Demotech/Learning from Poverty: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:56, 30 November 2006

Why

What bothers us most is that successfully participating in a rich society often creates little joy for its members. Notwithstanding the immense use/destruction of resources and the the abundant use of the cheap labour of the poor, the happiness observed in the streets of poor countries is amazing. The lack of economic wealth in poor countries is often not a barrier to it’s people being happy in spite of a hundred fold lower income. As a research organization Demotech wants to explore the reasons why wealth does not necessarily bring happiness nor poverty necessarily lead to it’s lack. According to generally held economic beliefs this should not be the case. Demotech uses radical design of technology to create economic conditions that differ from the norm. As such Demotech can execute action-research to determine the consequences when relatively advanced technologies become readily available to poor people without development of new infrastructure or education normally claimed to be a precursor.

How

Demotech successfully designed and introduced the Rope Pump and this process may be used as a model for other design initiatives. What the right conditions for this type of work are and if this work can enhance the joy of poor people are questions Demotech is determined to answer. Is it possible to correct the apparent inversion where a better economy equates to less happiness? We believe a different economic structure based on appropriate technology can enhance quality of life without bringing the attendant stresses that result from emphasis on materialism found in the so called 1st world. Lessons learned from past successes indicate that poverty can be redesigned into a sustainable economy offering more security, comfort and joy than is achieved even in a successful modern economy. Demotech research will be directed to achieving this goal.

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 ==Why==
-What bothers us most is that successfully participating in a rich society often creates little joy for its members. Notwithstanding the immense use/destruction of resources and the the abundant use of the cheap labour of the poor, the joy and merriness ("joy and merriness" are redundant terms use 1 or the other or possibly replace with "happiness")observed in the streets of poor countries is amazing. The lack of economic wealth in poor countries is often not a barrier to it’s people being happy in spite of a hundred fold lower income. As a research organization Demotech wants to explore the reasons why wealth does not necessarily bring happiness nor poverty necessarily lead to it’s lack.
+What bothers us most is that successfully participating in a rich society often creates little joy for its members. Notwithstanding the immense use/destruction of resources and the the abundant use of the cheap labour of the poor, the happiness observed in the streets of poor countries is amazing. The lack of economic wealth in poor countries is often not a barrier to it’s people being happy in spite of a hundred fold lower income. As a research organization Demotech wants to explore the reasons why wealth does not necessarily bring happiness nor poverty necessarily lead to it’s lack.
-According to generally held economic beliefs this should not be the case. Demotech uses radical design (of what, this is an incomplete sentence, what is designed???) to create economic conditions that differ from the norm. As such Demotech can execute action-research to determine the consequences when relatively advanced technologies become readily available to poor people without development of new infrastructure or education normally claimed to be a precursor.
+According to generally held economic beliefs this should not be the case. Demotech uses radical design of technology to create economic conditions that differ from the norm. As such Demotech can execute action-research to determine the consequences when relatively advanced technologies become readily available to poor people without development of new infrastructure or education normally claimed to be a precursor.
 ==How==
-The way in which the [[Rope Pump]] was successfully designed and introduced by Demotech may be repeated with other design initiatives. We want to learn what the right conditions for this work are. We want to find out if by this work the capacity for experiencing the joy of poor people can be enhanced. We want to find out if the interaction between joy and economy that seemed to be inverted can be corrected. We want to find out if a different economy based on a different technology can cure the lack of joy the present economy brings to the rich. From all the design initiatives taken in the past, we have a clue that poverty can be redesigned into a sustainable economy that offers more security, comfort and joy than is achieved even in a successful modern economy. Demotech research will be directed to give a firm base to this expectation and hope.
+Demotech successfully designed and introduced the [[Rope Pump]] and this process may be used as a model for other design initiatives. What the right conditions for this type of work are and if this work can enhance the joy of poor people are questions Demotech is determined to answer.
+Is it possible to correct the apparent inversion where a better economy equates to less happiness? We believe a different economic structure based on appropriate technology can enhance quality of life without bringing the attendant stresses that result from emphasis on materialism found in the so called 1st world.  Lessons learned from past successes indicate that poverty can be redesigned into a sustainable economy offering more security, comfort and joy than is achieved even in a successful modern economy. Demotech research will be directed to achieving this goal.
-(Possible rewrite)
-Demotech successfully designed and introduced the [[Rope Pump]] in (where was it used? South Africa might be an example, you don't say on the "Rope Pump" page) and this process may be used as a model for other design initiatives. What the right conditions for this type of work and can this work enhance the joy of poor people are questions Demotech is determined to answer.  Is it possible to correct the apparent inversion where a better economy equates to less happiness?  We believe a different economic structure based on appropriate technology can enhance quality of life without bringing the attendant stresses that result from emphasis on materialism found in the so called 1st world.  Lessons learned from past successes indicate that poverty can be redesigned into a sustainable economy offering more security, comfort and joy than is achieved even in a successful modern economy. Demotech research will be directed to achieving this goal.