible service of God. The 32nd General Congregation recommends, therefore, that "there should be a definite mechanism for the review of our ministries" (4:77). This mechanism is the indispensable condition,.for having an evaluation, and hence a rational "choice of ministries and sel~ting of priorities and pro-grams" (4:75). The congregation therefore added: "Now is a good time to examine critically how these arrangements are working and, if need be, to replace them by others that are more effective and allow for a wider participation in the process of communal discern, ment" (4:77). The data proyided by an evaluation of this sort will be most helpful and even essential for knowing thoroughly the works to be examined by an apostolic discernment, and they will enable u
Recent years have witnessed an explosion in the science of networks. Much of this research has been stimulated by advances in statistical physics and the study of complex systems – that is, systems that comprise many interrelated components whose interactions produce unpredictable large-scale emergent behavior. Cities are complex systems formed both through decentralized, bottom-up, self-organizing processes as well as through top-down planning interventions. Humans shape their urban ecosystems (the built environment, institutions, cultures, etc.) and are in turn shaped by them. Cities comprise numerous interdependent components that interact through networks – social, virtual, and physical – such as street networks.This dissertation examines urban street networks, their structural complexity (emphasizing density, connectedness, and resilience), and how planning eras and design paradigms shape them. Interventions into a complex system often have unpredictable outcomes, even if the intervention is minor, as effects compound or dampen nonlinearly over time. Such systems' capacity for novelty, through emergent features that arise from their components' interactions, also makes them unpredictable. These interactions and the structure of connections within a system are the subject of network science. In cities, the structural characteristics of circulation networks influence how a city's physical links organize its human dynamics. Urban morphologists have long studied the built form's complexity and, following from scholars such as Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander, various urban design paradigms today speak both directly and indirectly to the value of complexity in the built environment. However, these claims are often made loosely, without formally connecting with theory, implications, or evaluation frameworks.This dissertation develops an interdisciplinary typology of measures for assessing the complexity of urban form and design, particularly emphasizing street network analytic measures. Street network analysis has held a prominent place in network science ever since Leonhard Euler presented his famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem in 1736. The past 15 years have been no exception as the growth of interdisciplinary network science has included numerous applications to cities and their street networks. These studies have yielded new understandings of urban form and design, transportation flows and access, and the topology and resilience of urban street networks. However, current limitations of data availability, consistency, and technology have resulted in four substantial shortcomings: small sample sizes, excessive network simplification, difficult reproducibility, and the lack of consistent, easy-to-use research tools. While these shortcomings are by no means fatal, their presence can limit the scalability, generalizability, and interpretability of empirical street network research.To address these challenges, this dissertation presents OSMnx, a new tool to download and analyze street networks and other geospatial data from OpenStreetMap for any study site in the world. OSMnx contributes five capabilities for researchers and practitioners: first, the downloading of political boundaries, building footprints, and elevation data; second, the scalable retrieval and construction of street networks from OpenStreetMap; third, the algorithmic correction of network topology; fourth, the ability to save street networks as shapefiles, GraphML, or SVG files; and fifth, the ability to analyze street networks, including projecting and visualizing networks, routing, and calculating metric and topological measures. These measures include those common in urban design and transportation studies, as well as measures of the structure and topology of the network. This study illustrates the use of OSMnx and OpenStreetMap to consistently conduct street network analysis with extremely large sample sizes, with clearly defined network definitions and extents for reproducibility, and using non-planar, directed graphs.This study collects and analyzes 27,000 U.S. street networks from OpenStreetMap at metropolitan, municipal, and neighborhood scales – namely, every U.S. city and town, census urbanized area, and Zillow-defined neighborhood. It presents wide-ranging empirical findings on U.S. urban form and street network characteristics, emphasizing measures relevant to graph theory, urban design, and morphology such as structural complexity, connectedness, density, centrality, and resilience. We find that the typical American urban area has approximately 26 intersections/km2, 2.8 streets connected to the average node, 160m average street segment lengths, and a network that is 7.4% more circuitous than straight-line streets would be. The typical city has approximately 25 intersections/km2, 2.9 streets connected to the average node, 145m average street segment lengths, and a network that is 5.5% more circuitous than straight-line streets would be. The typical Zillow neighborhood has approximately 46 intersections/km2, 2.9 streets connected to the average node, 135m average street segment lengths, and a network that is 4.4% more circuitous than straight-line streets would be. At all three scales, 3-way intersections are by far the most prevalent intersection type across the U.S.We find a strong linear relationship, invariant across scales, between total street length and the number of nodes in a network. This contradicts some previous findings in the literature that relied on smaller sample sizes and different geographic contexts. We also find that most networks demonstrate a lognormal distribution of street segment lengths. However, an obvious exception to lognormal distribution lies in those networks that exhibit substantial uniformity network-wide. At the neighborhood scale, examples include downtown neighborhoods with consistent orthogonal grids, such as that of Portland, Oregon. At the municipal scale, examples include towns in the Great Plains that have orthogonal grids with consistent block sizes, platted at one time, and never subjected to sprawl. These spatial signatures of the Homestead Act, successive land use regulations, urban design paradigms, and planning instruments remain etched into these cities' urban forms and street networks today. Nebraska's cities have the lowest circuity, the highest average number of streets per node, the second shortest average street segment length, and the second highest intersection density. These findings illustrate how street networks across the Great Plains developed all at once and grew little afterwards – unlike, for instance, cities in California that were settled in the same era but were later subjected to substantial sprawl.The characteristics of a city street network fundamentally depend on what "city" means: municipal boundaries, urbanized areas, or certain core neighborhoods? The first is a political/legal definition, but it captures the scope of city planning jurisdiction and decision-making for top-down interventions into a street network. The second captures the wider self-organized human system and its emergent built form, but tends to aggregate multiple heterogeneous built forms together into a single unit of analysis. The third captures the nature of the local built environment and lived experience, but at the expense of a broader view of the urban system and metropolitan-scale trip-taking. In short, multiple scales in concert provide planners a clearer view of the urban form and the topological and metric complexity of the street network than any single scale can.The emerging methods of computational data science, visualization, network science, and big data analysis have broadened the scope of urban design's traditional toolbox. Such methods may yield new insights and rigor in urban form/design research, but they may also promulgate the weaknesses of reductionism and scientism by ignoring the theory, complexity, and qualitative nuance of human experience crucial to urbanism. The tools we use shape the kinds of questions we can even ask about cities. Today, the dissemination of quantitative network science into the social sciences offers an exciting opportunity to study the dynamics and structure of cities and urban form, but paths forward must consider cities as uniquely human complex systems, inextricably bound up with politics, privilege, power relations, and planning decisions.This dissertation comprises six substantive chapters bookended by introductory and concluding chapters. As a whole, the dissertation is divided into two primary parts. The first comprises chapters 2 and 3 and develops the theoretical framework. Chapter 2 introduces the background of the nonlinear paradigm by discussing systems, dynamics, self-similarity, and the nature of prediction in the presence of nonlinearity. These foundations set up the complexity theories of cities and the study of networks presented in chapter 3. This first part of the dissertation emphasizes the dynamics of complex urban systems before we turn our attention to their structure in the second part. Urban circulation networks serve as a physical substrate that underlies and organizes the city's complex human interactions. Chapter 4 collates various indicators of complexity from multiple research literatures into a typology of measures of the complexity of urban form, emphasizing the scale of urban design practice. In particular, it presents several measures of network complexity and structure that we then operationalize in chapters 5, 6, and 7. Methodologically, chapter 5 introduces OSMnx, a new tool to acquire, construct, correct, visualize, and analyze complex urban street networks. Chapter 6 applies OSMnx empirically in a small case study of street networks in Portland, Oregon. Chapter 7 then expands the empirical application of OSMnx to a large study of 27,000 urban street networks at various scales across the U.S. These street networks and measures data sets have been shared in a public repository for other researchers to re-purpose.
In 1928, Utah Construction Company completed its first project outside of the United States with the 110 mile railroad for Southern Pacific of Mexico. Over the next 30 years, UCC continued to work on projects in Mexico including dams, roads, mining, and canals. The collection contains several booklets and correspondence along with approximately 500 photographs. ; 8.5 x 11 in. paper ; Mexico 20 December 1972 E. C. DeMoss cc A. M. Wilson (2) Hugh Douglas Weston Bourret RECENT ECONOMIC TRENDS - MEXICO According to the Financial Times reports and speeches of informed officials, Mexico is presently witnessing a disturbing trend with respect to major mining investments. A few items bearing on this subject: 1. According to U. S. Ambassador Robert McBride, the trend of foreign investment policy is not all rosey and an upsurge in economic nationalism has provoked fears among mining investors. Mr. William Spencer, President of The First National City Bank of New York said last month ""Foreign investors are worried about the growing tendency of the Echeverria policies."" 2. The policy of Mexico, which began to gather force in the 1960s and has now been given new impetus by the Echeverria Administration, has improved the picture for the Mexico City Stock Exchange. The reason of course being that many foreign companies have suddenly found themselves obliged to sell up to 60 percent of equity to Mexican nationals. Invariably, they turn to the Mexican Stock Exchange to do so and naturally the effect is depressing on price of shares and P. E. multiple. 3. The Minister of National Patrimony, Sr. Florez de la Pena, in a recent blast told Congress ""Foreign investors who want to come to Mexico can come as partners, but we cannot allow them to convert Mexico into a land of maids and waiters."" 4. Of the three big mining companies, namely, Asarco Mexicana, Minera Frisco and Industrias Penoles, all suffered a sharp fall in profits in 1971 - partly of course due to lower metal prices. Minera Frisco profits declined by more than 50 percent compared to 1971. 5. In the past two years the government has bought out several important foreign companies. Simultaneously, the government has established new and stricter rules for foreign investors. Presently a bill is in Congress to control the importation of technology; and a second bill is now being drafted to cover the whole field of foreign investment including mining. Apparently, President Echeverria feels comfortable enough in his third year of power to challenge the private sector and his so called ""smothering"" influence of the United States. 6. The Latin American Review for November 10, 1972 carried the attabbed editorial on Mexico entitled ""Mexico: rules of the game."" After reading this editorial it appears that our Ambassador McBride is on the ball in inquiring as to what extent the rules of the game have really been changed. It is my thought that we continue to monitor developments related to Asarco Mexicana's LaCaridad copper mine and smelter. Rumors are that this proposition is not bankable in its present form as presented to the Consortium of Banks. We shall attempt to closely follow this situation as a ""bellweather"" of the government's attitude toward major mining investments. In the meantime, I suggest we talk to our U. S. Ambassador; the President of Asarco Mexicana, one or two bankers and the Minister of Finance, Sr. Pena before making any dollar committment on the acquisition of a mining concession in Mexico. Weston Bourret Attachment tenure. In Ecuador, 45 per cent of agricultural land is owned by 0.4 percent of the rural population, and 81.7 per cent o the farms are less than 5 hectares in area. The government's promise to respect 'productive' private land holdings probably means few or no expropriations of farms owned by rich Ecuadoreans. Mexico: rules of the game The government is beginning to change the rules of foreign investment without actually re-writing them. The first change concerns foreign know-how. By sending a bill to congress last week regulating the import of foreign technology, President Luis Echeverra took the first overt step towards estab-lishing stricter control over the use of foreign capital. The question of foreign know-how is by no means the major issue in Mexican minds over how to deal with investment from abroad, but it has been a painful thorn in their flesh for some time. Their complaint is that many foreign com-panies have charged their Mexican clients, asso-ciates or subsidiaries 'outrageous' sums for royalties, licences, patents, trade marks and tech-nical know-how generally. This technology is often outdated, or not needed, or excessively expensive, or unsuited to Mexican conditions. As regards subsidiaries of foreign companies, many are alleged to have preferred to pay for some indeter-minate know-how to their parent concern and deduct 23 per cent from the payment as federal tax, rather than retain the money in Mexico and pay a larger proportion out as corporation tax, compulsory profit sharing and so on. An added refinement, the indictment goes on, is that some subsidiaries pay for know-how to 'ghost' com-panies in Lichtenstein or Panama, so enabling the parent concerns to evade tax at home. All this is now to be stopped. Under the new bill, which is virtually certain to be approved in roughly its present form, any contract with a foreign firm which involves a Mexican company paying for any form of know-how or technological rights, must be registered with the ministry of trade and industry. If registration were refused, it would invalidate the agreement. This would give the government the same kind of wide discretionary powers to regulate the import of foreign tech-nology, as it already has in respect of goods and capital. Many foreign businessmen have for years complained that the existence of these powers, and the way they are exercized, leave them uncertain about what rules of the game really are. But this 358 is just what suits the Mexicans, who are nothing if not flex in the practice of government. For this reason the rules are unlikely to be re-written, even though they are to be applied more strictly. The signs of this have been legion of late. Even Echeverra himself has inveighed against the ten-dency of some foreign investors to buy up cheaply Mexican firms in difficulties, instead of investing to create new businesses and jobs. The driving force behind the campaign against the kind of investment the government does not want has come from Jos Campillo Sainz, deputy minister for trade and industry, who appears to have got his ideas accepted by the President. Indeed some reports have suggested that Campillo Sainz, who became disillusioned about the 'outrageous' pay-ments for know-how to United States firms when he was legal advisor to the private steel concern Fundidora of Monterrey, may replace the minister, Carlos Torres Manzo, in the foreseeable future. It was in fact Campillo Sainz who last month unleashed a somewhat acid exchange with the United States ambassador, Robert McBride, over the treatment of foreign investors. After the deputy minister had spoken on the subject to the Mexican-United States businessmen's committee, setting out the government's official view, the ambassador asked if the rules of the game had in effect been changed, and was told they had. McBride then complained that United States investors did not know for certain whether they were wanted or not, and found it very difficult to operate when the rules of the game were liable to be changed during play. These remarks caused a veritable deluge of protest from the Mexican press, and even the foreign minister, Emilio Rabasa, commented drily that the United States itself had changed the rules of the game by imposing a 10 per cent import surcharge during the dollar crisis last year, without warning to any of the players 1 Rabasa pointed out that all countries change the rules when they feel their vital interests to be affected. The fact remains that Mexico still wants foreign investment, and foreign know-how. But from now on it will be much more difficult for foreign investors, either new or long-established, to get away with bending the rules to the advantage of their profits. High profits will still be held out as an inducement, but only in areas where the Mexicans really want the investment to go. And in fact many of those 'old hands' who did bend the rules are probably resigned to seeing an end to the excellent run they have had for their money. This time there is unlikely to be any sudden panic withdrawal or withholding of private investment that occurred 12 years ago when the late President Adolfo Lpez Mateos announced that his government was 'extreme left within the constitution'. LATIN AMERICA, 10 November 1972
Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Untersuchung beschäftigt sich mit der Rolle von Hausgärten für die Ernährungssicherung der Menschen in Zambia und Zimbabwe, Strategien der Bewirtschaftung und der (agro)-ökologische Funktion dieser Anbausysteme. Hierbei werden physisch-geographische, sozioökonomische, kulturgeographische und historische Aspekte berücksichtigt. Die Untersuchung bezieht sich auf urbane und periurbane Bereiche Lusakas, die Südprovinz und Nordwestprovinz Zambias, sowie die Masvingoprovinz im Süden Zimbabwes. In die Untersuchung wurden hauptsächlich die niederen Einkommensschichten einbezogen, für welche die Eigenproduktion von Nahrung ein Grundelement der Lebenssicherung ist. Zur Anlage eines Hausgartens gehört eine gewisse Dauer der Sesshaftigkeit und ein Grundstock an Ressourcen, wie z.B. Land, Wasser und Saatgut. In der Praxis wurden die Hausgärten bisher sowohl in Zambia wie auch in Zimbabwe meist übersehen, d.h. dass sich weder die Forschung noch der landwirtschaftliche Beratungsdienst damit beschäftigt bzw. diese Aktivität unterstützt haben. Die Hausgärten in den wechselfeuchten Tropen des südlichen Afrika sind von außerordentlicher Wichtigkeit für die Überlebenssicherung der Bevölkerung sowohl in städtischen und randstädtischen Gebieten als auch in den ländlichen Räumen. Der große Vorteil der Hausgartenbewirtschaftung für die Ernährungssicherung und Entwicklung liegt in der eigenverantwortlichen Produktion von Nahrungsmitteln in der Nähe der Wohnhäuser. Diese Produktion ist durch eine hohe Energieeffizienz gekennzeichnet und ist an die Bedürfnisse der Familien angepasst. Der Hausgarten kann, je nach Situation, mehr oder weniger intensiv bewirtschaftet werden, und wirkt somit als Puffer für die Ernährungssicherung. Die Bewirtschaftung eines Hausgartens kann, wie besonders die Ergebnisse aus Zimbabwe zeigen, eine Antwort auf zunehmende Gefährdung (vulnerability) des Haushaltes sein. Nimmt diese Gefährdung ab, geht auch die Hausgartenaktivität zurück. Dies kann sich dadurch äußern, dass der Hausgarten vorübergehend gar nicht mehr bewirtschaftet wird oder dass nur kleine Flächen weiter bewirtschaftet werden. Familien mit mehreren Hausgärten können sich vorübergehend auf die Bewirtschaftung eines einzigen beschränken. Wenn die vulnerability z.B. durch Missernten verstärkt wird, nimmt auch die Hausgartenaktivität wieder zu. Zur Veranschaulichung von Entscheidungs- und Bewirtschaftungsstrategien von Haushalten wurde das Hausgartenmodell entwickelt. In seiner Anwendung auf die verschiedenen Räume ermöglicht das Modell eine Analyse der verschiedenen Faktoren, die die Hausgartenaktivität beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung kommt zum Ergebnis, dass die gartenbauliche Aktivität stark von der sozialen Stellung der Haushalte abhängig ist. Den vorliegenden Daten zufolge zeigt die Bevölkerung der ärmsten Stadtviertel die geringste Beteiligung sowohl im Gartenbau als auch im Regenfeldbau. Dies zeigt deutlich, dass die ärmste Bevölkerungsschicht, die in sehr dicht besiedelten Vierteln wohnt, kaum Zugang zu Ressourcen hat, da beide Formen der Landwirtschaft eng mit dem Zugang zu Ressourcen im städtischen Umfeld verknüpft sind. Eine hohe Grundgefährdung des Haushaltes (baseline vulnerability), von der im vorliegenden Falle vor allem die städtische Bevölkerung in den low-income, high density compounds und die sogenannten shifters von Lusaka betroffen sind, lässt die Anlage von Hausgärten also nicht zu. Als weitere stark gefährdete Gruppe wurden die frauengeführten Haushalte (female headed households) im Kabompo-Distrikt der Nordwestprovinz Zambias identifiziert. Auch diese Gruppe ist wenig an der Bewirtschaftung von Hausgärten beteiligt. Das heißt, dass der Hausgarten mit seiner Pufferfunktion für die Ernährungssicherung nur für Familien mit einem gewissen Lebensstandard von Bedeutung ist. Die Dauer der Sesshaftigkeit an einem Ort ist ein Indikator für relativ stabile Lebensumstände. Neuankömmlinge betreiben weniger Gartenbau als bereits länger etablierte Familien, wie SANYAL (1985) für Lusaka und KLUG (1989) für Accra (Ghana) zeigen konnten. Limitierende Faktoren für die Anlage von Hausgärten sind die Verfügbarkeit von Gartenland, Wasser, Arbeitskraft und Saatgut. Die Intensität des Anbaus wird durch den Bedarf an Nahrung und die Verfügbarkeit von Märkten bestimmt, ist aber durch die vorher genannten Faktoren eingeschränkt. "Typische" Hausgärten sind in der Regel nur im innerstädtischen Bereich und zwar dort anzutreffen, wo sich im direkten Hausbereich oder in der Nähe eine Wasserquelle (in Form eines Wasserhahns oder eines Wasserloches) befindet. In den untersuchten ländlichen Gegenden und im periurbanen Bereich Lusakas sind die Hausgärten oft in einiger Entfernung von den Wohnstätten angelegt. Dies begründet sich vor allem mit dem Problem der Wasserversorgung in der Trockenzeit. Nur dort, wo permanent Wasser zur Verfügung steht, befinden sich Hausgärten. Eine Ausnahme hiervon stellen die natürlichen Grasländer (dambos) dar. Sie eignen sich in besonderer Weise für den ganzjährigen Anbau von Gemüse. Der Bevölkerungsdruck und die marktorientierte Produktion führen jedoch, vor allem im periurbanen Raum Lusakas, zu starker Übernutzung der dambos. Dadurch wird die Pufferfunktion natürlicher Grasländer für die Ernährungssicherung langfristig gestört. Die Größe der Hausgärten ist in den verschiedenen Räumen deutlich unterschiedlich. Am kleinsten sind sie im urbanen Raum, gefolgt von den ländlichen Räumen Zambias und Zimbabwes. Der periurbane Raum bildet, mit relativ großen Gärten, eine Ausnahme, da hier stärker marktorientiert produziert wird. Die Rollenverteilung der Geschlechter im Gartenbau scheint abhängig von der Zugehörigkeit zu bestimmten ethnischen Gruppen. Im Süden des Landes, bei den Tongas, sind hauptsächlich die Frauen für den Hausgarten zuständig, während in der Nordwestprovinz mehr Männer Hausgärten bewirtschaften. Insgesamt sind jedoch weit mehr Frauen als Männer für die Bewirtschaftung der Hausgärten verantwortlich. Es bestehen deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den Anbauzielen von Frauen und Männern. Die Frauen produzieren i.d.R. stärker für die Ernährung der Familie, während die Männer mehr marktorientiert anbauen. Dies äußert sich auch in der Wahl unterschiedlicher Kulturpflanzen. Die Frauen sind bei der Standortvergabe für die Gärten in Zambia benachteiligt. Die Gartenarbeit wird besonders für die Frauen im ländlichen Raum zusätzlich erschwert, da die Wasserquellen weiter als bei ihren Männern vom Garten entfernt liegen. Zusätzlich müssen diese Frauen etwas weitere Wege zu ihren Gärten zurücklegen als ihre Männer. Die Standortwahl ist für die Anlage eines Gartens von elementarer Bedeutung. Die Gärten im ländlichen und periurbanen Raum werden durch die jeweiligen traditionellen Orts- oder Gebietsvorsteher (chiefs) vergeben, sind also nicht individuelles Eigentum. Geeignete Gartenstandorte sind begrenzt verfügbar, vor allem in Abhängigkeit von der Wasserversorgung. Einige Beispiele zeigen exemplarisch, wie die Nutzung verschiedener Standorte organisiert ist. Insbesondere im Lusitugebiet im Süden des Landes sind die besten Gartenstandorte meist belegt. Infolgedessen zwingt der große Bevölkerungsdruck die Bauern auf weiter vom Wohnhaus oder der Wasserquelle entfernte Standorte auszuweichen. Diese Distanz ist einer der limitierenden Faktoren bei der persönlichen Entscheidung, einen Hausgarten anzulegen. Zu weite Wege und zu großen Arbeitsaufwand bei der Bewässerung verhindern dies. Ein Beispiel hierfür sind die Gärten am Karibasee. Der stark schwankende Seespiegel des Stausees verhindert in vielen Fällen die Anlage von Hausgärten, weil entweder die Wege zum Wasser zu weit werden oder weil die Gärten bei steigendem Wasserspiegel überflutet werden. Die Gärten im urbanen Raum sind Beispiele für das enorme genetische Potential der Hausgärten. Die Berechnungen der Artenvielfalt zeigen, dass kleine Hausgärten im urbanen Raum insgesamt eine höhere Artenvielfalt aufweisen als die größeren, eher marktorientierten Gärten im periurbanen Bereich. Aber auch im ruralen und periurbanen Raum heben sich die Hausgärten hinsichtlich ihrer Artenvielfalt von den sonst weitverbreiteten Monokulturen deutlich ab. In sehr vielen Gärten wurden Nützlinge beobachtet. Dies zeigt, dass die kleinen Flächen Rückzugsnischen für diese Organismen darstellen. Einflussnahme staatlicher Beratungsdienste auf die Hausgartenbewirtschaftung kann sich allerdings negativ auf die Artenvielfalt auswirken, wie Beispiele aus Südzimbabwe belegen. Im Beitrag des Hausgartens zur Erhaltung der genetischen Artenvielfalt (Biodiversität) liegt wohl eine seiner wichtigsten ökologischen Funktionen. In den Städten, die auch in Entwicklungsländern durch vegetationsfreie Zonen geprägt sind, übernehmen die Hausgärten die wichtige Funktion der Begrünung, die, sofern sie Fruchtbäume beinhalten, insbesondere in der Nähe der Häuser für eine Regulation des Mikroklimas sorgen. Der unterschiedliche Entwicklungsstatus von Zambia und Zimbabwe zeigt seine Auswirkungen bis auf die Hausgartenebene. Die Verfügbarkeit und der Zugang zu Ressourcen und der allgemeine Lebensstandard ist in Zimbabwe deutlich besser als in Zambia. Dies äußert sich z.B. darin, dass in Zimbabwe 95% der Kleinbauern ihr Saatgut kaufen, während dieser Anteil im ländlichen Raum Zambias nur 30% beträgt. Ähnlich verhält es sich mit der Verwendung chemischer Pflanzenschutzmittel in Hausgärten. In Zimbabwe werden diese von allen Kleinbauern verwendet, während dies in Zambia insgesamt nur von 60% der Haushalte praktiziert wird, wie auch immer man dies bewerten mag. Problematisch ist die Nutzung ehemaliger Mülldeponien als Standort für Hausgärten. Hier muss mit Bodenkontamination, vor allem durch Schwermetalle gerechnet werden. Dies konnte beispielhaft für einen solchen Standort nachgewiesen werden. Im Vergleich zu periurbanen und ländlichen Standorten sind die städtischen Hausgärten insgesamt stärker mit Schwermetallen belastet. Die Hausgartenproduktion ist durch eine hohe Energieeffizienz gekennzeichnet und ist an die Bedürfnisse der Familien angepasst. Sie kann deshalb als ein Modell nachhaltiger Wirtschaftsweise begriffen werden. Der Hausgarten trägt in vielfacher Weise zur Ernährungs- und Lebenssicherung von Familien bei. Neben seiner wichtigsten Funktion, nämlich der Nahrungsproduktion und -diversifizierung, kann er zusätzliches Einkommen und z.B. über Tauschhandel und Geschenke weitere Vorteile für die Familien schaffen. Die soziale Bedeutung des Hausgartenanbaus, besonders für Frauen, ist nicht zu unterschätzen und bedarf weiterer Beachtung durch die Wissenschaft. Die Fruchtbarkeit der Gartenböden ist insgesamt gut. Dies zeigen z.B. die engen C/N-Verhältnisse in den meisten Gärten. Standortvergleiche mit Regenfeldern bzw. ungenutzten Flächen zeigen, dass sich die bodenchemischen Eigenschaften in Hausgärten deutlich positiv von den anderen Standorten abheben. Die Bewertung der Wirtschaftlichkeit von Hausgärten ist problematisch und bedarf der Diskussion. Der Wert des Hausgartens liegt natürlich zum einen in seinem Beitrag zur Ernährungssicherung, zum anderen sind aber die Aspekte der Erhaltung der Artenvielfalt, der Bodenfruchtbarkeit und sein Beitrag zu kleinen Stoffkreisläufen, vielleicht gerade wegen der Schwierigkeit der Quantifizierung dieser Faktoren, bisher meist übersehen worden. Die Verbesserung der Nahrungsvielfalt und - qualität muss neben der Gesamtproduktion aus Hausgärten als wichtiger Beitrag zur Ernährungssicherung gewertet werden. Trotz der relativ geringen Gesamtproduktion in den urbanen Gärten, die hauptsächlich auf die Knappheit von Ressourcen (Land und Wasser) zurückzuführen ist, ist hier die Diversifizierung der Nahrung und die geschmackliche Bereicherung des Speiseplans als außerordentlich wichtig einzustufen. Die Berücksichtigung umweltökonomischer und sozialer Aspekte sind bei der Bewertung der Hausgartenaktivität deshalb unumgänglich. ; Abstract African Homegardens - Self Management of Sustainable Production Systems and Strategies of Food Security in Zambia and Zimbabwe This book emphasises the importance of homegardens for food security of the Zambian and Zimbabwean population. Homegardening is part of the entire farming system, which is different in urban, periurban and rural areas by various reasons. In the urban context, becoming more important recently, homegardening is part of the urban microfarming system, consisting of many agricultural activities within the cities, including urban forestry. The "typical" homegardens (small production units near the house with mainly subsistence oriented production) are only to be found in cities, especially near water sources. The study areas are located in Lusaka as well as in the peri-urban fringe of Lusaka and rural areas of Southern and North-Western Provinces of Zambia and the Masvingo Province in Southern Zimbabwe. Especially in rural areas homegardens are very often far away from the homestead, nearly invisible and overlooked components of the households strategies for food security. Therefore there is need for a new, more flexible definition of homegardens. In this book the homegarden is consequently defined as a permanent or semi-permanent component of an entire small holder production system, managed by family members mainly, but not exclusively, for self-consumption and the creation of income. Homegardens are considered to represent models of sustainable agricultural production systems for many different reasons. Their contribution to recycling of organic waste, high soil fertility, high species diversity and manifold contributions to the social welfare of the people are some if these aspects. A homegarden - model was designed which shows the interrelationship between the political, cultural and physical environment, the household and its decision-making and the results of the household activity with respect to homegardening. This model is applicable to any environment and helps to understand why some families do homegardening while other don't. The model can assist to understand at least some of the factors influencing this activity. The household itself is based in the centre of the model. Internal and external factors, e.g. labour availability, access or "entitlement" to resources, education, occupation, etc. determine the vulnerability of the households and its decision making. The relationship between urban food production, food security and the urban environment has been largely neglected in the past. In Lusaka, as in many other tropical cities, gardening and cropping receive very little support from local authorities. Indeed, city councils often prohibit these activities. Production of staple foods prevails in the wet season, and vegetable production in the dry. Both activities largely depend on the access to resources like water and land. Within the high- and medium-density squatter quarters, vulnerability in terms of food security differs. In the Zambian case, it was found that dry-season cultivation is not practised by the most vulnerable households but rather by those which have access to essential resources for this activity. In Lusaka, garden size decreases with increasing population density. The walking distance to sources of water is much further in the high-density areas, making homegardening more difficult there. Access to both land and water is lowest in the high-density, low-income compounds in Lusaka. In peri-urban and rural areas the natural grasslands are of essential importance for food security by providing good farming and gardening conditions all year round. Near the urban centre of Lusaka the grasslands are heavily used for the production of cereals, vegetables and fruits. The proximity to the town causes structural changes in the periurban fringe of Lusaka. The over-utilisation of the natural grasslands leads to a disturbance of their buffer function for food security. Over-exploitation of soils, destruction of the natural vegetation cover and over-utilisation of water resources, affect the local population directly by limiting and changing their landuse possibilities. The provision of household food security becomes more unstable because the production in household based subsistence homegardens and staple food production are negatively influenced by the structural changes of the area. The market-oriented gardening involves the loss of species diversity and implies the use of pesticides in the gardens. Intensification of landuse in peri-urban areas and especially the year-round use of dambos can even be subject to commercial farms with advanced irrigation technology. If these plans are realised, a completely new view of the hydrological events and effects has to be taken. Homegardening obviously contributes to household food security in all the examined areas both directly by providing food and indirectly by generating income. The buffer-function of homegardens for food security gets obvious for the Zimbabwe case studies. In years of good harvests homegardening gets less important for the families - which means the planted area decreases or only one of several homegardens is used for vegetable production. In years of drought and food shortages homegardens become very important for food security and the planted areas increases. There are significant differences between the role of women and men in urban household food security. Women are more involved in agriculture and gardening in all compounds of Lusaka as the men are. In rainy season the production of staple foods is prevalent, while in dry season the people concentrate on vegetable production. Women are the major actors in urban homegardening but injured with respect to income generation and access to resources and markets. Income creation through gardening is one possibility for women to achieve more independence within the frame of the family. Additionally gathering contributes to food and income in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. 40 % of the members of the survey in Lusaka Town still practise gathering to create additional food or income. Eighty per cent of the households in peri-urban and rural areas, which where included in the survey, still practise gathering. But the urban population shows, due to vanishing plant resources, lowest involvement in the gathering activity. The genetic potential of urban homegardens is very high. Calculation of species diversity has proved that small gardens show higher diversity as the large gardens in the peri-urban areas. But also in peri-urban and rural areas, homegardens show significant higher species diversity as market oriented monocultures. The contribution of homegardens to the maintenance of species diversity seems to be one of its most important ecological functions. It would be misleading to compare homegarden-productivity with conventional agricultural production systems. The highly individual character of homegardening and the flexible handling of this production system its different from staple food production and plays a different key role in the families. It's contribution to the social welfare and economic independence especially of women and children has been completely neglected in the past. It's role in the informal economic sector has not been considered until now. There is urgent need for appropriate support of homegardening in the future. This book tries to give some ideas how to implement appropriate measures and how to establish awareness for this important activity
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I woke up in the middle of the night because I am old and I ate and drank too much. I couldn't resist schnitzel and strudel as I am in Vienna for a talk and for some other shenanigans (more on that in another post). And then I saw Phil Lagassé's post on the Conservatives and if they might spend on defence if elected. On that general topic, I am a skeptic as I think the CPC cares more about deficits than about defence, and the place to cut the budget is, alas, defence. That is where the money is. This was true under Harper. I don't know what Pierre Poilevre believes in, other than opportunism and pandering to the far right, but I don't think he will commit lots of money to get Canada to 2% of GDP (on the other hand, he could tank the economy, and that is the other way to get there). Oh, and to be clear, I think we need to spend significantly more on the military--I am just not going to threat inflate to get us there.Anyway, Phil said in his piece that we need to spend more to deal with the threat in the Arctic, and I had to scoff. Which led to a fun exchange in bluesky, reminiscent of the old days on twitter where we would argue and people thought we hated each other. Hint: I don't co-author with people I don't like. Ir don't co-author with the same person several times unless we get along very well. But it is both fun and educational to push back against one of the very sharpest defence minds in Canada.Specifically, Phil said: "Canadians know their Arctic is vulnerable." And my ensuing commentary focused on that: what exactly is the threat to Canada from on high? And should we consider this the most significant/dangerous threat? My point is that it is way back in line. Phil says we need to have better situational awareness up north. My rejoinder is: no invasion coming, just some spy ships on the water and below it. Others chimed in: more ships going through the northwest passage means more environmental stuff could go awry. And, I agree. But where does that line up in the threat picture? Here's my cranky, awakened with acid in my throat, ranking of the threats facing Canada. Climate change: Canadians are paying a high price for the changing climate even if we could joke about being a beneficiary as our winters get mostly shorter. Milder? Variance is more certain than anything else. Anyhow, people are dying in floods and fires, much property is being destroyed. When I speak of threat, I think of real harms to Canadians, to the economy, to governance. Climate change is first and it is not close. I was mocked by someone via email when I said this on TV, but I have never been a super lefty, green environmentalist type in my work. It is just the reality that in dollar amounts and in lives, the warming planet is harming Canadians in a big way and it is only going to get worse. A recurring theme is that many of the threats either cannot or will not have the military as the lead agency. This actually comes the closest given that the provinces underinvest in emergency management, knowing that the military will act if asked and won't present a bill.Pandemics: how many people were killed by covid in Canada? Nearly 60,000, which is more than Canadians killed in all foreign wars combined if one leaves out WWI. Plus many people now have long covid. It did a heap of damage to the economy, and, if you care about deficits (I don't really), guess what blew a big hole in the budget? I am very glad the Liberal government poured a ton of money into the economy as we didn't have runs on food banks during the height of the pandemic. I just wish Conservative-led provinces actually spent the money allotted to health care on.... health care. Will covid be the last pandemic? No. Indeed, given what it has done to attitudes about vaccinations, quarantines, and masking, I doubt we will respond as well next time. Scary, eh? The military was called out because other agencies lacked capacity, but this was really a medical/scientific thing, so let's not allocate a ton of money to the military for pandemic preparedness.Cyber attacks. Wars are distant, but cyber attacks are hitting Canadians every day, disrupting people's lives, hurting various businesses and public agencies, and pose a significant threat where some country could bring down our power or harm dams and more. Is this the military's job? Partially but not really. We don't need people who are trained to fire weapons and ready to deploy abroad and all that stuff to fight a cyber war. We need smart folks at well equipped desks. We definitely need to have more money spent on the military to survive and thrive in a cyberwar environment, but the CAF is not really our answer to thwarting cyber attacks against the Canadian public.Far right violence. We live in a time of increasing attacks by xenophobes, misogynists, homophobes, racists, anti-semities, Islamophobes, and white supremacists (these hates tend to travel together). Yes, left wing extremists can have many of these attributes, but it is clear that the violence is almost entirely coming from the far right. These haters are doing real harm to Canadians right now, and the trend is in the wrong direction. Can the military do anything about this? I think the general rule of not having the military police the public is a very good idea. Instead, the military's role is mostly to make sure it is not training the next generation of far right terrorists. Disinformation. This is, of course, related to the prior one, but it also involves foreign actors who are trying to tilt election outcomes. We are increasingly living in a time where people can't trust what they see and hear, or they are trusting the wrong actors. This leads to develop dangerous beliefs--like vaccines are poisonous, that the government in power is engaging in great, deliberate harm against its ideological opponents, and so forth, While the Liberals have screwed up many things, they need some trust in government to operate on our behalf, just as the Conservatives or NDP would need people to trust in institutions. The military should not be the primary actor at home on this either even as they engage in info ops abroad.People might I was joking about the increases in truck/SUV size being a threat, but more than 2000 people died in car accidents in 2023, and the trend is going up, even if one cuts the peak covid years from the dataset.North Korean missiles. While China and Russia have nuclear missiles, I have a bit more faith in the workings of deterrence and a bit less worried about accidental/deliberate first use. North Korea would not have any reason to attack Canada, but I could imagine that their aim might be that good. Of course, what is the CAF's role in this? Providing warning that Vancouver is doomed and then helping to respond to the aftermath. We have no defences against ballistic missiles nor will Canada have any such systems anytime in the future. I am a skeptic about American strategic defense (although tactical anti-missile systems seem to range from pretty good to amazing), but I do think Canada should join the US system as the ABM treaty is very dead. This is a military job and would justify the massive investment in NORAD modernization. Otherwise, it really is a system to warn us to give us a few minutes to kiss our loved ones goodbye. Oh, and manage relations with the US.US relations! The Canadian economy and its security crucially depend on the US, and, oh my, Canada will be so very, very fucked if Trump were to win. Democracies have lived beside authoritarian regimes before (hey, Finland!), but so much of Canada's position in the world relies on this huge market and this peaceful border and cooperation with the US. When was the last time Canada fought abroad without the US beside its side? UN missions? Guess again as the UN relies heavily on American support to do its ops. One could argue this would mean less wars for Canada--no more Afghanistans (which was purely to help its ally). But Canada would be even at greater risk of being bullied by the China's and Saudi Arabia's of the world. And, of course, by Trump himself. But again, this is not the CAF's job to prevent or mitigate this. If Trump is elected, most of the problems above get worse and this item zooms to the top.Maybe here goes: incomplete understanding of what is happening in the Arctic. Yes, that stuff up north is still Canada, but the threat to Canadians up there is not really that posed by Russia or China but by the lack of infrastructure and by the aforementioned climate change, pandemics, etc.So, if the military is not needed for this stuff, or only needed for domestic emergency ops, why spend tens of billions on it? Why increase spending? It comes down to this: the military is an instrument of policy. This means that it can and is used to further Canadian government objectives even if most of those objectives are not about thwarting threats to Canada. Canada has consistent interests in the world for which the CAF is a key tool, such as helping to foster stability in Europe and Asia. Canada, like the US, has learned that when those continents catch fire, it damages Canadian interests and hurts Canadians. A war in the South China Sea with or without the Canadian navy would be catastrophic to the Canadian economy. War west of Ukraine would also be quite damaging. NATO itself is an important interest that requires the Canadian military to invest in itself and in NATO missions. Ultimately, Canadians want to do good in the world and want to support the international order, whether we call it liberal or rules-based or American hegemony or whatever. Because we understand that Canadians have more influence within institutions than outside of them, that the rules have favored the Canadian economy, and helped the Canadian people to enjoy the fruits of international cooperation.Ultimately, one wants a well armed, well trained, well staffed military to prepare for the worst. In my ranking of threats, I focused on both likelihood of the threat being realized and the amount of harm that is likely if the threat happens. Climate change is at the top because it is happening and is not going away and is going to do heaps of damage. The threat in the Arctic is lower down because it is unlike that any foreign actor will attack that way and the damage they can do is not that great, again compared to everything else.Oh, and what is also a threat? Having an under-funded, unprepared, ill-equipped military sent off to war--that way lies tragedy. So, yes, spend more, but let's not exaggerate where the threats are coming from and what the role of the military is.
Il trattore agricolo è una macchina complessa, progettata per fornire potenza ad un numero consistente di attrezzi diversi sotto forma meccanica, idraulica e modernamente anche pneumatica ed elettrica. Il tutto viene fornito all'operatore per il tramite di un motore endotermico (tipicamente a ciclo Diesel), che sfrutta l'energia chimica contenuta nel combustibile, trasformandola in lavoro meccanico. Il continuo aumento del costo del gasolio, unitamente ad una maggiore attenzione ai problemi ambientali, hanno aumentato notevolmente l'attenzione degli agricoltori ai consumi. Proprio per questo, negli ultimi anni molte organizzazioni nazionali ed internazionali hanno cercato di definire dei metodi per calcolare un indice di efficienza energetica (EEI) anche per i trattori, similmente a quanto già fatto, ad esempio, per le automobili o per diverse tipologie di elettrodomestici. In particolare, l'efficienza energetica di un qualsiasi sistema rappresenta la capacità di sfruttare l'energia ad esso fornito per soddisfarne i fabbisogni. Minori sono i consumi relativi al soddisfacimento di questo fabbisogno, e migliore risulta l'efficienza energetica del sistema. Nel settore della meccanizzazione agricola, diverse nazioni (Spagna, Corea, Turchia) hanno introdotto dei programmi per la definizione di questo indice, basandosi su dati già disponibili, come quelli delle prove del Codice 2 OCSE o delle prove di omologazione del motore endotermico. La DLG (una associazione di agricoltori tedeschi), invece, ha messo in opera un sistema diverso, basato su prove in pista che cercano di simulare dei cicli di lavoro reali, tipici dell'agricoltura centro-europea. Tuttavia, storicamente sia i codici OCSE che questi nuovi protocolli di prova hanno riguardato nella gran parte dei casi i trattori standard; viceversa, i trattori specializzati, impiegati nei vigneti, frutteti, nell'orto-floro-vivaistica e nella manutenzione del verde non hanno potuto finora godere delle medesime attenzioni. Scopo di questo lavoro è quindi quello di costruire una metodologia per poter calcolare un Indice di Efficienza Energetica anche per i trattori da vigneto. Una prima fase del lavoro ha visto l'analisi dell'operatività dei trattori da vigneto, per poter definire quali cicli lavorativi rilevare in quanto maggiormente impattanti. Si è quindi proceduto all'analisi, per diversi motivi solo parziale, di questi cicli reali di campo, analizzando le potenze trasmesse dal trattore alla macchina operatrice e (ove possibile) anche i consumi. Successivamente questi dati sono stati elaborati per costruire dei cicli teorici facilmente riproducibili in laboratorio, per il tramite di banchi prova appositi (freno motore in particolare). La ridotta collaborazione dei costruttori non ha però permesso di replicare in laboratorio questi cicli creati. Si è quindi deciso di tentare un'altra strada, ovvero utilizzare dei dati di prove motore già liberamente disponibili, ovvero quelli relativi alle prove Codice 2 OCSE. Nel periodo 2011-2015, su un totale di 278 test report emessi, solo 11 purtroppo erano relativi a trattori da vigneto e frutteto. Analizzando i report si è valutata la corrispondenza tra potenza rilevata nelle prove in campo e potenza rilevata nel test Codice 2, verificando inoltre la compatibilità della modalità di prova (con riguardo alla posizione dell'acceleratore). I diversi cicli sono stati quindi parificati a 4 diverse condizioni di prova del Codice 2 OCSE. I dati relativi ai consumi specifici (espressi in g/kWh) sono stati quindi analizzati introducendo un impegno temporale previsto per la singola operazione, espresso come percentuale del tempo totale di lavoro, questo in quanto l'agricoltore non utilizza il trattore per un'unica operazione, ma per più operazioni. L'agricoltore può inoltre variare le percentuali di utilizzo del trattore per la singola operazione, ricalcolando quindi sulla effettiva operatività aziendale l'Indice di Efficienza Energetica complessivo. Come spesso succede, però, un singolo numero, soprattutto se non immediatamente confrontato con altri, non dice molto all'utilizzatore finale. Si rende quindi indispensabile, come effettuato in molti altri casi, una definizione delle diverse classi energetiche, per poter facilmente confrontare i risultati ottenuti dal foglio di calcolo sopra indicato. Si è deciso di optare per l'introduzione di 7 classi, dalla A alla G, differenziate tra di loro per un intervalli di 30 g/kWh. Si tratta di una decisione puramente arbitraria, e ovviamente soggetta a futuri adeguamenti, anche in base al ridotto campione di trattori che è stato in questo momento analizzato. In conclusione, il progetto sviluppato durante questa tesi ha lo scopo principale di offrire all'utilizzatore di trattori specializzati diversi indici riguardanti l'efficienza energetica (e quindi, indirettamente, i possibili costi di gestione) dei trattori stessi in diverse condizioni operative, tipiche del settore viticolo e frutticolo. Futuri approfondimenti del lavoro dovranno sicuramente riguardare tutte le parti di questo lavoro. Si dovrà infatti implementare l'analisi reale delle diverse lavorazioni, con una misurazione puntuale delle potenze assorbite da diverse attrezzature (anche della stessa tipologia ma con capacità operative differenti), ricreando dei cicli teorici più affidabili possibili. Inoltre, la fase critica sarà quella per l'ottenimento dei dati reali da prove di laboratorio riferite ai cicli, e non più ai soli dati del codice 2. Si ritiene poi importante anche ottimizzare il database, creando un software apposito con un database periodicamente aggiornato, e in grado di guidare l'agricoltore nella compilazione del suo "uso tipico". Inoltre, è ovvio che il consumo di combustibile, per quanto sia uno dei fattori principali che guidano l'agricoltore nella scelta del trattore, non è sicuramente l'unico. Dal punto di vista ambientale potrebbe essere utile analizzare anche le emissioni di gas in atmosfera, misurandole con l'apposita sensoristica (opacimetri, sonde lambda, etc.) durante le prove di laboratorio. Questi dati, confrontati tra loro su di un utilizzo medio ragionato, potrebbero essere utilizzati anche come base per l'erogazione di sussidi in agricoltura: come già avviene in molti altri settori o in altri paesi, dove le macchine maggiormente efficienti (sia come consumi che come emissioni) sono finanziate dai Piani di Sviluppo Rurale, soggette a defiscalizzazioni o comunque oggetto di contribuzione pubblica. ; The agricultural tractor is a complex machine, designed to provide power to a broad number of different types of equipment, be it mechanical power, hydraulic power, and in recent times even pneumatic and electric power. All this power is harnessed through an endothermic engine (typically diesel cycle), that harnesses the chemical energy of the fuel transforming it into mechanical energy. The constant increase in fuel prices, together with a higher awareness of environmental issues, have significantly increased farmers' concern over their consumptions. In the last few years, this has led many national and international organisations to come up with methods to calculate an energy efficiency index for tractors, in line with what has already been done for cars or different types of household appliances. In particular, the energy efficiency of a system can be defined as its ability to harness the supplied energy to meet its needs. The less the system consumes in order to meet its needs, the higher will be its energy efficiency. Within the farm mechanisation industry, several countries (Spain, Korea, Turkey) have introduced programmes in an attempt to define this index, based on currently available data such as the OECD Code 2 tests or performance testing on endothermic engines. The DLG (German Agricultural Society) has implemented a different system, based instead on field tests that replicate real work cycles typical of central- European farming. However both the OECD codes and these new testing protocols were mainly designed and tested on standard tractors, whereas specialised tractors, the ones used in vineyards, fruit orchards, greenhouses and vegetation maintenance, have been neglected up until now. The purpose of this project is to devise a methodology in order to be able to calculate an Energy Efficiency Index also for vineyard tractors. The first part of the project consisted in analysing the work of tractors in viticulture, in order to pick out the most impactful, and therefore most relevant work cycles. This was followed by an only partial (for several reasons) analysis of these real-life field cycles, by studying the power transmitted from the tractor to the implements/equipment and (where possible) assessing consumption as well. This data was then used to devise theoretical cycles, easily reproducible in the lab thanks to dedicated testing areas (especially for the engine brake). But due to a lack of cooperation from the manufacturers, it was not possible to test these cycles in the lab. A different strategy was then decided on: using engine testing data from sources that were already freely available, such as data from the OECD Code 2 tests. Between 2011 and 2015, only 11 out of 278 test reports issued involved vineyard and orchard tractors. When analysing these reports, the power detected in field tests was compared to the power detected in Code 2 tests, and the compatibility of the test setting was also assessed (especially the position of the throttle). The various cycles were then compared against 4 different test conditions of the OECD Code 2. The specific consumption data (expressed in g/kWh) was then assessed against a given time allocated to the task, expressed as a percentage of the overall work time, as the farmer doesn't use the tractor for a single task but for multiple tasks. The farmer can also change the percentages of tractor usage for each task; thereby recalculating the overall energy efficiency index according to the farm's actual operational performance. However, as often happens, one single figure, especially if not immediately checked against other numbers, does not mean much to the end user. Therefore it is essential, as it has proved to be in many other cases, to provide a definition of the different energy brackets in order to facilitate the comparison of results by using the spreadsheet shown above. It has been decided to introduce 7 energy brackets running from A to G, each one separated by an interval of 30g/kWh. This is a purely arbitrary distinction, which is obviously subject to future amendments also due to the small numbers of tractors analysed so far. In conclusion, the main goal of the project outlined in this paper is to provide the user of specialised tractors with different energy efficiency indexes (and therefore also, indirectly, with an idea of the possible operating costs) of tractors under diverse operating conditions within the vine and fruit culture industry. Any future research on this project should take into account all the aspects that have been touched on. It will be necessary in fact to implement a real-life analysis of the different activities, with accurate measurements of the power used by each piece of equipment (even if they are of the same type but with different operating systems), devising in this way theoretical cycles that are as reliable as possible. In addition, a key part of the project should revolve around obtaining real data from laboratory tests based on these cycles, and not just data from Code 2 tests. We also consider it important to optimise the database, by creating a dedicated software with a regularly updated database, which can guide the farmer in tracking his "typical use". Moreover it is clear that the consumption of fuel, despite being one of the main factors that guide the farmer's choice of tractor, is definitely not the only one. From an environmental point of view, it could be useful to also analyse gas emissions into the atmosphere, by measuring them with the appropriate instruments (opacimeters, lambda waves, etc.) during laboratory tests. All this data, if it was compared and evaluated against a reasoned average utilisation, could then be used as a basis for the distribution of agricultural subsidies, as is already the case in many other industries or in other countries, where the most efficient machines (both in terms of consumption and emissions) are funded by Rural Development Plans, or benefit from tax deductions or some form of government contribution.
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In a recent interview with Jordan's government-backed broadcaster, America's top military officer lavished praise on the country's armed forces.
"We have common interests and common values," said Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The Jordanian Armed Forces are very professional. They're very capable. They're well led."
Milley's view represents the most common American line on the Jordanian military, which has long enjoyed a close relationship with the Pentagon. There's just one problem: It's dead wrong, according to Sean Yom, a political science professor at Temple University.
Where Washington sees a small-but-mighty army, Yom sees a "glorified garrison force," as he wrote in a chapter of the recent edited volume, "Security Assistance in the Middle East." The Jordanian military, he writes, is "more accustomed to policing society to maintain authoritarian order at home than undertaking sophisticated operations."
As Yom notes, the regime that the Jordanian military defends has become increasingly autocratic in recent years. King Abdullah recently approved a cybercrime law that would allow the government to jail its citizens for promulgating "fake news" or "undermining national unity" — terms that the law largely leaves undefined. The crackdown on expression comes just three years after the government crushed the country's teachers' union, which had previously acted as a primary vehicle for political opposition in Jordan.
So what does the U.S. have to show for its decades of lavish support for Jordan's military? And what can that tell us about how Washington should approach security aid? RS spoke with Yom to find out. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
RS: The conventional story of U.S. security assistance is that, even though some of the countries that we help are authoritarian in nature, our aid tends to lead to greater respect for democracy, and if it doesn't do that, it at least will strengthen partner militaries. But in your chapter, you describe a different story in Jordan. Can you walk me through that a little bit?
Yom: U.S security assistance is typically justified through the doctrine of "building partner capacity." There has been a lot of ink spilled on the importance of modernizing the Jordanian Armed Forces and ensuring that it is a capable, coherent and interoperable armed force that can seamlessly work with the U.S. military or conduct operations on its own in the service of defending Jordan, or bolstering regional stability, for instance, by undertaking counterterrorist operations or contributing to peacekeeping missions.
The problem is that there is very little historical evidence that the Jordanian military is actually a capable fighting force, and I think a few key pieces of evidence underlie this. Number one, Jordan really hasn't fought a major armed conflict in a half century. It's undertaken peacekeeping abroad through the moniker of the UN, and it occasionally conducts one-off missions such as its airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria back in 2014. But there is very little evidence on the battlefield that the Jordanian military is what the U.S. would call a capable and competent partner military. The other piece of evidence is that much of Jordan's defense structure has partly been offshored to the United States. The border surveillance system between Jordan and Syria was built by Raytheon Company through U.S. military and economic grants, and much of Jordanian airspace is monitored as closely by the United States as it is by the Jordanians themselves. The significant U.S. military buildup in Jordan is part and parcel of the United States interest in defending the sovereignty of Jordan and ensuring that foreign aggressors — whether they are terrorists or militant organizations or even foreign states — do not penetrate very far into the Hashemite Kingdom.
We don't see a military that is being built to be capable and modernized and independent and combat ready. Instead, the overriding justification — internally at least, seldom mentioned publicly — is that U.S. security assistance in Jordan is designed not to build partner capacity but to ensure political access to the Hashemite monarchy and to lubricate U.S.-Jordanian relations to make sure that this bilateral alliance is smooth and allows both sides to achieve their mutual interests. In Jordan's case, [its interests are] to remain stable, to receive aid and arms from the United States, and to preserve its sovereignty, and in Washington's case, it's to make sure that there is a pro-Western oasis of moderation in the heart of the Near East.
RS: A question that's underlying a bunch of this is whether the monarchy and the system as it exists in Jordan could even continue to exist without American support. To put it bluntly, does U.S. aid underwrite autocracy in Jordan?
Yom: I think it does, but with a few caveats. The first is that, in comparative perspective, Jordan is not unique in being a middle-income country whose autocratic regime needs foreign aid to survive. The other caveat is that I don't necessarily think that U.S. support and aid is the only reason why the current system of government in Jordan is able to endure. It has its own survival mechanisms, whether it is rallying support from certain constituencies in society, such as some tribal communities, or leaning heavily on other partners in the region.
But I will say this: U.S. support may not be the only reason, but it is a major reason why the Hashemite monarchy and its regime has been able to maintain its current political strategy of maintaining power, which is not to democratize or alleviate repression but rather to maintain an authoritarian status quo. And I think U.S. support is also a major reason why the Jordanian leadership has very little incentive to grant meaningful political reforms such as curtailing corruption and granting more democratic freedoms, which clearly a majority of Jordanians desire. And we know this from public surveys. Jordanians are very explicit in what they are unhappy about the current political system, but they also feel that, because the U.S. often refuses to pressure the Jordanian government to grant or concede more of these reforms, they feel that the U.S. is complicit and preserving the authoritarian status quo.
Geopolitically, Jordan plays an important function to U.S. grand strategy as a critical part of its war-making infrastructure in the Middle East, as well as diplomatically a pro-Western oasis or island of stability in the heart of a "shatterbelt" of the Middle East. Because of these factors, Washington has very little problem providing such profuse amounts of military assistance to the Jordanian Armed Forces. Above all else, of course, Jordan abuts Israel. Jordan's role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its primary purpose as a peace partner of Israel validates in the eyes of many American policymakers why they should continue supporting the modernization and the arming of the Jordanian Armed Forces under the guise, of course, of building partner capacity but knowing full well that Jordan is not going to be fighting a war anytime soon.
RS: At some level, you've painted a picture of a big win for U.S. interests here. There's a sense in which America gets a huge plot of land in the middle of a region that it deems vital, and the only downside is that that support doesn't really square with our stated values. But in your article, you had a different conclusion. Can you tell me more about that?
Yom: By helping to maintain [Jordan's] political infrastructure, the United States is complicit in the continued economic and social stagnation of Jordan. For every dinar that the Jordanian leadership spends on security or military items — money that many Jordanians feel it does not have to spend — the less money there is to spend on, say, social programs or economic development.
If you look at the Jordanian economy, it is astounding how much of a crisis that it has fallen into. We're looking at, right now, 22 to 23 percent unemployment overall, which is probably a vast understatement of the real statistic. We're looking at nearly 50 percent youth unemployment. We're looking at poverty, which is between 25 to 30 percent depending upon which estimate we take as reliable. And this is all in a country that also spends approximately a third of each annual budget on military and security spending. So essentially, what you're looking at when you think about the Jordanian economy today is a wartime economy. The Jordanian government positions itself and maintains an army as if it were about to wage a war it doesn't have to wage, and that has a destructive effect on the economy and often justifies draconian security measures to regulate and police society. The United States, I would argue, is complicit in that arrangement.
Washington has had very similar experiences in the past with other countries where regimes have some kind of deep economic or political crisis, and yet they believe that having a well-armed coercive apparatus is going to immunize them from any sort of domestic unrest or popular overthrow. Now, that may be the case in Jordan, because the future is hard to tell. But that certainly wasn't the case in, say, Iran under the Shah. It wasn't the case in South Vietnam. It wasn't the case in some of our Central American client states in the 1970s and the 1980s.
One of the things I wish U.S. policymakers would reconsider is whether or not the current arrangement is fundamentally in the interest of the Jordanian people. If we define stability as a country having not just a legitimate political system, but a sustainable economy and a relatively satisfied population, then Jordan is failing on some of these key fronts.
History shows us that [this] kind of strategy seldom works, and it's one of the dark consequences that I fear the most in Jordan, since obviously instability in Jordan doesn't help anyone. But the current vision of stability that has encaged itself in the minds of American lawmakers is not one that I think is going to be fruitful over the long term.
In the context of climate change and energy crisis, bioenergy, which accounts for the largest share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, has drawn considerable attention from an increasing number of countries. While its potential to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to provide energy has been widely acknowledged, concerns over the side effects of bioenergy are still being voiced. In particular, its perceived threats on food security and local ecosystems have largely impeded its development, which is best exemplified by the role that bioenergy takes in the EU's growth strategy of "Europe 2020". This fact provided the motivation for the reflections presented in this thesis on how to realize a sustainable development of the bioenergy industry. To answer this question, we have selected a coastal province in eastern China as the region in which to conduct our study. China is simultaneously the most populated country and the largest GHGs emitter in the world. It can, therefore, be expected that the entire international community can learn some valuable lessons from the practical experience that China has gathered in the field of bioenergy. Following a brief outline of the background information on our research in the initial two chapters, Chapter 3 frames the structure of the bioenergy industry and clarifies the role of each actor. Depending on their relative importance in the industry, these actors can be assigned to one of the two categories of stakeholders: central or peripheral. Based on the local practice, we present the construction process of the bioenergy industry in China from both the supply side and the demand side. This descriptive analysis is intended to help the reader form a general understanding of the bioenergy industry in China, on which our subsequent quantitative analysis is based. Chapter 4 focuses on farmers as one of the central stakeholders that are located at the upstream of the bioenergy supply chain. We develop a biomass feedstock provision model compiled with GAMS to simulate the responsive behaviors of farmers – the agents in our spatial-agent dynamic model – to the challenges arising from emerging energy crops. Using this model, we delineate land use changes after the insertion of the bioenergy industry. We further fix the sources of the promising biomass feedstock, with the straws of conventional crops accounting for 85% of feedstock and energy crops for the remaining 15%. In view of the geographical characteristics of the region, the northern part of Jiangsu is recommended to accommodate an extensive cultivation of energy crops in the long run. Furthermore, our model also confirmed the positive role of reclaimed mudflats as a candidate for the arable land resource that is capable of alleviating land use conflicts between conventional crops and energy crops. In analogy to Chapter 4 focusing on farmers, Chapter 5 concentrates on haulers and bioenergy plants operators, which are the other two actors belonging to the category of central stakeholders. Based on the data on biomass feedstock provision predicted by the model described above, we deliberately calibrate the optimizing model of bioenergy industry infrastructure to stimulate their respective performances. As a result we discovered a general pattern in the modeled distribution of bioenergy plants: due to the higher transportation cost of biomass feedstock than of bioenergy products, bioenergy plants opt to be situated more closely to the sources of biomass feedstock than to the consumption centers of bioenergy products. In terms of the specific distribution, the model projects that up to 44% of biorefineries and 62% of power plants with the largest scale should be located in northern Jiangsu. These figures support the government's decision to turn the area into a production basis for bioenergy, as outlined in the official development plan. Additionally, we evaluate two proposed policies designed to relieve the pressure of bulky biomass transport on local logistic systems and to shorten the regional development disparity among three sub-regions of the region studied. By combining the above two independent but related models in Chapter 6, we arrive at a decision support system for the bioenergy industry. This system takes into account the whole bioenergy supply chain. Unlike each of the separate sub-models presented in previous chapters, the integrated model adequately depicts the interactions among the upstream and downstream of the bioenergy supply chain. Furthermore, it also describes their feedback to peripheral stakeholders such as the government, local residents, NGOs and other lobbying groups, which do not form part of the supply chain but influence the general setting for the bioenergy industry. Using this model as our analytical tool, we examine two policies aiming to promote the bioenergy industry: a comprehensive policy (a favorable taxation) and a targeted policy (a financial subsidy). Generally speaking, despite the fact that both supportive measures could significantly boost the development of the industry without necessarily jeopardizing food security, their effectiveness relies to a great extent on the scale and the objectives of these measures taken. In the last chapter, we return to our qualitative analysis. This time, however, we widen its temporal and spatial scope. First, we construct a conceptual model describing the cascade use and recycling of biomass resources. Then we compare the short-term and the long-term incentive mechanisms involved. Finally, we apply Porter's diamond model to analyze separately all the factors constituting the advantages of the bioenergy industry. We argue that an unprecedented opportunity for bioenergy industry development has come. The fundamental actors driving the development of the industry are professional bioenergy firms boasting clearly defined and well-enforced property rights, good supervision mechanisms, advanced technological background and effective management methods. Since the bioenergy industry is mostly oriented towards the domestic market, it is likely to become more competitive with the formation of an industrial cluster focused on bioenergy or by receiving appropriate support from the government. The government's intervention is justified in this context by the government's supervisory duties, legislative duties and its responsibility to provide favorable incentives. In this study, we have successfully built an integrated model covering all the actors of the bioenergy industry and proposed a sustainable development strategy for the industry in China. Nevertheless, the study has several limitations that need be overcome before it can be extended to other regions. Firstly, due to the lack of high-quality field data of energy crops plantations, the uncertainties regarding actual agricultural operations and the resultant potential ecological risks cannot be fully reflected in our study. Secondly, only bioethanol and biopower have been included in the mathematical model. In view of the wide variety of biomass conversion routes, more bioenergy products should be included in future models. ; Vor dem Hintergrund des Klimawandels und der Energiekrise hat Bioenergie in einer wachsenden Zahl von Ländern in letzter Zeit beträchtliche Aufmerksamkeit gewonnen. Zum weltweiten Energiemix trägt sie bereits heute den größten Teil bei. Zwar wird das Potenzial von Bioenergie, zu einer Reduktion der Treibhausgasemissionen beizutragen, weithin anerkannt; doch werden immer noch Bedenken in Hinblick auf ihre Nebenwirkungen geäußert. Insbesondere die befürchteten Gefahren für die Ernährungssicherheit und lokale Ökosysteme behindern die Entwicklung der Bioenergie erheblich, was wohl am besten anhand der Rolle veranschaulicht werden kann, die der Bioenergie in der Entwicklungsstrategie "Europa 2020" durch die EU zugeschrieben wird. Vor diesem Hintergrund behandelt die vorliegende Dissertation die Frage, wie eine nachhaltige Entwicklung der Bioenergieindustrie erreicht werden kann. Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage wurde eine küstennahe Provinz im Osten Chinas als Untersuchungsgebiet ausgewählt. China ist das bevölkerungsreichste Land und der größte Treibhausgasemittent der Welt. Es kann daher davon ausgegangen werden, dass die gesamte Völkergemeinschaft einige wertvolle Lehren aus den praktischen Erfahrungen ziehen kann, die China auf dem Gebiet der Bioenergie gesammelt hat. Im Anschluss an eine kurze Darstellung des Hintergrunds unserer Untersuchung in den ersten beiden Kapiteln wird im dritten Kapitel die Struktur der Bioenergiebranche skizziert und die Rolle der einzelnen Akteure beschrieben. Abhängig von deren jeweiliger Bedeutung für die Branche können diese Akteure als entweder Haupt- oder Nebenakteure klassifiziert werden. Ausgehend von der lokalen Praxis stellen wir die Entwicklung der Bioenergiebranche in China sowohl auf der Angebots- als auch auf der Nachfrageseite dar. Diese deskriptive Analyse soll dem Leser ein Grundverständnis der Bioenergiebranche in China vermitteln, auf dem die anschließende quantitative Analyse aufbaut. Das vierte Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit den Landwirten, die als zentrale Akteure am Anfang der Bioenergie-Wertschöpfungskette stehen. Mit Hilfe von GAMS entwickeln wir ein Modell zur Bereitstellung der Biomasserohstoffe, um das Reaktionsverhalten der Landwirte (den Akteuren in unserem dynamischen räumlichen Akteursmodell) auf die Herausforderungen zu simulieren, die mit dem Aufkommen der Energiepflanzen verbunden sind. Unter Verwendung dieses Modells skizzieren wir die durch die Bioenergiesparte ausgelösten Veränderungen im Bereich der Landnutzung. Hierbei legen wir die Anteile für konventionellen Anbau und Energiepflanzen an der gesamten landwirtschaftlichen Produktion auf 85% und 15% fest. Aufgrund der geographischen Beschaffenheit der Region wird für den nördlichen Teil von Jiangsu langfristig eine extensive Bewirtschaftung mit Energiepflanzen empfohlen. Darüber hinaus wurde mit Hilfe unseres Modells die positive Rolle urbar gemachten Wattenmeers als Ressource einer möglichen Entschärfung von Landnutzungskonflikten zwischen konventionellen und Energiepflanzen bestätigt. Analog zum Fokus des vierten Kapitels auf Landwirte konzentriert sich das fünfte Kapitel auf Spediteure und die Betreiber von Bioenergieanlagen, die beide ebenfalls zu der Gruppe der Hauptstakeholder gehören. Ausgehend von den Angaben zur Bioenergie-Versorgungskette, die sich aus Simulationen mit dem oben beschriebenen Modell ergeben, justieren wir das Optimierungsmodell für die Infrastruktur der Bioenergiebranche im Sinne einer Förderung der jeweiligen Leistungen. Als Ergebnis wurde ein allgemeines Muster im Hinblick auf die räumliche Verteilung von Bioenergieanlagen beobachtet: Da die Transportkosten von Biomasserohstoffe höher sind als die von Bioenergieprodukten, bevorzugt das Modell eine Entscheidung für die Platzierung von Bioenergieanlagen nahe bei den Rohstoffquellen gegenüber Nähe zu Konsumzentren. Hinsichtlich der genauen räumlichen Verteilung errechnet das Modell, dass bis zu 44% der Bioraffinerien und 62% der größten Kraftwerke im nördlichen Teil von Jiangsu errichtet werden sollten. Diese Zahlen bekräftigen die Entscheidung der Regierung, die Gegend zu einen Standort der Bioenergieproduktion zu machen, was auch im offiziellen Entwicklungsplan der Region zu finden ist. Zusätzlich werten wir zwei vorgeschlagene Handlungsweisen aus, die zur Reduktion der Auswirkungen sperriger Biomassetransporte auf die lokale Logistikinfrastruktur sowie zur Verringerung der Entwicklungsunterschiede zwischen drei Gegenden innerhalb der betrachteten Region beitragen sollen. Eine Kombination der beiden oben beschriebenen voneinander unabhängigen aber dennoch miteinander verwandten Modelle im sechsten Kapitel führt zu einem Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem für die Bioenergiebranche. Das System berücksichtigt die gesamte Bioenergieversorgungskette. Anders als die in den vorangegangenen Kapiteln beschriebenen Untermodelle bildet das integrierte Modell das Zusammenspiel zwischen den vorgelagerten und den nachgelagerten Märkten innerhalb der Bioenergiebranche hinreichend ab. Darüber hinaus beschreibt es deren Rückkopplung mit den Nebenstakeholdern, zu denen die Regierung, Bewohner, NGOs und andere Lobbygruppen gehören. Diese sind nicht Teil der Versorgungskette, haben aber einen Einfluss auf die Rahmenbedingungen der Bioenergiebranche. Unter Zuhilfenahme unseres Modells als analytisches Instrument untersuchen wir zwei Ansätze zur Förderung der Bioenergieindustrie: Eine umfassende Politik (günstige Besteuerung) und eine zielgerichtete Politik (finanzielle Förderung). Im Allgemeinen hängt die Effektivität beider Ansätze größtenteils vom Ausmaß und von den Zielsetzungen der getroffenen Maßnahmen ab. Die Herausforderung besteht darin die Förderungsmaßnahmen so auszurichten, dass sie die Branche stärken ohne die Nahrungsmittelsicherheit zu gefährden. Im letzten Kapitel kehren wir zur qualitativen Analyse zurück. Diesmal weiten wir jedoch ihren zeitlichen und räumlichen Rahmen aus. Zunächst entwickeln wir ein konzeptionelles Modell, das die Kaskadennutzung und das Recycling von Biomasseressourcen beschreibt. Daraufhin vergleichen wir die damit verbundenen kurzfristigen und langfristigen Anreizmechanismen. Zum Schluss wenden wir Porters Diamantenmodell an, um all jene Faktoren gesondert zu analysieren, die für die Bioenergiebranche Vorteile bedeuten. Wir legen dar, dass sich derzeit eine noch nie dagewesene Chance für die Entwicklung der Bioenergiebranche bietet. Bei den Hauptakteuren, die die Entwicklung der Branche antreiben, handelt es sich um professionelle Bioenergieunternehmen, die über klar definierte und gut durchsetzbare Eigentumsrechte, etablierte Kontrollmechanismen, einen fortgeschrittenen technologischen Hintergrund und effektive Managementmethoden verfügen. Da die Bioenergiebranche vor allem auf den heimischen Markt ausgerichtet ist, wird sie durch die Bildung eines Branchenclusters oder durch angemessene Förderung durch die Regierung wahrscheinlich wettbewerbsfähiger. Ein Eingreifen der Regierung ist in diesem Zusammenhang durch deren Aufsichtspflicht, deren legislative Aufgaben und deren Zuständigkeit, finanzielle Anreize zu schaffen, gerechtfertigt. In dieser Studie ist es uns gelungen, ein integriertes Modell zu entwickeln, das alle Akteure der Bioenergiebranche umfasst. Wir haben weiterhin eine Strategie zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung der Branche in China ausgearbeitet. Dennoch hat die Studie auch einige Beschränkungen, die überwunden werden müssen, bevor sie auf andere Regionen übertragen werden kann. Zum Einen können die Unsicherheiten hinsichtlich der tatsächlichen landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugung und den aus dieser resultierenden Umweltrisiken in dieser Studie aus Ermangelung hochwertiger Felddaten im Hinblick auf Energiepflanzenplantagen nicht voll und ganz reflektiert werden, zum Anderen wurden in dem mathematischen Modell nur Bioethanol und Biostrom berücksichtigt. Angesichts der großen Bandbreite an Wegen der Biomasse-Konversion sollten in künftige Modellen weitere Bioenergieprodukte eingebaut werden.
The debate about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to stakeholders is a fairly lengthy debate in the repertoire of the development of company law. At least there are two fundamentally different views to interpret the corporate social responsibility.The views, Firstly, cling to the belief that the concept of corporate social responsibility is counterproductive in the business world. According to Milton Friedman, a corporation are naturally only have a goal to generate economic objectives for shareholders. A prominent liberal economics is very pessimistic and tend to oppose any attempt to make the company as a social purpose. Furthermore, in Capitalism and Freedom (1962) Milton Friedman clearly states that in a free society there is one and only one social responsibility of businesses that utilize the company's resources and engage in activities that aim to maximize profits. If this goal is achieved by the company, it actually functions, and corporate social goals have been achieved, namely to improve the welfare of society.The doctrine of the social responsibility in business, damage the free market economic system.Acknowledging social responsibility that will lead to an economic system leads to the direction of the economic plans of the Communist Countries. In the writings, published in the New York Times Magazine on September 13th, 1970, with the title: "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits". This reasoning is supported by Joel Bakan, which teaches that if the company gives some of its profits to the community, the company has violated his nature. Business sustainability can take place in the long term if the company is able to provide an answer to the needs of stakeholders and give them what they need.Second views, with the increasing importance of the role and position of all stakeholders in the Good Governance management of the company, and surely, the second thought, extremely gave rise to the contradicts of the first view. The second view was expressly acknowledged the existence of corporate social responsibility towards stakeholders. R. Edward Freeman in, "A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation", offers an alternative to the theory of Friedman. On the view Freeman, Friedman wrong to assume that the main task is the company's executive moral fiduciary issue to their shareholders and that in fulfilling this obligation they act socially responsible. Freeman takes issue with dissention of opinion and the opinion: 1 "That the company's managers have a duty to all groups and individuals who own shares (a stake) in or claim on the company (Freeman refer to groups and individuals as 'stakeholders'); 2 That there was no stakeholder groups should be given primacy over the other when the company mediate the competition claims of stakeholders; and 3 That company law should be changed to require executives to manage their enterprise in accordance with the principles of the theory of stakeholders, namely, Freeman stated that the executive should be notified (legal / official) to manage their company in the interests of their stakeholders ". Regardless of whether the stakeholder management leads to improved financial performance, managers must manage the business for the benefit of all of stakeholders. It looked at the company rather than as a mechanism to improve the financial returns of stockholders,but as a vehicle for coordinating of stakeholders interests and view management as having a fiduciary relationship not only for shareholders, but for all of stakeholders. According to the normative of stakeholders theory, management must give equal consideration to the interests of all stakeholders, while a conflict of interest, to manage the business so as to achieve the optimum balance between them. This, of course, implies that there will be a time while management is obliged to at least partially sacrificing the interests of the stockholders to those of other stakeholders.In line with this thinking, John Hasnas,stated that "management's fundamental obligation is not to maximize the firm's financial success, but to Ensure its survival by balancing the conflicting claims of multiple stakeholders." John Elkington in Cannibal with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line Twentieth Century Business (1997) says that if a company wants to remain sustained, then he needs to consider not only the interests of the shareholders (profit), but also must pay attention to the welfare of the people which were in it and around (peoples) and environmental sustainability (planet). Stakeholder theory states that the basic duty of management is not to maximize the financial success of the company, but to ensure its survival by balancing the conflicting demands of various stakeholders. The Company shall be managed for the benefit of stakeholders, customers, suppliers, owners, employees, and local communities.The rights of these groups must be ensured and, further, the group must participate, in some sense, in decisions that substantially affect their welfare. Apart from the conceptual debate about the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR in Indonesia has been acknowledged.Article 88, Law No. 19 of 2003 on State-Owned Enterprises (SOE Act), firmly establish the SOEs can set aside part of its profits for the purposes of development small businesses, cooperatives and community development around the SOE. Then, Act No. 40 Year 2007 on Limited Liability Companies, Article 74, confirms the existence of Corporate Social Responsibility in Limited Liability company in Indonesia. In fact, Article 74 is more advanced conceptually by putting social and environmental liability in limited liability company as a social mandatory, not just a moral and ethical responsibility. Article 74 has a power that can be enforced against a limited liability company to implement social and environmental liability. Shifting the paradigm of the management company which is intended only to the interests of shareholders (profit) in the direction of the management of the company, to consider the interests of all stakeholders, and environmental interests, assessed constitutional by theConstitutional Court on legal considerations in the Constitutional Court Decision 53 / PUU-VI / 2008, is explained, That the Indonesian economy system as set forth in Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution: The economy shall be organized as a common endeavour based upon the principles of the family system. Sectors of production which are important for the country and affect the life of the people shall be controlled by the state. The land, the waters and the natural riches contained therein shall be controlled by the State and exploited to the greatest benefit of the people. That understanding individualistic and liberalism in the economy was not fit, even contrary to economic democracy embraced by the nation of Indonesia. Earth, water and natural resources contained in it not only for the prosperity of the few entrepreneurs who have capital, but rather for the prosperity of the people. The economy as a joint venture, not only between employers and the state, but also collaboration between employers and the community, especially the surrounding community. Genuine concern of employers on their social environment will provide a secure business environment for the surrounding community feel cared by the employer, so it will strengthen the fabric of the relationship between employers and society. Based on the Decision of the Constitutional Court concluded that the Good Governance management company solely devoted to the interests of shareholders, are not in accordance with democratic principles adopted by the State Indonesian economy. Good Governance Management companies must instead be directed to the welfare of the people of Indonesia. Therefore, companies must be managed with due regard to the interests of all stakeholders, no exception labor / employees of the company. Thus, the management of the company to consider the interests of all stakeholders not only a moral responsibility of the company, but it is mandate in the company law. Oriented company management efforts to improve the welfare of all stakeholders, including workers / employees of the company is the embodiment of company's contribution to the mutual obligations between the government and the business community to improve the welfare of the community. Implementation of the Good Governance management company, for the benefit of stakeholders, did not specifically aimed at corporate responsibility efforts to improve the welfare of employees. Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law does not specifically direct the implementation of corporate social responsibility to the interests of employees. However, it does not mean that the discussion of social regulation of corporate governance efforts directed at improving the welfare of the employees concerned becomes unimportant. The ambiguity of Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law actually cause the position of employees as part of an internal stakeholders or primary stakeholders of the limited liability company grow weary and still received less attention.On 4th April 2012, the Government enacted Government Regulation No. 47 of 2012 on Social and Environmental Responsibility Company Limited. As the implementation of Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law, Government Regulation 47 of 2012 is focused on regulating the use of a limited liability company expense budget has been earmarked as the cost of social and environmental responsibility.However, this rule did not set out clear, the allocation of the budget, the amount of the budget and the subject use of the budget. Thus, it would be difficult to expect the implementation of this government regulation to improve the lives and welfare of labor as the company's internal stakeholders. Therefore, regulation of corporate governance is to realize the efforts to improve the standard of living and welfare of labor is still very necessary.The discussionabout the need forlegislationthatdirects the corporate governance management toimprove the lives and welfare of labor is still relevant and very important thing to do. At least there are some very basic reason the importance of the discussion of the need for legislation that directs thecorporate governance management to improve the welfare of labor in Indonesia, namely: First, Corporate Governance (CG) management that gives attention to efforts to improve the lives and welfare of employees / workers / labor is not a concern in the legislation governing the company in Indonesia. Legislation current regulating corporate governance is still dominated by the interests of employers in optimizing capital or capital to develop other businesses in order to generate profits and shareholder value. Although social and environmental responsibility has been used as a mandatory under Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law, but its application in the narrow scope led to the implementation of social and environmental responsibility under Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law is not very significant in efforts to improve the lives and well-being of the company workforce. Law governing companies, such as Act No. 40 of 2007 on Limited Liability Companies Act No. 19 of 2003 on State Owned Enterprises, Act No. 25 Year 2007 on Investment and Act No. 8 of 1995 on the Capital Market is more focused on efforts to the creation of a conducive business climate as a requirement that the business community in Indonesia can compete to face an increasingly competitive global competition. In other words, the main interest underlying the legislation was the interests of shareholders.Public welfare, including welfare of the workers, do not become a major priority of the legislation. Where noted, Article 43 paragraph (3) Limited Liability Company Law paves the way for efforts to improve the status and welfare of employees through the issuance of new shares that are specifically intended for employees. Through Article 43 paragraph (3) that, it is possible to elevate the position of the employees become shareholders through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). However Thus, the implementation of Article 43 paragraph (3) is highly dependent on the generosity of its shareholders through the Annual General Meeting(AGM), because after all if General Meeting of Shareholders does not decide that the issuance of new shares is specifically intended for the benefit of employees, the new shares shall first be offered to existing shareholders, or better known as the pre-emptive right. Basically some aspects of corporate governance related to efforts to improve the welfare of the employees as one of the stakeholders can be the rationale, for example: Protection of interests of employees, in various corporate action such as a merger, consolidation, acquisition, and spin-off companies, bankruptcy and liquidation of the company; efforts to increase the value and dignity of employees through improving the status of workers / employees become owners / shareholders as ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Profit Sharing etc), is an effort to increase that bipartite collaboration are mutually beneficial. Secondly, the setting of corporate social responsibility as stipulated in Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law, did not provide a strong emphasis on the use and size of the CSR fundfor efforts to improve the lives and welfare of employees as internal stakeholders. Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law and its implementing regulations as stipulated in Government Regulation No. 47 of 2012 on Social and Environmental Responsibility Company Limited is only intended to regulate the use of budget CSR General Meeting of Shareholders approved the Work Plan and Budget (CBP).Article 74 and its implementing regulations have not sufficiently regulate the practices of companies devoted to the interests of stakeholders, including workers / employees that are outside the company's CSR program budgeted. Article 74 and its implementing regulations are focused on the use of budget CSR for the benefit of local communities and the environment. The fate of the workers / employees still beyond the reach of Article 74 of the Limited Liability Company Law Jo. Government Regulation no. 47 in 2012. Thirdly, the accommodation is not enough on Principles of ISO 26000 as the standardization of CSR in the Limited Liability Company Law. For example, about 7 Principles of ISO 26000: ISO 26000 principles namely: 1. Community development; 2. Consumers; 3. Practice Institution healthy activities; 4. Environment; 5. Employment; 6. The Human Rights; 7.Organization Governance (Government Organization) Fourth, the welfare conditions of laborers / workers / employees which still a concern in Indonesia. Labor / Workers / Employees or more popular as workers have extremely significant contribution in supporting the Indonesian economy. Besides as a driver of economic state, workers also became one of the major strengths in building civilization. Labours or workers who drive the economic sectors under which incidentally has a tremendous contribution to the State's economy and to balance the savior even balance the State's economic growth. Ironically a very major role and importance is not getting an adequate appreciation of the government and the business world. Wages received by workers / employees are not comparable / insufficient to meet real needs. When compared with the speed of the increase in the cost of "running" while wages "going nowhere" no increase or even just suffered a setback.Of the Central Bureau of Statistics as overview in 2006 for simple decent life in Jakarta, someone has to spend between Rp 1.5 million to Rp 2 million per month for the purposes of daily life. Compared then to the local minimum wage in Jakarta which only Rp 950.000, - It is clear that it is impossible worker / laborer can live decently. Other data illustrate the inequities of life of workers / laborers are presented in the research of AKATIGA. Government efforts to create a conducive investment climate and invite as many foreign and domestic investors to encourage government to implement two basic strategies namely run low wage policy and apply the principles of liberalization, flexible and decentralized in matters of employment.The low wages of workers / labor, used as an attraction to invite investors.Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) includes wage / cheap labor in Indonesia, the minimum limit of the highest labor costs in Java (Rp. 1.3344 million, - per month - USD 147 per month) is still lower than the wages of workers in Thailand (USD 240 per month), even if the wages in Java are raised 50%.Labor wages is used as a negotiating tool in the management of the automotive component industry in Indonesia with Trade Unions is the main attraction of Indonesia to invite investors. Further explained that political cheap labor has proven to create life difficult labor because the average value of the minimum wage in Indonesia Rp 892.160, - only afford about 62.4% of real expenditures of workers / laborers. Fifth, handed efforts to improve the welfare of employees through legislation in the field of employment was inadequate. During this time, the problem is always delivered on labor welfare legislation in the field of employment. As described above, that the cheap labor led to the welfare of workers / laborers which not feasible. It is proved that the issue of lifting the standard of living and welfare of the workers / laborers can not be left solely to the legislation in the field of employment.Efforts to improve the standard of living and welfare of the workers / laborers need to be supported by the corporate governance management system which can support the improvement of the standard of living and welfare of workers / employees, either in the form of optimal utilization of corporate social responsibility and stewardship corporate governance rules, which can support the improvement of the standard life and welfare of the workers / employees. Sixth, the limited liability company law can be used as an instrument for efforts to improve the welfare of employees through corporate governance management arrangements that can improve the lives and well-being of employees. Thus, despite the existence of legislation in the field of employment, legislation governing its managed stylist, for example the Limited Liability Company Law, the Law on Enterprises, Investment Law, Capital Market Law and its implementing regulations can be used as an instrument to direct more attention to the behavior of the company interests of stakeholders, including workers / employees.IiIn such a context, the role of the State through the Government as law makers is necessary, so that the problems of workers welfare / employees are not solely left to the market mechanism with the argument of economic liberalization and globalization. In addition to the government party, the Company is a good alternative receptacle to resolve the problem, because the company provides a receptacle mutual benefit to work, learn, gain experience fitting, both in levels: Employee, Self-employed, Employer, and Investor (ESEI). Under conditions of the wise, the state described as a referee in a football game. He had no right to strike or hold the ball. That needs to be done is for the football game is running smoothly and there is no cheating. Is this value has been realized? And how it is with the role of the entrepreneur as the manager of the largest natural resource? The reality is that entrepreneurs can not immediately meet the standards of stakeholders, so that what is referred to as welfare is commensurate discourse. From the first, issues workers / employees being widely reported, but from the beginning anyway this issues is not resolved, resulting in gaps. To note in common, is that one of the drivers in the business in the last decade of this century in addition to the profitability of an investment in the form of people.
