Issue 7 - Junior Issue

Review

Issue

57

Junior

the horace mann

Domestic - New International Delhi - Cape - Features Town - Beirut - Economics - Sﾃ｣o Paulo - Science - Seoul & Technology

NEW DELHI

SEOUL Sﾃグ PAULO

CAPE TOWN

BEIRUT

From The Editor etsy

Review The Horace Mann

A Journal of Opinion on Current Events, Politics, and Social Issues

Rebecca Segall Editor-in-Chief

Andre Manuel Mathieu Rolfo

Creative Executive Editor

Seth Arar Andrew Stier

Senior Production Supervisor

Alexander Daniel Emily Feldstein

Editorial Executive Editor

Harrison Manin

Senior Editor - Domestic

Zoe Rubin

Senior Editor - International

Dorin Azerad

The Urban Connection

T

his issue of The Review takes a different approach towards journalism than our usual.

Cities across the globe form the lens through which writers explore the political, economic, and cultural issues that are shaping our world.

In an increasingly globalized society, major cities become the gateways through which individuals connect with one another, exchanging culture and ideas. Urban life often represents the most hopeful as well as problematic realities of our day. This month, New Delhi, India; Cape Town, South Africa; Beirut, Lebanon; São Paulo, Brazil; and Seoul, South Korea offer writers the opportunity to learn about and educate on national and regional issues not usually addressed in The Review.

Every theme explored in the pages of this issue targets a different continent and must be analyzed in the context of foreign values, history, and norms. However, each of these issues, from social services, corruption, and representative government to architecture, sports, and technology, helps to inform our sense of our own city and nation and to place our opinions and values in a global context.

2

This issue is also a special one for The Review staff as our 2011-2012 season draws to a close. This month, our Junior Editors assumed greater responsibility in coordinating their sections, learning about leading a team through practice.

As we call into question the social role of contemporary journalism, we cannot ignore questions of leadership and responsibility on the part of reporters. Learning to work with one’s peers constructively to inform and challenge one another’s ideas while remaining true to the facts is an essential part of high school publications, but also prepares our staff for interacting with the world around them, whether or not they choose to pursue journalism or writing after their work with The Review.

We are very proud to present their work to you in this issue.

Sincerely,

Senior Editor - Features

Jordan Berman

Senior Editor - Economics

Katherine Wyatt

Senior Editor - Science & Technology

Aramael Pena-Alcantara Jessica Bernheim Production Consultant

Senior Contributor

Adam Egelman Webmaster

Spencer Cohen Benjamin Davidoff Treshauxn Dennis-Brown Daniel Elkind Maurice Farber Jacob Gladysz-Morawski Nicholas McCombe Stephen Paduano Alexander Posner Nathan Raab Elizabeth Rosenblatt Charles Scherr Junior Editor

Philip Perl Ryan Thier David Zask

Junior Contributor

Max Bernstein Tianhao Chen Vivianna Lin Samantha Rahmin Associate Editor

Gregory Donadio Faculty Advisor

Rebecca Segall Editor-in-Chief Volume XXI

The Horace Mann Review is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the American Scholastic Press Association, and the National Scholastic Press Association. Opinions expressed in articles or illustrations are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board or of the Horace Mann School. Please contact The Review for information at thereview@horacemann.org.

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

visor

eim

or

in

ia ic ss ard eg.

New Delhi, India

table of contents

The Perils of Child Labor

Jennifer Heon

4

Redesigning New Delhi

Charles Scherr

6

Tibet’s Continuing Struggle

Henry Luo

8

New Delhi’s Fight Against Overpopulation

Mohit Mookim

Rich India, Poor India

Vivianna Lin

10 12

Anti-Corruption in India

Ben Davidoff

14

Was It Really Worth It?

Jake Haberman

16

A Refuge from Apartheid

Treshauxn Dennis-Brown

18

Soccer: Cape Town’s Catalyst

Kelvin Rhee

21

Zuma’s Choice

Jacob Gladysz-Morawski

22

Evolution of a Fledgling Country

Hana Krijestorac

24

Africa’s Beacon of Hope

Stephen Paduano

26

Shades of Hope

Catherine Engelmann

28

The Melting Pot?

Samantha Rahmin

30

Charting a Course for Conflict

Sahej Suri

32

Cape Town, South Africa

Beirut, Lebanon

How New Rooftop Gardens Could Revitalize Beirut Daniel Baudoin

33

Hezbollah

Samuel Henick

34

Lebanon Now!

Spencer Cohen

36

Why Lebanon Should Keep Iran From the Bomb

Nathan Raab

38

The Hezbollah Effect

Jacob Zurita

40

Hope on the Horizon

Mihika Kapoor

42

Change for the Better?

Hannah Davidoff

44

Crime and Punishment

Benjamin Greene

46

Going Up...

Maurice Farber

48

World Cup: A Means of Transformation

Elizabeth Rosenblatt

50

City of Science

Will Ellision

52

Beyond Charity

Daniel Elkind

55

Preserving Tradition in a City of Change

David Hackel

58

Trouble in the Water

Nicholas McCombe

60

Military Service The China Myth Addicted

Jonah Wexler Alexander Posner Caroline Kuritzkes

62 64 68

São Paulo, Brazil

Seoul, South Korea

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

3

New Delhi, India

New Delhi, India

The Perils of Child Labor

W

zoriah.net

jennifer heon

ith a place filled with so many misfortunes like New Delhi, how do we know where the root of all the problems lies? The living conditions and general welfare of many people in the city are horrendous, and poverty has driven many families to desperation. Under these circumstances, more problems arise because families feel forced to have their children

4

drop out of school to marry young or become child laborers. These children are then confined to a life of poverty, as they lack the education to rise in class.

The extent of poverty in New Delhi is extreme. In a census run by the Government of New Delhi in 2006, there were about 100,000 homeless just in New Delhi. Furthermore, a nutritional status of children in 2009 showed that half the children were below normal weight.

Despite efforts in New Delhi to supply enough food for children such as providing a meal during school, many children are not receiving enough food on a daily basis. For many children, this meal is the only food they will eat for the day, and it simply is not enough. In a census run in 2004, 14.7% of the population in New Delhi was below the poverty line, about 35 rupees or 65 U.S. cents. Recently, the government has tried to statistically de-

Washington Independant

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

pendant

New Delhi, India crease the percentage of people under the poverty line by decreasing the amount of money that must be earned to fall above the poverty line. Under this new legislation, the government sufficiently ignores the underlying problem. The government must provide further money for the people of New Delhi, as the lack of government aid has forced many families into desperate situations.

Families’ poor economic conditions increase the number of women who are forced to drop out of school and marry at a young age. Living in a poor neighborhood with many crimes means young women are more susceptible to assault.

In order to provide their children with protection, parents marry their daughters off at a very young age. Furthermore, when families cannot afford to support their children, they reduce the amount of mouths to feed by marrying the women off young.

As a result of women dropping out of school, 34.54% of women are illiterate.

The percentage of women who are illiterate has decreased in the recent years, but 34.54% is still an incredible amount of women. Marrying already decreases the chance for women to work because of the increased responsibilities as a wife in New Delhi such as raising children, making clothes, and cooking. Women who are illiterate from dropping out of school to marry are put at a further disadvantage.

Literacy is crucial to many higher jobs, so these women have less job opportunities.

In order to decrease the number of women who are forced to leave school and marry young, a volunteer police force should be enforced to create safer neighborhoods. A volunteer police force would be ideal because it would be less corrupt than the federal police force. In order to create the volunteer police force, there must be strong funding and a training program. Although this solution does not address the underlying problem of poverty, parents would no longer feel an urgency to marry their daughters off to protect them. As a result, more women would go through more schooling and become literate. This would decrease the percentage of illiteracy and open many more jobs to women.

Families in similar or worse situaThe Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

tions even resort to forcing their children to work as child laborers. In some cases, these jobs could just be factory jobs, but other children are not so lucky. Many families in New Delhi reach a point of desperation where they will sell their children for work. These children may end up as house servants, prostitutes, or manual laborers. India on a whole has 12.6 million child laborers between the ages of 5 and 14. However, other data supports that there may be up to 45 million child laborers in India. These children are subjected to different treatment, but some are abused, not paid, and given very minimal food.

“In a census run by the Government of New Delhi in 2006, there were about 100,000 homeless just in New Delhi... and 14.7% of population in New Delhi was below the poverty line, 35 rupees or 65 U.S. cents.”

The Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 deemed child labor acceptable if the children were between the ages of 14 to 18, worked a maximum of 6 hours a day, and received a daily education. This act furthers the institution of child labor, when laws should be enforcing a stop to child labor. Although the act provides favorable working conditions and an education, there is almost no enforcement of this law.

As a result, children become subjected to whatever practices their masters think fit.

Not to mention, the entire institution of child labor is wrong. When children drop out of school to work, they limit their job choice for the rest of their lives. Although the decision to drop out of school may bring in immediate money, their salaries will always be capped at a low amount without an education. Child labor should not be tolerated, let alone supported by the government itself.

To rid New Delhi of child labor, the Juvenile Justice Act must first be repealed and child labor outlawed. The laws themselves are not enough though without enforcement. In order to enforce these laws, houses must be checked regularly

for minors working for the family. Under these conditions, child labor as an institution will hopefully diminish quickly, and children will receive a proper education.

With the middle class no longer hiring cheap child labor, they will be forced to hire adult servants. This will open more jobs to people like the parents who felt compelled to marry their daughters off young or have their children work.

The parents will no longer be in desperate economic conditions, and they will be able to support their children.

The thought of having a sustainable income may seem impossible to some of the people in New Delhi. The caste system restricts social mobility, and too many people are left in the bottom castes. With these conditions, it is easy to comprehend why families may pull their children out of school if they think it will increase their economic conditions. However, many of the parents do not realize how important an education is to their children’s lives because they are blinded by the imminent necessity of food or money. Under these desperate situations, it would be nearly impossible to stop parents from pulling children out of school.

However, by raising the poverty line so more people are entitled to government welfare, creating safer neighborhoods, and banning child labor, more children will go through sufficient schooling. Furthermore, raising awareness for the importance of education would encourage more parents to keep their children in school. Children with a higher-level education will then have a greater chance of breaking through caste barriers and improving their economic conditions. These solutions are not only answers to the poverty in New Delhi, but they would be a strong start. The sooner these changes are implemented, the better. The children of New Delhi are being oppressed as a result of poverty, and this must be stopped. It is crucial that these children receive an education, so they can grow up to be successful and free themselves from poverty. HMR

5

New Delhi, India

Redesigning New Delhi How Something Called The Master Plan -- New Delhi 2021 Will Make India’s Capital One of the World’s Premier Cities by charles scherr

6

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

N

New Delhi, India

ew Delhi, the center those from New Delhi’s past. of jobs created in reconstructing New of political, social, and New Delhi has experienced a mas- Delhi. This massive public works projeconomic life in India, sive growth of its population in the ect benefits all economic sectors of the is ready for global star- past decade. In the last five years alone, economy from agricultural to manudom. As a city with a New Delhi’s population has grown by facturing to trade and commerce. In deep and interesting history, India’s over 10%. This figure is remarkable, 1991, only 32.5 percent of the New capital has had to integrate its elegant and developers of Master Plan have Delhi population was employed. In past with modern developments. The made improving population density 2001, that number only increased by city is growing at an ever-expanding at the crux of the plan. The Delhi .2 percent. But by 2021, the projected rate, and only looks to continue this Development Authority has acquired work force is 38.1 percent, a 6 percent trend upwards. In the future, they see 75,609 hectacres and has plans to de- increase in only twenty years. It may themselves as the center of all things velop it into residential, commercial, not sound like much, but if the United Indian: its culture, its government, its and recreational areas. With better States had a 6 percent decrease in uneconomy, and its sports. These aspira- and more holistic planning, the Del- employment, the country’s unemploytions are laid out in what is called the hi Development Authority is in line ment level would drop to a mere 2.2 Master Plan -- Delhi 2021, a massive to set records in city reconstructing. percent. The bottom line is not only project written in 2003, outlining New This offers an incredible opportunity will the Master Plan benefit the city -Delhi’s detailed path to become truly for homeowners and businesses look- by spreading out the population, elima world-class city. To climb into the ing to get cheap land for development. inating slums, improving transportaranks of New York City, London, To- Developers who buy this land can pro- tion, and beautifying public spaces kyo, and Beijing -- but also -- to name a few by providing -- is ambitious, thousands and yet this Master thousands of “This Master Plan is put together with all the right Plan is put tojobs to a popupieces, making New Delhi’s transition into ‘global gether with all lation that descity’ certainly viable.” the right pieces, perately needs making New them.

Delhi’s transition Obviously, into “global city” the Master certainly viable. vide homes with civic amenities (such Plan New Delhi is no lock for future Master plans like these have tried as toilets, running water, etc…) to the success. The hardest step is executing and failed before. Visions for city lower classes for a relatively cheap a perfect plan. What looks great on development in 1962 and 2001 were price. For the rest of the lower class, paper may not transpire in reality. Yet created for New Delhi. And yet, even New Delhi acknowledged 23 zones of New Delhities can rest assured that, at though they were not as successful as low income housing (i.e. slums) for least for now, the odds of this Master city officials hoped, the current Master rehabilitation. If everything goes ac- Plan working are high. Countries, inPlan’s introduction states clearly that cording to plan, New Delhi estimates cluding the United States, have spent past failures have been a learning ex- that within ten years, the city will be and spent themselves into debt to creperience in developing large-scale city slum free -- an incredible accomplish- ate jobs before (see Interstate Highway planning. For one, in the past, there ment considering 52% of the popula- System Act, 1956), and New Delhi is had been failures in estimating what tion now lives in slums. Purchasing doing nothing different in that rethe population would be at the time cheap land for very affordable housing spect. As populations grow, so do of completion of the project. With a and cleaning up the current slums has their cities, and New Delhi is primed new, more accurate model installed, New Delhi in the right track moving for a seamless transition into worldcity planners are confident that the forward. class city. HMR plan developed for 2021 will not suffer A somewhat overlooked aspect in from the shortcomings that plagued the Master Plan is the sheer amount The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

7

New Delhi, India http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/

Tibet’s Continuing Struggle quietlunch.files.wordpress.com

T Henry Luo

he fourth annual 2012 BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on March 29th. The theme of the 2012 summit was “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security, and Prosperity” and the various leaders met to discuss different economic and political issues. One idea was to launch a development bank, designed to unite the BRICS countries and fund developing infrastructure projects in undeveloped countries. However, on March 26th, exiled Tibetans held a demonstration against the impending arrival of the Chinese President, Hu Jintao.

In a gruesome display, one of the activists, Jamphel Yeshi, lit himself on fire and ran through the streets of New Delhi. He had burns on 98% of his body and soon succumbed to his severe wounds, dying on March 28th. Yeshi was one of many who self-immolated during the BRICS summit. New Delhi has become the site

8

of anti-China demonstrations by Tibetans, increasing tensions between India and the Tibetans.

In 1950, China first invaded Tibet, which had previously been an autonomous state; once the Communist Party rose to power in China, it believed that China had a claim to Tibet and wanted to take control. China contended that it had control of Tibet since the Yuan Dynasty and in addition, their claim was supposedly supported by China’s constitution.

The Tibetan army quickly surrendered and their government negotiated an agreement with Chinese officials, effectively giving China sovereignty over Tibet. During this time, the first uprisings and rebellions against the ruling Chinese government began. In 1959, fears began to arise over the possibility of China abducting the Dalai Lama, the political and religious leader of the Tibetans. These fears turned into violence and thousands

of Tibetans tried to protect the Dalai Lama. The violence quickly escalated into more protests as the Tibetans demanded their independence. However, the resistance was ultimately fruitless as China cracked down on Tibetan rebels, and 15,000 Tibetans were killed in just the first three days. One major consequence of the 1959 Uprising was the departure of the Dalai Lama, who was forced to flee, fearing his possible arrest. Since 1959, revolts have continued against the occupying Chinese government, most notably the protests in 2008, when demonstrations quickly escalated into riots and violence, spreading into various Chinese provinces. Eighteen Chinese embassies were attacked and various civilians were killed. China has systematically repressed the Tibetan citizens with fierce responses to protests and any demonstrations, and the government has punished even monks, sealing them off in their monasThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

ss.com

New Delhi, India teries. The Tibetans, however, have not been deterred by the Chinese response and have rallied. Jamphel Yeshi was one of countless Tibetans who self-immolated for the Tibetan cause. The difference this time was that the media was able to capture the indelible image. Previously, journalists had been forbidden in Tibet and were unable to bring the persecution

the Indian foreign office only said, “There is by law and Constitution complete freedom of expression of opinion in Parliament and the press and elsewhere in India.” However, the sympathy the Indian government has extended to the exiles has been useless. When the Tibetans protested against Hu Jintao’s visit, officials in New Delhi did not allow them to, vio-

the Chinese government are still being punished regardless. Everything that India had done for Tibetans is for naught if India is unwilling to maintain those same ideals in the presence of the Chinese government officials. India must show some support for its own agenda and its own ideals instead of being a sycophant and practicing the amoral and brutal tactics

“New Delhi should not be enforcing the agenda of a neighboring country, especially not one that advocates persecution.” to international attention. Jamphel has become a rallying point, a symbol for the voiceless mass of Tibetans. Already, more than thirty self-immolations have occurred in response to China’s repression, and the wave of protests does not seem to be nearing an end.

New Delhi has served as a home for Tibetan refugees for the past 50 years: by the end of 2001, India had already hosted 110,000 refugees. Refugees have been able to build a community in New Delhi, including a Tibetan camp known as Majnu Ka Tilla, where the Tibetan culture has flourished. In addition, the government has granted asylum to the Dalai Lama. Tibetan exiles are also given the right to work, property, health care, education, and are even allowed to protest the Chinese government: when China demanded that India silence protestors,

lently repressing any protestors and arresting almost 300 demonstrators. Police camps have been formed and areas home to Tibetans have been cordoned. Following Jampel Yeshi’s self-immolation, New Delhi enforced a law that has not been invoked since the colonial era, effectively putting all Tibetans under house arrest.

The Tibetans have even lost their right to assembly as any gathering leads to arrests. The officials of New Delhi supposedly supported and sympathized with the Tibetan cause and their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama. When China demanded that the Tibetans be silenced, India upheld its own ideals. Yet now they have reneged on their earlier promise, denying innocent citizens the right to protest, withholding from them even the simplest of rights during Hu Jintao’s visit. Tibetans who may not even have voiced dissent against

used by China to silence the masses.

New Delhi has served as an uneasy mediator between China and Tibet. It has given Tibetans work opportunities, health care, and education. The Indian government has been hospitable and the Tibetans have been received well with their status being akin to citizenship.

However, the Indian government must reach a decision; the hypocrisy cannot continue. Sympathy cannot be extended while accompanied by vicious attacks on basic human rights. New Delhi should not be enforcing the agenda of a neighboring country, especially not one that advocates persecution. The Chinese government’s own beliefs have pervaded the Indian government. Tibetan refugees have suffered persecution in their homeland, coming to India for relief. The Tibetans have found no refuge. HMR http://x.bbs.sina.com.cn/

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

9

New Delhi, India

New Delhi’s Fight Against Overpopulation by mohit mookim Washingyton Independant

10

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

S

New Delhi, India

igns of apparent overpopulation lay rampant throughout New Delhi; from the crumbling infrastructure to the atrocious sanitary conditions, the quality of living has steadily declined in the past few decades. Among many causes, overpopulation has been the greatest contributing factor. While the total global population recently hit 7 billion, analysts expect India’s population to reach 1.8 billion in just a few decades. In America, New York City and its 8 million inhabitants are looked upon as an incredibly massive, densely populated city.

Yet in India, New Delhi and its outskirts alone hold a startling 23 million people.

What’s apparent is that these data points are inextricably linked to the debasing homelessness and crippling sanitary conditions. Not to mention, overpopulation usually lends itself to ecological and environment destruction.

Certain cultural norms have allowed this issue to develop in the first place, led by the ten children rule of thumb. From the wealthier classes to the poorer, Indian society sees the number of a person’s offspring to reflect the status of that individual. For instance, a rich family’s reputation hinges on producing viable heirs to the family fortune and business. Even families living in makeshift tents on the side of the road view offspring as opportunities for success and a supply of labor.

Dissenters are few in the Indian tradition of having an excessive number of kids.

Additionally, citizens of India throughout the country lack awareness of this seemingly insurmountable problem.

Although media coverage of the issue has been increasing steadily in recent years, politicians have had little to no reaction.

A basic fact of population growth often overlooked is its exponential nature.

Census results practically always report annual growths in percentages that can be easily translated into exponential functions. For example, the growth rate last year in India was a relatively low 1.34%. If this were to continue in the future, it would ensue that the population would double every fifty years. With the current population of just about one bil-

involve educating the public and raising awareness about the crisis that faces us—about the need to simply procreate less. Moreover, organizations resembling Planned Parenthood in basic form and function need be established to both disseminate birth control and diminish social stigmas attached to them. Though when dealing proposals that involve Indian government, it must be noted that a fundamental institutional failure will obstruct our path: the lack of government enforcement that goes hand-in-hand with widespread corruption. Something like China’s one-child policy would be impossible given the circumstances.

Taking that into account, a second parallel approach must be taken on the ground level, and not on politicians’ policies. The citizens of New Delhi must empower themselves to take a stand on a very real issue that concerns all. Activists in New Delhi must protest and invoke their civil liberties of speech and assembly to raise awareness for this worthy cause. Each individual must morally commit to a personal standard of two to three children. Ignoring the problem now will simply prolong it.

Whether out of a selfish need to preserve the human race or the selfless concern and respect for our great planet, New Delhi’s culture and society itself must adapt to a new lifestyle and a new set of values that actively combats the looming population crisis. HMR

New Delhi’s culture and society itself must adapt to a new lifestyle and a new set of values that actively combats the looming population crisis.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

lion, in just one century, the population would be four billion. Even if India were able to sustain itself still, in another hundred years the population would grow to 16 billion. Clearly, for a sustainable future, India must be responsible to handle this issue early instead of waiting for it to explode. This foundational arithmetic principle intensifies the urgency of finding concrete solutions to the global population crisis.

Legislators and world leaders need to find approaches to ameliorate the problem. The legislators of New Delhi’s government should be crafting solutions that

11

New Delhi, India

Rich India, Poor India: The Widening Disparity Vivianna Lin

I

ndia’s economy as of late has been seen as an engine of growth and expansion. After its liberation in 1947 from the British Empire, India adopted an economy based off the Socialist model, with a large public sector, high import duties and interventionist policies, which led to massive corruption and inefficiency. In the early 1990s, however, the government overhauled the economy in reaction to a balance of payments crisis, adopting free market policies, reducing tariffs and import restrictions, allowing foreign competition and investment, and privatizing certain public-sector industries. What with its young and growing working-age population, the mounting manufacturing sector due to rising education and engineering skill levels, the developing consumer market driven by a rapidly

12

blogs.theworldlink.com

growing middle class, and the expanding services sector, India for the last two decades has seemed to be an unstoppable force of growth, enjoying accompanying increases in life expectancy, literacy rates, and food security. Goldman Sachs even predicted that India would grow to be the third largest economy in the world within the next thirty years.

For such progress to continue, and for India to achieve its ambition to become a great power, two things are necessary: a government that keeps its finances in order and consistently fast economic growth. Worryingly, both of these are now in serious doubt. In contrast to previous years, where the average GDP growth was 9%, 2011 saw India grow by only 6%. Of course, in most other countries, 6% sounds good, but India cannot afford to lose momentum. Less invest-

ment now reduces the capacity to grow later. A lower growth trajectory means many millions stuck in poverty for years longer than otherwise. India’s economy is like a bicycle—it needs to keep moving fast to be stable.

The backdrop is a slowing economy—growth has dipped below 7%—and a deep ditch of debt at infrastructure firms, which typically build, own or operate projects. Government decisionmaking has slowed, partly due to drift at the top and because officials are scared of being accused of bribery, and infrastructure projects have slowly ground to a halt. What this halt of infrastructure projects does endanger is India’s growth prospects. Those new airports, roads, and bridges are essential to India’s development.

In spite of India’s rapid growth since The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

New Delhi, India

For India to become a developed nation, greater efforts must be made to reduce poverty, increase accessibility to infrastructure, and cut down on corruption. its liberalization in 1991, the rising economic power still remains a low-income country. Major setbacks, including rampant corruption, inaccessibility of infrastructure, and sharp economic disparities, have prevented India from becoming the developed country reflected by its economy. The top 10% of income groups earn 33% of income, and over 25% of the nation’s population earns less than the government’s poverty threshold of $0.40/ day. One of India’s most critical problems is the regional disparities among India’s territories in terms of income, availability of infrastructure, and development.

The growth rates for developed cities like New Delhi were much higher than those of rural states such as Bihar. New Delhi is the country’s second highest city in terms of GDP, only after India’s economic capital, Mumbai. We can look at Delhi’s history and design to get a sense of how it developed and what sets it apart from India’s other cities.

New Delhi was built to the south of Old Delhi in 1911 to serve as the capital of British India. The new city, originally designed by two leading British architects, has been growing to encompass the areas of Old Delhi around it, spreading urbanization to the rural areas of the city.

Being a planned city, New Delhi is quickly growing into a metropolis, and coupled with its huge economic and population growth, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The city’s advanced transport system includes the Delhi Metro, which connects the city with the rest of the metropolis, numerous underground subways, railway stations, and an airport.

Connaught Place, one of India’s largest financial centers, is located in northern New Delhi. Although New Delhi is plagued by the same problems as many other regions of India, such as electricity shortages and water shortages, being the political and economic hub of northern India, the city is much more advanced in The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

terms of education, infrastructure, and urbanization in comparison to other regions of India.

Unsurprisingly, economic performance at the state level is better in states with relatively liberal regulations, like New Delhi, than in the relatively more restrictive states, according to the Economic Survey of India 2007 by OECD. The disparity between different regions reflects the widening rural-urban gap in the wake of India’s economic growth: despite the fact that up to three-fourths of the population living in rural areas, rural areas contribute to only one-third of the national income. The agricultural sector on which the rural areas are dependent grew only 1.6% from 2008-2009, while the Indian economy grew at 6.7%. The rising level of urbanization in India is a major reason for the rising levels of income disparity in the country. Despite the fact that up to four-fifths of Indian households save money, almost a quarter of them spend more than they earn. The lack of proper sanitation is also a major issue: it is estimated that one in every ten deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation and hygiene. Diarrhea is the single largest killer and accounts for one in every twenty deaths. A lack of adequate sanitation also leads to significant economic losses for the country. A Water and Sanitation Program study, The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India, showed that inadequate sanitation caused India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4% of India’s GDP in 2006 at $53.8 billion. Clearly, all the socio-economic problems plaguing India hamper the economy’s growth, causing a slowdown that will in turn exacerbate these issues.

In addition to the developing country’s many infrastructural issues, India has seen the rise of a new class of wealthy elites. India’s moguls are essential to the country’s success and admired for their

ability to get results, yet their staggering wealth is made possible in part by their coziness with powerful politicians. India in the 21st century is now often compared to the United States during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, when robber barons dominated the American economy. The country has 48 billionaires whose aggregate wealth of $250 billion is equivalent to almost a sixth of the nation’s annual economic output. The nexus between tycoons and powerful politicians forms the crux of a continuing debate on whether the rise of India’s billionaires is a sign of dynamism or cronyism. India’s billionaires control a considerably larger share of the national wealth than do the superrich in bigger economies like those of Germany, Britain and Japan. The top 3% of the population still contribute 50% of the GDP and benefits of economic growth have not trickled down.

India is a developing country that, though having a long and rich history, has only been in the playing field of Western capitalism for relatively short period of time. The disparity between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural, has always been present. But in this liberal economic environment coupled with widespread corruption, the rich get richer, funding the development of cities such as New Delhi, while the poor grow poorer, experiencing extreme competition in the jobs market and living under horrid conditions. w. In the short term, it may seem that the Indian economy need only to grow at a steady rate. In the long term, however, these pressing concerns are must be dealt with in a systematic and effective manner; the economic growth India has enjoyed may all be for naught if the country that claims to be the world’s largest democracy cannot extend the benefits of said growth to the poor as well as the rich. HMR

13

New Delhi, India

AntiCorruption in India Ben Davidoff 14

N

ew Delhi, the capital of India, is also the capital of government corruption. India has harbored a system where bribes are commonplace and widespread corruption has slowed the political, judiciary, and economic systems of India. Mohandas Gandhi’s hope for a perfected India no longer exists. In its place is a shameful system with little hope of regulation.

In a country where there is widespread poverty coupled with extreme wealth disparity, the poor cannot afford a weak government. A bribe could get you medical attention or even a house. A bribe. In fact, according to Transparency International, a massive sum of 5 billion dollars is paid yearly in bribes.

Despite various anti-corruption organizations and legislation in India, in 2008, 120 out of 522 ministers of parliament were facing criminal charges. To understand the crisis of corruption in India, we must look at the country’s history. Under British colonial rule until 1947, Indians were at times brutally subjugated by their colonial overlords. However, India, following Gandhi’s preaching of non-violence, gained its independence. Yet, this newfound independence led to political instability.

As tensions between Hindus and Muslims boiled over, India was sepaThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

New Delhi, India rated into two countries: India and Pakistan. The fledgling democracy was faced with its first problem.

This crisis of identity quickly led to a second crisis concerning government. As the political landscape rapidly transformed in India, corruption developed as well. India quickly sought to root out those who were corrupt and to cleanse the government of those politicians.

However, rather conveniently, those identified as cryptome.org corrupt also happened to be Pakistani. The sense of fear and panic created by the cries of corruption were in some ways the equivalent of America’s McCarthyism.

This black mark on the anti corruption movement has influenced subsequent anti-corruption movements.

Indians fear rampant anti-corruption movements can lead to witch trials. This fear has blocked subsequent anti-corruption movements until 2011.

However, to understand the root of the cause is not to understand the effects of the corruption on everyday Indians.

India’s economy is growing rapidly, but there is still immense poverty. Many people in the capital live in slums, where unemployment is near 10% and the average

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

annual salary is only $8000. About 41% of Indians make less then a $1.25 a day.

While there are many factors leading to this widespread poverty, a major factory is bribery. If you need to pay bribes to get simple utilities like gas, running water, and electricity, the poor get poorer and begin living in increasingly derelict conditions as they cease to be able to afford such luxuries. This problem of bribery compounded with general poverty in India has stagnated the growing economy.

In addition, the poor and middle class are unable to afford any luxuries, which takes their spending power out of the economy.

This in turn hurts the GDP of India and has placed India behind upcoming economic competitors such as Russia, Brazil, and China.

It is clear that bribery and political corruption needs to cease in India to allow for economic growth and global competitiveness. The only major movement against corruption has come in the last two years. Under the leadership of Anna Hazare, a social leader who uses the Gandhi-esque hunger strikes to force the government to appease his demands, the anti-corruption movement has achieved rapid progress. The movement seeks to establish an ombudsman of sorts, an independent agency called the Lokpal, to oversee and prevent corruption in government and society. Though the government has drafted the bill, it has yet to pass in parliament. This is the parliament where over 1/5th of ministers are facing criminal charges. The first step

to prevent corruption is to establish this ombudsman, but the bill has faced criticism even from liberal intellectuals like the Man Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy. Their main criticism is a repeat of the 1950’s anti-corruption movement.

The ombudsman must be created, but there has to be oversight as to prevent use of the ombudsmen to target political enemies. Additionally, criminalization of corruption must be facilitated. This would allow corrupt leaders to be jailed quicker. However an ombudsman doesn’t go far enough. While Gandhi based protests help put pressure on the government to act against corruption, there are other factors that would alleviate corruption.

Wages should be raised so that the poor don’t feel obligated to pay bribes. The poor people are the ones who mainly pay the bribes. To increase their quality of life, the poor should also receive better education and necessary utilities with the help of the non-corrupt factions of the government.

However, these efforts will not reverse the corruption that is ingrained in the political system. Corruption after 60 years as a nation seems almost natural.

Brave protestors like Hazare will help stem the tide of corruption and reverse the frame of mind against corruption.

In time, corruption will be stopped with further movements and helping the poor.

For now however, without rapid change India will fall behind its rivals economically as the country grows poorer. They must act before it is too late. HMR

blogspot.com

Hunger Strike Leader Anna Hazare 15

Cape Town, South Africa International

Cape Town, South Africa International larrygee.hubpages.com

Was It Really Worth It? Jake Haberman 16

C

ape Town was one of several South African cities that hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While only 370,000 international travelers attended the events and festivities that the metropolis had to offer, the tournament itself was televised to 130 million viewers around the world.

In preparation for the mega-sporting event, the South African government spent 11.4 billion South African Rand of public-sector funds and public enterprise investment to upgrade the international airport, the rail network and stations, the Rapid Bus Transit, the Grand Parade, the retail and food court components along Strand and Adderley Streets, Old Marine Drive, the Athlone stadium, the Philippi stadium, and the Green Point Common. In addiThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Cape Town, South Africa tion, thirteen new hotels were built, the South African Police Service provided a dramatic increase in security details, and multiple centrally located outdoor plazas were refurbished. Despite these extravagant undertakings, Cape Town is still plagued by poverty. Most will rarely, if ever, be able to take advantage of the recently built infrastructure.

Thus, as the only immediate incentive towards hosting such a large-scale event will not be utilized by most of the population, the tournament’s negative

The poor were also cheated as Cape Town’s municipality focused its efforts on preparing for the World Cup, rather than on eliminating the housing shortage. Thus, the money and resources that should have been spent on building proper houses for people living in shantytowns were invested in the construction of new stadiums. While the arenas might seem novel now, their extravagant features will soon be forgotten and the housing plight will be revisited once again. However, this time, the lo-

“While the arenas might seem novel now, their extravagant features will soon be forgotten and the housing plight will be revisited once again.” effects become comparatively significant.

While Cape Town was very fortunate to have such large amounts of international attention and economic investment that accompanied their hosting of the World Cup, the economic gains of the city were isolated to the aristocrats, while the gap between Cape Town’s rich and poor residents was widened. In a recent study that was published by the University of Maryland, large establishments in the City Bowl, Waterfront, and Greenpoint areas experienced a 20% increase in occupation during the competition. However, establishments further from the stadiums reported disappointing bookings. In addition, a bylaw passed by the city of Cape Town restricted informal traders or street vendors from selling food and merchandise within a 1.5 km radius of any stadium hosting a World Cup Match. For a vendor to operate within the radius, a registration fee of 60,000 South African Rand, equivalent to 7,888 US dollars, had to be paid to FIFA. This fee made it impossible for local vendors to get anywhere near tourist cash, as most were simple oneman operations. Thus, the profits of the World Cup were largely siphoned off to big businesses and FIFA, while the majority of the people of Cape Town did not feel the benefits of their government’s spending or the increased amount of tourists.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

cal government will have a significantly smaller amount of assets with which it can face the predicament.

There are a number of negative realities that Cape Town will face in the months and years to come as a result of their hosting the World Cup. For example, most World Cup related employment opportunities were composed of short-term and low-skilled jobs. Accordingly, this temporary and low paying work attracted many rural migrants who ended up staying in the area after the tournament ended, resulting in a

gross increase in unemployment. In addition, the prices of food and transportation are expected to considerably rise.

This will not only greatly affect those living in poverty, but also those living outside of down town Cape Town. Private development was also interrupted as a ban was placed on all construction work in host cities during the month of the soccer matches. Finally, use of the new soccer related facilities in the future, specifically the multi-million dollar stadiums, training facilities, and fan sites, is improbable.

In some cases, mega-sporting events can be used as a catalyst for urban development. This is to say that, in response to a need for improved infrastructure for the masses, a developmental agenda will materialize overnight, or even in a few months, that will serve to build a foundation for future enhancement. Therefore not surprisingly, by hosting the World Cup, Cape Town was looking for a means to improve their infrastructure and society. However, the tournament is far from the aid program that Cape Town was seeking, as the local government’s progressive actions left the poor and majority of citizens in the dust. If anything, the city is, and will be negatively affected by the World Cup. HMR

www.boston.com

Despite South Africa’s recent expensive expenditures in the wake of the World Cup, poverty remains as potent an issue as it did last year.

17

Cape Town, South Africa

soundprint.org

A Refuge From Apartheid

O

Treshauxn Dennis-Brown

n the surface, Cape Town, South Africa is a bustling hub, rumbling with activity from its harbor and coming alive with shouts and vuvuzelas as a result of its recent hosting of the 2011 FIFA World Cup. The city is credited with having accomplished much for the region by serving as the regional manufacturing center in the Western Cape while also having the primary harbor and airport in the province. Naturally, as the economic center of the Western Cape Province, South Africa’s second main economic center, and Africa’s third main economic hub city, it is no surprise

18

that the city was recently named the most entrepreneurial city in South Africa, with the percentage of Capetonians pursuing business opportunities almost three times higher than the national average. Despite the slow rejuvenation of the Rand, the South African currency, equally important is the fact that Cape Town is also one of the world’s most multi-cultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as an immigration hub as well. Deep down under the surface however, that last accomplishment comes as a little bit of surprise. South Africa today is by no means the same South Africa of 30 years ago, then a nation entrenched in racial divide where segrega-

tion was the norm in a country so gripped by apartheid.

The institution of apartheid is no doubt one of the last vestiges of European influence in the region, a system that no doubt favored the minority of those with European descent over those with African descent. Following independence from England that only came after an intense, bloody Boer War, the political atmosphere of South Africa hung by a thread until the 1940s, when the Afrikaaner (National) Party seized control of the majority, resulting in the implementation of Apartheid, which was originally designed to create an iron grip on the social and economic sysThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Cape Town, South Africa

apartheid timeline 1914 - National (afrikaaner) Party established

1948 - Policy of apartheid adopted when National Party takes power.

1950 - Population classified by race.

Group Areas Act passed

1961 - South Africa declared a republic, leaves the Commonwealth. Mandela heads ANC’s new military wing, which launches sabotage campaign.

to segregate blacks and whites.

1960s - International pressure against government begins,

South Africa excluded from Olympic Games.

1964 - ANC leader Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment. www.mbwebdesign.co.uk

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

1970s - More than 3 million people forcibly resettled in black

‘homelands’.

1990 - ANC unbanned, Mandela released after 27 years in prison. logicalthinker2.tripod.com

tem. This plan to increase white domination through social separation culminated in the 1960s with “Grand Apartheid”, intermingling territorial separations with police repressions.

In the Apartheid era mindset, there were whites, coloreds, and blacks; distinction was integral to one’s potential treatment. Classification into these categories was based on a conglomeration of unfair and racist suppositions. Obvious factors included appearance and descent.

The grievous, inexcusable factors of deterring one’s classification and thereby political treatment were habits, education, speech, deportment, and demeanor. Classification was no doubt integral as white dominance necessitates defining of dominance over whom, and what comes with

1984-89 Township revolt, state of emergency.

1994 - ANC wins first non-racial elections. Mandela becomes president, South Africa takes seat in UN General Assembly after 20-year absence.

19

Cape Town, South Africa said dominance. In this way, the white centric viewpoint was realized by 1978; statistical data narrates a chilling story of this preference. Whites were numbered at 4.5 million in comparison to the 19 million blacks that all resided in South Africa. The Whites, clearly in the minority, owned 87 percent of the land allocation, and 75 percent of the national income (1 to 14 ratio between whites and blacks in land allocation). White privilege is exemplified in minimum taxable income of 750 rand (for blacks, 360 rand), the low infant mortality rate of 2.7 percent (for blacks,

declared a whites only region in 1965, all housing was demolished and over 60,000 colored residents were forcibly removed.

The removed persons were relocated to Cape Flats and Lavender Hill, the former essentially being a giant sheet of sand, therefore inhospitable to any novel gains whether agricultural or economic.

In addition to the Group Areas Act, the story of apartheid can be further imparted through legislation passed throughout the century. With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every

“Despite the many atrocities that no doubt occurred in South Africa’s capitol city, Cape Town, the city itself was integral to South Africa’s restoration from the dark reaches of the political spectrum.” as much as 40 percent), and teacher/student ratio 1/22 (1/60 for blacks), with 696 dollars invested in pupil education concurrently with 45 dollars for blacks.

Swart Gevaar, Afrikaans for “black threat” was the slogan used by the National Party to illustrate the perceived inevitable danger that lay in a predominately black society, which in turn ominously catapulted the party to the forefront. This would serve as a means of justification for whatever racist laws the regime would attempt to push in the future. Consequently, South Africa saw the legislation of the Group Areas Act come to fruition. Now, the formerly multi-racial suburbs of South Africa were to then be completely purged of “unlawful” residents or demolished. The most infamous recipient of this hateful action was in fact Cape Town. Having been

aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only’’ jobs. 1951 saw the passage of the Bantu Authorities Act, which established ethnic government regions. Intrinsically devious in design, the Act established “homelands” to which blacks retained all voting and citizen rights. The catch was thus: citizenship to a homeland eclipsed citizenship to South Africa, thus forfeiting any right to involvement in Parliament, which held rank over the homelands. Over 9,000,000 South Africans were denationalized in this racially charged, demeaning process. Such polarizing legislation no doubt culminated in increased unrest among the indigenous peoples. In two years, the Afrikaaner Party would have a response. This response arrived in the form of the Public Safety Act

www.geheugenvannederland.nl

www.capetown.at

and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. This empowered the government to declare stringent states of emergency and increased penalties for protesting against or supporting the repeal of a law. The penalties included fines, imprisonment and whippings. The most infamous exaction of this law was seen in 1960, where a large group of blacks in Sharpeville refused to carry their passes. The government declared a state of emergency, resulting in the emergency lasting for 156 days, leaving 69 people dead and 187 people wounded.

Despite the many atrocities that no doubt occurred in Cape Town, the city itself was integral to South Africa’s restoration from the dark reaches of the political spectrum. The town itself was where many anti-apartheid leaders took residence, making the segregation-ripped city a base of operations for the ongoing struggle.

Robben Island, former penitentiary island 10-kilometers from the city, housed the many political prisoners of the Afrikaaner administrations. From Cape Town, we citizens of the world received our greatest imagery of hope. Nelson Mandela, from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall, on February 11, 1990 delivered a speech that in turn heralded the beginning of a new era for the country, hours after being released. Thankfully, Mandela led the anti-apartheid movement and finally succeeded in establishing a ‘multi racial democracy’ in 1990s, establishing the huhb of cultural and economic activity we see in South Africa today. HMR

Influential National Party Leaders www.sahistory.org.za

From Left to Right J. B. M. Hertzog D.F Malan Balthazar Johannes Vorster

20

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape

Soccer Town’s Catalyst

Kelvin Rhee

During the summer of 2010, South Africa hosted the 19th World Cup. The 31-day popular soccer tournament drew attention to South Africa unlike any other event in recent history.

Cape Town, the second most populous city in South Africa and the site of one

was no doubt the catalyst that resurrected Cape Town. The stars aligned for Cape Town and the steps they took will help achieve much desired economic advancement. South Africa had great marketing for the World Cup, an opening for immense public media at-

“The stars aligned for Cape Town, and the steps they took will help achieve much desired economic advancement” of the main stadiums of the 2010 World Cup, helped draw millions of tourists to a city with great economic potential.

Cape Town will only grow more attractive after the World Cup because soccer fanatics and regular tourists alike will want to come and see the host city of one of the most legendary FIFA World Cups. Not only will this increase tourist attraction, but it will also rejuvenate the economy of a fading South Africa.

In addition, and as a result of the increase in activity brought about by rising tourism, businesses will see Cape Town as a more appealing venture and destination for economic undertakings.

Prior to the World Cup, Cape Town had much economic potential that was withering without use. The World Cup The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

tention. Not only was the one month event a hit on screens, but the World Cup also generated over €2 billion for the nation. Cape Town and South Africa hoped to create a global, economic presence, launched by the World Cup, and are surely on the path to doing so having since been able to revitalize their economy. There is now steady economic growth and interest in Cape Town and I believe that South Africa can become the economic hub of Africa.

Cape Town is the home of a majority of the non-agricultural work of South Africa that is helping to give the nation economic relevance. Cape Town has the support and now, after the World Cup, the resources to flourish. Cape Town is progressing and has shown the potential

for astounding growth in the next ten to twenty years. The publicity and massive monetary boost Cape Town gained after the World Cup gives Cape Town the force it needs to launch itself into pertinence.

In the modern economy it is very hard for countries and cities to become fiscally influential on a global scale. The World Cup is one of very few events that have been able to spark an economy in recent times, and I believe the World Cup has brought to light Cape Town’s potential and has started a wave of prosperity that will soon be able to spread throughout the whole country. HMR

21

Cape Town, South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA IS AT A CROSSROADS. ITS FATE IS NOW

ZUMA’S CHOICE

S

JACOB GLADY SZ - MORAWSKI

outh Africa is a dichotomous place. When you arrive at Cape Town International Airport, you are immediately faced with a choice: You can turn right onto the N2 highway and go on to the bustling hub of international business and industry that is Cape Town or you can turn left towards Khayelitsha, Africa’s largest shanty town.

Today, South Africa’s government must similarly decide which one of the two equally accessible paths it will take: the way to prosperity, or the road to ruin. It can either lib-

22

eralize its economy, enhancing innovation and growth, or it can succumb to the pressures of corruption, command economics, and crypto-tribalism, ruining the financial health of the nation.

course of action would be most beneficial to take. Over the course of his thirty-one year (and counting) presidency, Robert Mugabe has routinely taken disastrous economic steps for purely political and personal steps. Throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s Mugabe’s government forcibly expropriated and redistributed land with no compensation for the victims of these actions. Meanwhile, to finance its profligate budget it engaged in a confiscatory fiscal policy by raising taxes to chokehold levels for companies. Mugabe clamped down on

South Africa has endured too much, whether under colonial rule or under Apartheid, to let the opportunities of prosperity slip through its fingers.

President Jacob Zuma need only look at the fortunes of his counterpart in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, to find out which

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Cape Town, South Africa the press. Bureaucrats enforced complicated regulations and demanded bribes from any person trying to start a business.

Police and military personnel harassed land owners and entrepreneurs. As result of these policies foreign companies pulled their interests out of the country and western governments imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s ruling clan. Hyperinflation ensued. At the end of 2008 Zimbabwe’s highest denomination of currency was the trillion dollar note and the inflation rate was 6.5 quindecillion novemdellium persecnt, in scientific notation that is 6.5 x 10108 or 65 followed by 107 zeroes. A single sheet of toilet paper cost 460 Zimbabwean Dollars. Today, Zimbabwe has formally recognized the American dollar, along with the South African Rand and Motswana Pula as the official currency. Nevertheless, Government spending still makes up 97.5% of gross domestic product and GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) is just $500. Effective unemployment hovers around and unbelievable 95% of the working age population. Zimbabwe leads the world in debt as a proportion of GDP at a whopping 231%. Zimbabwe is among an elite group of three countries whose human development score is actually lower that it was in 1970. It would seem that any outside observer would recognize

Zimbabwe’s economy and the policies that resulted in these sobering figures as textbook examples of fiscal mismanagement.

Yet there are those in the very highest echelons of South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) whose political posturing all too greatly resembles that of Robert Mugabe. President Jacob Zuma’s South Africa is rife with corruption. The economist estimates that 25%-30% of state procurement funds go to covering the costs of graft. The president himself has been embroiled in corruption charges with revelations that his personal financial manager solicited bribes of as much as $5 million from arms producers on Mr. Zuma’s behalf. However, Mr. Zuma’s personal problems are the least of what South Africa ought to be worrying about. Many members of the ruling ANC party, which has been in power since the end of the Apartheid regime in 1994, have called for a Zimbabwe-style redistribution of land and nationalization of mineral resources. While this rhetoric makes wonderful oratory, it rarely precipitates good results, as seen in Zimbabwe. For South Africa, the world’s largest producer of Gold, Platinum, and Diamonds, the consequences would be all the more dire. A 2008 document drafted by the ANC and the ANC’s powerful Youth League called

for the government to take a stake in 60% of the country’s mines. This sort of language certainly will not instill a favorable outlook among investors. A recent report by the Frasier Group, a mining think tank, saw South Africa’s ranking as a safe investment in mining drop eighteen places down the list.

Instead of emulating the actions of Zimbabwe, South Africa should look instead to yet another of its neighbors: Botswana. Botswana is home not only to some of Africa’s highest GDP per capita and human development rates (Zimbabwe is at the bottom for both), but also to one of Africa’s fastest growth rates. The path to success was not difficult, it simply meant liberalizing the economy, repealing complicated regulations, and lowering business taxes. But then again, the road to ruin is also easy; and, like the proverb says, is paved with good intentions. Just as an arrival at Cape Town International Airport beckons a choice, so does South Africa’s arrival as a developing nation. The nation has endured too much, whether under colonial rule or under Apartheid, to let the opportunities of prosperity slip through its fingers. For my part, I sincerely hope that Jacob Zuma and the legislators in Cape Town will do the right thing. HMR

AFRICATAMED.COM

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

23

Cape Town, South Africa

“

g n i l g d

e l F a f o y r n t o n i u t o u l C o Ev Hana

rac o t s Krije

S

outh Africa struggles on a daily basis to uphold the social, political, and economic fabric that shapes the nation today. Having an economic growth at a rate of 3%, which is 5% lower than the bare minimum approval rating, a continuous fight for the ownership of rural land, and an overall lack of government organization, South Africa is pushing for a functional democracy, which will hopefully solve their problems. Although South Africa’s tumultuous history does play a decently sized role in molding South Africa’s current society, it is not the main issue. Once a slave nation, the country moved from being a radical communist state, to a disorganized democratic one, as well as from being self-governed, separated tribes, to being ruled by the British and then Dutch Afrikaners. Despite being torn by two Anglo-Boer wars, somehow South Africans managed to create their own republic in 1961.

However, the oppressive leftist regime by the South African National Party from a 1948 election powered through the country. One of its most famous laws enacted was apartheid, a system enacted to create oppressive and racist laws discriminating against the black population of South Africa. An example of this would be the Population Registration act of 1950, which classified every citizen by race, as well as the Group Areas act, which intensified the housing and property rights based on race conceptions. Five years later, the members of the ANC were all charged with

24

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

g

c h s g , y . n h d y h

Cape Town, South Africa

“

”

According to “Why Nations Fail” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson , once an “institutionalized” government where no one person holds the power is enacted the social and economic stability will come. high treason, on account that they violated multiple human rights laws.

They were eventually convicted in 1961, marking the start of the Republic of South Africa. Throughout the rest of history till about 1990, there were a number of mass killings and rebellions due to the discontent within the political system, along with Nelson Mandela’s continuous peaceful rebellion against the corrupt regime of the ANC. These rebellions also marked the amount of racial tension between the blacks and Afrikaners of the nation. Today, South Africa is still strug- peterschindler.blogspot.com gling in this regard.

Today, after the colaspe, it seems they are still regrouping themselves as a large and concentrated government.

According to “Why Nations Fail” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, once an “institutionalized” government where no one person holds the power, is enacted, the social and economic stabilShanty ity will come.

Even after years of conflict, South Africa is still experiencing obstacles in managing their rural land system. Current farmers have permit-to-occupy licenses, which limit their ownership to a certain number of years, rather than having a freetitle permit, which allows them to own their land for as long as they like.

This has been an issue for South Africans since 1994, showing the lack of leadership and economic growth in the nation. As a country with only an economic growth of 3%, this land dispute can only harm the nation. This is hurting civilians’ civil rights by limiting their economic prosperity, as well as denying them their individual rights to land ownership, two fundamental human rights aspects in the United States. South Africa is trying The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

to establish a functional democratic democracy, which is generally coupled with capitalism. In order for South Africa to organize their society, stimulating their economy through capitalism is necessary by avoiding restrictions on one’s ability to produce income. The landowners and government need to work together in open communication order to improve the country’s economy as a whole. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, “Inclusive economic institutions that enforce property rights, create a level playing

relations in South Africa have recently emerged. Protestors say that no matter how successful you are, as a black citizen, you are automatically inferior to a white one. It seems as if the apartheid system still holds in Africa. Many black citizens are greatly scarred by the apartheid system, which is mostly upheld in today’s western area of Cape Town. Even president Jacob Zuma has recognized the tension. However, the government still hasn’t acted upon those human rights violations. The western side of Cape Town is ruled by the Democratic Alliance.

Once a poltical party opposing apartheid, it now has adopted the corrupt African Governing Council methodology, which originally established the apartheid system.

The only way that South Africa can gain economic power, as well as social stability is by building a unified governTowns Are A Problem That need to Be Addressed ment to create a field, and encourage investments in new functioning society in all regards. Some technologies and skills are more condu- black civilians say that the form of racism cive to economic growth than extractive is subtle, mostly through negative comeconomic institutions that are structured ments and discrimination in the work to extract resources from the many by place, something that as a country in a the few.” However, South Africa’s lead- recession cannot afford. The entire naing source for economic growth is their tion needs to cooperate in order to build mining business, which is currently in a South Africa. Germany philosopher recession. Even though South Africa still Georg Hegel once said that “man does stands as one of the biggest exporter of not exist for the law, but the law for man.” minerals in the world, its rate of new in- This shows that the need for better comvestment is dwindling, also showing the munication between the corrupted govlack of economic growth in the country. ernment and the people of South Africa.

The safety of these mines is low, causing Hopefully with time a new government investors to resist funding. In 1995, about system will emerge in order to create a 69,000 miners were killed in mining ac- self-sustaining capitalist and democratic cidents, another example of how South society. HMR Africa has not grown since its revolution.

Recent disputes concerning race

25

Cape Town, South Africa

Africa’s Beacon of Hope

T

Stephen Paduano

How Cape Town’s Recovery Will Put South Africa on a Path To Prosperity and International Prominence

26

he city lights of Cape Town, the strong will of President Jacob Zuma, and the determination of the South African people paint the same picture of an emerging world power. The war-torn, poverty-stricken, and disease-ridden continent that has for so long been the playground of Europe’s slave traders, conquistadors, and imperialistrs can now look to South Africa as a beacon of hope, leading the way for an unprecedented, all-encom-

passing African revolution. Cape Town has been victim to the same downward economic trend that has plagued the rest of the world; however, its recovery will solidify its new position of political and economic importance on the global scale.

Once a city marred by hostile race relations, Cape Town has broken away from the shackles of Apartheid and has developed its own powerful economy that can help to hasten the economic evolution of the nation altogether.

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Cape Town, South Africa Though the booming city has since fallen on hard times, it has continued to be able not only to take charge of the country’s lucrative natural resources, but also attract tourists from across the globe. In twenty years, as the New York Times reported earlier this month, South Africa has gone from a totally segregated society suffering from a virtually nonexistent tourism economy to an integrated land experiencing well over 11 million foreign visitors per year.

The twenty-year period that began under the last President of the apartheid-

industry has launched Cape Town onto the global economic stage, unlike many of its struggling 3rd World African neighbors who have continued to subsist on low scale agricultural initiatives.

Cape Town has been responsible in no small part for the swift development of South Africa as an economic power and as a progressive nation.

In addition to great, albeit interrupted economic expansion, South Africa’s effort to becoming the first great African power in millennia has been facilitated by decisive actions of

slump. Despite unexpected growth and recovery, Mr. Fuzile told reporters that he is “cautiously optimistic” and will proceed with monetary policy as such, rather than cutback on recovery expenditures and risk a double-dip recession.

This strategy, this winning strategy, will allow Cape Town and South Africa both to emerge successfully from this global crisis and to develop their economy rapidly.

Cape Town’s rise to international prominence has been noted and facilitated by the International Mon-

Once a city marred by hostile race relations, Cape Town has broken away from the shackles of Apartheid and has developed its own powerful economy that can help to hasten the economic evolution of the nation altogether. era South Africa, Frederick Willem de Klerk, and has continued through the presidencies of the legendary Nelson Mandela, and now Jacob Zuma, has seen Cape Town grow to be the second wealthiest city and the greatest tourist destination in all of Africa. The wealth that Cape Town has been able to generate has come from traditional African industries such as mining and fishing, as well as the rapidly growing information technology sector. Growing at an annual rate of 8.5% and worth nearly $1,000,000,000, the South African IT

Christine Lagarde: Managing Director of The IMF, Lagarde has promoted South Africa’s economy hoping to achieve stability in the region.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

the government. Cape Town, the seat of South Africa’s Parliament, has recently seen great action to combat the economic woes of the world and ensure that they do not reach the South African shores. The government began 2011 with an extremely aggressive strategy to revitalize a stagnating economy. Lungisa Fuzile, Director General of South Africa’s National Treasury, who expected a mere 2.7% overall growth in the South African economy, has helped to surpass market expectations and seemingly conquer South Africa’s recent

etary Fund. Despite the fact that South Africa’s exposure to the problems of Europe is significantly greater than its neighbors’, the IMF believes that its recovery could spur economic growth throughout the region. This ability to lift an entire region from years of depressing economic stagnation will qualify South Africa, and its economic hub Cape Town, as the African powerhouse. HMR

Jacob Zuma: President of South Africa, Zuma pionneered economic progress in his 4 years in office.

27

Cape Town, South Africa

SHADES OF HOPE

W

THECONFIDENCEINTERVAL.COM

TACKLING THE AIDS ISSUE IN SOUTH AFRICA

catherine engelmann hile AIDS treatment has improved dramatically in the United States over the past decade, the disease still rages in countries in a less fortunate parts of the world; namely, Africa. In 2010, 280,000 South Africans died of AIDS. Currently, the disease affects 5,700,000 people in South Africa, or around 12% of

28

the population. Despite this great number, a very small percentage of the people infected with the disease receive treatment. In actuality, only about a fifth of the population with advanced HIV/AIDS received anti-retroviral treatment in 2006. This percentage is stunningly low considering the disease and its resulting illnesses are the number one killer of the South African population.

AIDS has a devastating effect on the person infected, but it also has a disastrous impact on their family and the economy. The disease is most prevalent among young adults meaning that their children could be orphaned at a young age. This catastrophe causes the family of the victim innumerable economic hardships, not to mention emotional wear and tear for the children who are orphaned.

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

THECONFIDENCEINTERVAL.COM

Cape Town, South Africa

The government needs to get involved if it wants to take large strides against AIDS There are an estimated 1.9 million AIDS orphans with one or both parents deceased. HIV and AIDS are responsible for half of the South Africa’s orphans.

Great achievements have been made over the past few years in care for orphaned infants, but the government now needs to contemplate how to care for HIV infected orphans that have survived into adulthood. As well as causing individuals great hardships, the disease also has a significant effect on the economy as a whole. In a no-AIDS scenario, per-capita growth in GDP would be 0.9 percentage points higher and the unemployment rate would be 0.9 percentage points lower. If the government allotted more of its budget for AIDS care, the economy would most likely benefit. As a representative from the Treatment Action Campaign said, “This is going to be expensive to implement, but these recommendations will eventually lead to cost savings. It’s a cost that has simply been deferred.”

Clearly the disease has a devastating effect on South Africa and its neighboring countries. In fact, the South Africa has a larger HIV infected population than any other in the world. The next top five countries in AIDS prevalence are all neighbors of South Africa. Unfortunately, AIDS itself is not the only disease with a detrimental effect on the population. In 2009, 210,000 people affected by HIV/ AIDS were tested for tuberculosis and 60 percent were TB-positive. This statistic shows the direct link between the two diseases. The treatment of these two diseases together is essential to building a healthier population.

The sad but true fact of the matter is The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

that among all of this evidence very few public figures actually believe that AIDS is a rampant issue in South Africa. For example, former president Thabo Mbeki, who served two terms as the second president of post-apartheid South Africa, denied scientific proof that the HIV virus causes AIDS. Scientists at the University of Cape Town have estimated that Mbeki’s denialist policies contributed to the deaths of more than 330,000 South Africans.

Nevertheless, the government has taken some steps to prevent the spread of the disease and also to raise awareness.

An HIV counseling and testing campaign was launched in April of 2010, and it has launched media, which raises awareness of the disease to adults and teenagers through television. Despite these attempts to inform the South African people of the effects of the disease, their knowledge seems not to have improved.

Across all age groups and sexes, less than half of the population surveyed knew of the protection condoms could offer and that having fewer sexual partners reduced the risk of being infected. While these dramatic television shows may help to raise awareness of the disease, it is unclear whether they actually prevent the spread of the disease.

For instance, protection usage has risen in past years, especially among young people; however, the success rate of protection devices given in past years has been dubious. Very recently after giving away 1.35 million condoms in celebration of the country’s ruling political party’s 100th anniversary, the government had to recall them for defectiveness.

This raises eyebrows at the effectiveness of the campaign against AIDS, especially because condom use is the most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease.

Many people in South Africa cannot afford to buy protection. The truth is that people will not use the government-issued protection if they do not trust it. Already, the population is poverty-stricken, especially in the inland provinces, such as KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. That’s why the government not only needs to provide protection, but provide protection that actually works.

Currently, care is provided to AIDS victims at a household level and by FBOs (faith-based organizations.) These small groups are not enough to keep the widespread disease in check. As the government has responded insufficiently to the disease, many non-government organizations have had to step in. Although these smaller organizations have contributed greatly in caring for AIDS victims and their caregivers, their funds are not large enough to make nationwide progress.

This is why the South African government needs to make AIDS prevention, treatment, and information a higher priority. As it is, the government has an HIV & AIDS and STI strategic plan, but has failed to effectively reduce the affects of the disease. Maybe the reason for this negligence is that AIDs is “old news” (it was diagnosed for the first time in 1983) but the disease is more present than ever.

The government needs to get involved if South Africa wants to take large strides against the destructive disease. HMR

29

Beirut, Lebanon Features

Features Beirut, Lebanon

THE MELTING POT? Samantha Rahmin

L

ebanon is a country in the Middle East. However, neither Lebanon’s religion nor culture is primarily Islamic. In Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, people speak three different languages, Arabic, English, and French. Beirut’s architecture reveals all the cultures enclosed in the city. For example, the Sursock Museum, a preserved private mansion from the time of the Ottoman Empire, shows the influence of the Turkish. The deco designed Roxy movie theater, built by an MIT graduate, shows the influence of the West.

Hotel Saint Georges, designed by Parisian architects, shows the influence of the French. Significantly, the city is filled with not only Islamic styled mosques, but also Christian styled churches. Like New York, Beirut is a melting pot, mixed with different cultures and religions. Thus, because of its cultural vigor, Beirut was given a well-deserved epithet, “Paris of the Middle East.” However, unfortunately, the many different cultures are clashing.

The different religions found in Beirut have been too strong of a factor in shaping the development of

30

Lebanon. Almost everyone in the nation belongs to one of the nations many Christian groups, such as the Maronites, Greek Catholics, and Roman Catholics or to one of the nation’s many Muslim groups, such as the Sunni, Shia, and Druze. Lebanon has a greater percentage of Christians than any other country in the Middle East.

“Clearly, there is tension between the Muslims and Christians in Lebanon.”

Ironically, no one knows exactly what that population is because the last time a national census was taken was in 1932, when Christians formed about 84% of Lebanon’s population.

In the 1940s, the number of Muslims began to surpass the number of Christians because the Muslims had such a high birthrate. Because now

Christians form only approximately 40% of Lebanon’s population, they are trying to prevent anyone from taking another population census. Clearly, there is tension between the Muslims and Christians in Lebanon.

This tension is not new. Instead of living peacefully and allowing their country to thrive together, from 1975 to 1990, Muslims and Christians used Beirut, Lebanon’s main economic center, as the main battleground to fight a bloody urban war. Beirut’s airport, sewage systems, and telephone lines were knocked down. Hundreds of thousands of citizens either were killed or injured in battle. However, very significantly, since the Civil War, Beirut was been trying to regain its position as the economic capital of the Middle East. Thus, religious conflict devastated Beirut’s economy. Beirut still manufactures silk and cotton fabrics. Beirut exports these fabrics in addition to fruits, hides, livestock, and wool. Since the Civil War, Beirut rebuilt its airport. Beirut also has railroads, linking it to Damascus, Syria, and other cities in the Middle East.

Moreover, religious problems can still be seen clearly in Beirut. More affluent Christians tend to live on

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Beirut, Lebanon

the East side of Beirut. West Beirut remains isolated from economic development and therefore less affluent.

West Beirut is home to many poor Muslim families and many squatter settlements. Hezbollah gained control of and rose to power in West Beirut because of the religiously based sectional divide of the capital. Again, friction between Christian and Muslims negatively shaped how Beirut operates today. This friction allowed what the United States considers a terrorist organization to become popular enough to become part of Lebanon’s government.

Lebanon’s current political system revolves around citizens’ religious affiliation. Lebanon has a confessionalist government, which is one that mixes religion and politics by dividing power proportionally among religious communities. All seats in government are divided among different religious groups by a political agreement. The 1943 National Pact allocated power to different religions proportionally based on the 1932 consensus. In 1990, the number of seats allotted to Muslims and Christians The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

changed to a 1:1 ratio. Lebanon’s government has three top positions. The president must be a Maronite Christian. The Speaker of Parliament must be a Shi’a Muslim. The Prime Minister must be a Sunni Muslim. In addition, Lebanon has political parties, mostly based on sectarian interests.

Thus in Lebanon, political identification is mostly determined by religion.

It is unfortunate that still, in 2012, Lebanon has not separated the church from the state. Religion is important, but it should not have the power to devastate an economy, define city boundaries, and become a political system. Beirut would be a stronger city if Christians and Muslims worked together to build the entire city’s economy. Lebanon’s political system would be more effective if people were elected based on their platforms, not religion. Lebanon needs religious harmony. HMR

31

Beirut, Lebanon

a g n i t Char r o f e s Cour

t c i l f Con

by sah

ej sur

i

C

urrent maritime border dis- Minister of Lebanon, Adnan Mansour, Lebanese soldiers after a purported putes between Lebanon and demands that Cyprus revoke its agree- border incursion. Currently, both naIsrael have caused diplomat- ment with Israel, reasoning that Leba- tions have agreed to build a wall along ic relations between the two non “demarcated its maritime border the northern border of Israel. Accordnations to come to a stand- with Israel at the expense of Lebanon.” ing to the United Nations Interim Force still, as both nations lay claim to an oil According to As-Safir, a leading news- in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the purpose of and gas rich area that covers close to 800 paper in Lebanon, Cyprus has begun to the new wall is to “enhance security” square kilometers in order to profit from comply with the concerns of Lebanon. and “minimize the scope for sporadic the natural resources there. Although It remains to be seen, however, how ex- tensions in this sensitive area.” Due to former Foreign Minister of Cyprus Erato actly the land will be divided. this mutual hostility, direct dialogue is Kozakou-Marcoullis has began to meet The tensions between Lebanon out of the question. Some sort of arbiwith both nations “to double bilateral co- and Israel have been long-standing. tration or mediation is probably a betoperation between ter step. the two countries on In the meanForeign investors have shunned the region be- time, foreign invesgovernmental and economic levels”, cause of this instability, even though it is expected tors have shunned according to The to have great value. That is a pity, as a new sup- the region because Daily Star, much ply of Middle Eastern oil would greatly reduce of this instability, still needs to be the baneful influence of Iran on the world stage. even though it is exdone. If Lebanon pected to have great and Israel want to value. That is a pity, improve their dipas a new supply of lomatic relations, they need to resolve Lebanon and Israel fought a substan- Middle Eastern oil would greatly rethis issue sooner rather than later. tial war in 2006; Fouad Siniora stated duce the baneful influence of Iran on The problem starts with the island that the amount of civilians killed in the the world stage. While we are not curnation of Cyprus, which, according to war by Israel would make Lebanon the rently aware of the potential of this rethe Daily Star, made two separate trea- “last Arab country to make peace with gion, we must make all possible efforts ties with Israel and Lebanon, giving Israel”. Israel is no more hospitable: to encourage productive discussions sovereignty over a particular patch of in 2010, an Israeli border patrol unit between the two parties. HMR seafloor to both sides. The Foreign provoked a violent confrontation with

32

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Beirut, Lebanon

HOW NEW Rooftop gardens Could REVITALIZE BEIRUT

B

BY DANIEL BAUDOIN

eirut, Lebanon has been considered the “Paris of the Middle East.” Its distinctive culture combines influences from the French to the Greek to the Egyptian, with each civilization contributing its own food, sports, art, and fashion. It also exudes modernism and sophistication, with restaurants and nightlife as exciting as any other major city’s. Unfortunately, historical tension between the people of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel has caused Beirut to also be a city of terror: in 1983, Islamists bombed American and French houses, killing 300 soldiers and proving that Beirut was not immune to the tensions in the rest of the Middle East. While, Beirut rebuilt, a 2006 war with Israel did not help. Wassim Melki, a Middle Eastern architect, proposed a project to put rooftop gardens on many of Beirut’s buildings as part of Beirut’s continuous rebuilding. Not only will these rooftop gardens provide environmental, economic, and social benefits, but they will also contribute to rebuilding the reputation of Beirut as the Paris of the Middle East after a tough few years of war.

Beirut contains many high-rise skyscrapers; unfortunately, only 3% of the total land mass is parkland.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

This has caused a cluster of environmental problems, including poor air quality and trapped heat. Melki claims that around 80% of the rooftops in the city, around 15,000 in all, are suitable for planting trees. He has named his project Wonder Forest, and has been lobbying for support through the local non-governmental organization ReAct, whose main goals are to help progress urban development in Lebanon. They will help Melki in his endeavor to erect 60,000 trees for Wonder Forest.

One of the principal objectives of the creation of Wonder Forest is to dramatically decrease the environmental problems of Beirut. The rooftop gardens will reduce the level of carbon dioxide. The beautiful skyscrapers of Beirut are create enormous carbon dioxide emissions, and these gardens would help to create not only a cleaner environment but also a more beautiful one. Trees planted on top of buildings would also provide water and rain filtration, and would not, unlike a more conventional street-level park, inhibit the development of mass urban transportation at street level.

The Wonder Forest project also provides economic and social benefits through its proposed gardens.

At their own leisure, residents of each

building can grow fruits and vegetables to create local produce and stimulate the local economy. Olives, which would thrive in Beirut’s Mediterranean climate, are a proposed crop of choice. Melki’s proposal also has social benefits. Depending on the types of trees planted on the lower rooftops, the gardens would provide shade for pedestrians in a climate notoriously hot and parched. The Wonder Forest project will naturally provide more general park space in which residents of each building can spend quality time. In addition, as an economic incentive to the population of Beirut, the city can distribute tax reductions and benefits to buildings for well-maintained gardens, or gardening companies can offer discounts and sponsorship based on merit.

Although the Wonder Forest project offers many large-scale improvements to Beirut, it comes down to whether the people would commit their free time to preserving the rooftop gardens. This project would make Beirut an iconic city once more, benefit the city environmentally, socially and economically, and would be another successful addition to Beirut in its quest to return to its previous Parisian-like hey day. HMR

33

Beirut, Lebanon

HEZBOLLAH

By Samuel Henick

L

ebanon is approximately 10,452 square kilometers (4,036 square miles) and its length is almost three times its width. This quasirectangular country is beautifully situated in the tumultuous Middle East along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Like many of its neighbors, Lebanon also has internal conflicts, including the rise of Hezbollah.

According to the US CIA Factbook, “Lebanon has a freemarket economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition.

The government does not restrict foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, complex customs procedures, high taxes, tariffs, and fees, archaic legislation, and weak intellectual property rights.”

The collapse of the government in early 2011 over its backing of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon— an international tribunal for the prosecution under Lebanese law of those responsible for the assassination of Rafic Hariri on 14 February 2005; the tribunal also has jurisdiction over a series of other attacks in Lebanon between 1 October 2004 and 12 December 2005 if they are proven to be connected with the Hariri assassination—and unrest in neighboring Syria slowed

34

economic growth to 1.5% after four years of 8% average growth.

In September 2011 the Cabinet endorsed a bill that would provide $1.2 billion in funding to improve Lebanon’s downtrodden electricity sector, but fiscal limitations will test the government’s ability to invest in other areas, such as water.” In terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), Lebanon is ranked 87th in the world at $41.5 billion with a growth rate of 1.5% annually as of 2011 (173rd in the world). With its economy primarily focused on service (79.7% of GDP), Lebanon’s GDP per capita was 76th in the world at $15,600. According to the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, in 2010, the value of imports in USD [United States Dollars] was $18,460 million compared to its value of exports at $5,021 million.

All of these data pertain to Lebanon as a whole and Beirut is only one of the 851 cities/towns of the country. However, Beirut counts for 2.25 million members of Lebanon’s population, which is currently around 4.2 million people.

This means that Beirut counts for approximately 53.6% of the entire country’s population, and despite many conflicts that have ravaged the city, such as the 1982 Lebanon War, Beirut remains the heart of the nation. Having passed through

the hands of Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and French, Beirut has evolved into the “party capital of the Arab world,” without of course, the uprisings entitled “Arab Spring.” Beirut has been an acclaimed tourist destination and was named the top place to visit by The New York Times in 2009, and as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in the same year.

The city, however, like the rest of the country is under the influence of Hezbollah.

This terrorist organization sprang out of the 1982 Lebanon War with the purported goal of getting rid of any imperialist powers in Lebanon and to eradicate Israel. According to a survey released by the “Beirut Center for Research and Information” on July 26 during the 2006 Lebanon War, 87 percent of Lebanese support Hezbollah’s “retaliatory attacks on northern Israel.” The militant organization is a major provider of social services, operating schools, hospitals, and agricultural services for thousands of Lebanese Shiites.

Hezbollah’s political standing was bolstered after a wave of violence in May 2008 prompted Lebanon’s lawmakers to compromise with the group. The group’s political strength has grown since May 2008 and the takeover of West Beirut—and event The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Beirut, Lebanon

which followed a governmentordered shutdown of Hezbollah’s communications network, which was seen as a “declaration of war” on the organization. In an Arabbrokered deal to end the fighting, Hezbollah was granted veto power in Lebanon’s parliament, and gained control of controlled eleven of thirty seats in the cabinet. Despite the apparent political strengthening, however, some experts say Hezbollah’s use of force in the West Beirut showdown--Hezbollah had said it would never turn its weapons on Lebanese civilians--eroded the group’s credibility. In a May 2008 report, the International Crisis Group warned that a line had been crossed that would likely deepen the sectarian tensions among Lebanon’s ruling and opposition parties. The June 2009 elections saw a drop in Hezbollah’s political representation--it kept thirteen seats (Wall Street Journal) in the 128-member Lebanese Parliament and only two in the cabinet--but the loss has not diminished the group’s influence. In a December 2009 vote, the Lebanese Parliament allowed Hezbollah to retain its arsenal of weapons (New York Times), despite pro-Western lawmakers’ objections.

In fact, Lebanon has a national government, the Lebanese Parliament, and universal adult The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

suffrage (for males over the age of 21, it is compulsory, it is authorized for women over 21 with elementary education, excluding military personnel). There is a president— it is currently Michel Suleiman— appointed by the parliament, who in turn elects the prime minister.

The Governorate of Beirut is the only Lebanese governorate that consists of one district and one city, Beirut.

However, despite this form of democracy, in a 2009 Washington Institute for Near East Policy report, adjunct scholar Magnus Norell wrote that Hezbollah was “strong enough to drag the country [Lebanon] into war against the will of the sovereign government.”

According the CIA Factbook, 28% of Lebanon is below the poverty line (75th in the world). In 2011 Master Card Index revealed that Beirut had the second-highest visitor spending levels in the Middle East and Africa. Dubai came in first with $7.8 billion, followed by Beirut with $6.5 billion. Beirut may bask in its glory as a tourist destination and hub of the nation, but the rest of the country is poorer and increasingly under the control of the Hezbollah organization.

While the government in Beirut might not provide for Lebanon as

a whole, Hezbollah might win over the population and force the country to abide by the militant ideas of the group. According to Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Maleckova, “Crime increases as one’s market wage falls relative to the rewards associated with crime, and decreases if the risk of being apprehended after committing a crime or the penalty for being convicted of a crime rises.”

If we define terrorism as crime, then maybe Lebanon as a whole is ready to accept Hezbollah control. Stuart Gottlieb from Yale University said that terrorism is more abundant in wealthier and more privileged backgrounds. This might make Beirut more susceptible to the growing organization.

Only time will tell Lebanon’s future. Hezbollah may control the economically sound Beirut according to Gottlieb’s theory. On the other hand, the rest of the country might set a precedent of Hezbollah support according to Krueger and Maleckova due Lebanon’s relatively weak economy as a whole. Only time will tell. HMR

35

Beirut, Lebanon

!

W O N N NO

A B LE BY

36

N E H O C R SPENCE

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

!

Beirut, Lebanon

A

t Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, a journalist arrives from reporting on the civil war in Libya. As he hands his passport to the security guard to get stamped, the journalist is told, “Nothing is happening here.” As revolution sweeps through the Middle East in what has been coined the Arab Spring, Lebanon has remained surprisingly distant and uninvolved in the revolts. “We’re lazy, and we’re sectarian,” explains a Lebanese journalist. These statements are completely erroneous, as anti-sectarian protests have become a defining characteristic of the Lebanan’s political scene.

Despite rampant protest, Lebanon’s portrayal in the media has been heavily misleading. Recently, an article entitled “Resurgent Beirut Offers Haven Amid Turmoil of Arab Spring” was published in the New York Times, in which the writer outlines the current situation in Beirut as one of relative peace and tranquility. In the Daily Star, the leading English language newspaper in Lebanon, an article outlines the increase in the movement of capital into Lebanon by wealthy Syrians due to Lebanon’s distance from the crisis of the Arab Spring.

Despite positive publicity from leading news sources, when one scours the internet and social media sites, many sites are found calling for revolt and change—such as Lebanon Now! Autocratic rule by Hezbollah and increasing discontent with the government will lead to some form of revolt in the near future. The nation has been plagued with internal strife for the past 30 years, beginning with a civil war in 1975 to 1990, followed by a revolution in 2005 dubbed the Cedar Revolution, and recent protests—influenced by the Arab Spring—in 2011 causing the collapse of the nation’s government.

self-determination within the country due to a history of outside invaders, ranging from those of the Ottoman Empire to the Syrians as late as 2005. The nation has also embraced the system of confessionlism; this means that power is split in an equal proportion between different religious communities.

Through this system, though, a deeply intertwined system of segregation has developed. Rarely, do those of the different sects in society—18 in total—interact with each other. These separations are done in “political parties, places of residence, schools, media outlets, even workplaces.” What occurs is a lack of a national self-identity—but even worse a lack of uniformity and a lack to “facilitate the exchange of views and promote understanding.” Even further, as lamented by the news source Albawaba, “the need to obtain ‘consensus’ among sectarian leaders over any government decision or party in any political appointment has meant that Lebanon has been wracked by crisis.”

Though it would seem the past revolutions and protests, such as the Cedar Revolution or Civil War, would change conditions in such a society, each revolution simply places a new sect in control—the most recent of which is the Muslim party of Hezbollah in the 2011 protests. These protests were labeled “antisectarian,” and were taken up by the Lebanese hoping to remedy the consistently clashing parts of society. The main enemies the protestors called out to replace were the March 18 party, one of pro-western tendencies, and the Hezbollah run March 8 coalition, run by Saad Hariri. These two coalitions have controlled Lebanon’s political system.

The most recent protests were relatively successful in re-

Though much change has been instituted in the government because of numerous protests in the past 30 years—primarily the recent 2011-government collapse, the country is still dominated by religiously oriented, old guard political parties and organizations. According to the State Department’s brief on Lebanon, “Powerful families also still play an independent role in mobilizing votes for both local and parliamentary elections.” Even worse, the government formed in 2011 by Najib Mikati has been under the influence of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization in conflict with the people. These conditions, as will soon become clear, are identical incubators to the protests of the Arab Spring.

According to the respected Middle Eastern journalist Hussain Abdul-Hussain, revolts in the Middle East have acted as sort of “coming of age” rituals. He argues that those of the younger generation in Middle Eastern nations must contend with “a virtual world where they enjoy freedom and equality, and the world they live in, dominated by old-school autocrats, corruption and nepotism.” He argues that these are, beyond all doubt, the reason for the Arab Spring. He goes on to argue that such society still exists in Lebanon and that revolt must (and will soon) occur.

In Lebanon, there exists a wide array of political parties and organizations, most forming out of some religious order within the nation. Many political parties have also developed as those of nationalist parties—forming to create conditions of

placing the government, in that the government fell with the resignation of ten ministers following threats from Hezbollah of mobilization. The new government formed on June 13, is in large part under the control of Hezbollah. As opposition leader Nadim Gemayel has stated, “It is Hezbollah’s and Syria’s cabinet.” This government is not representative of the people and is still dominated by the March 18 and March 8 coalitions.

Clearly, yet again, the government is not truly that of the peoples.

In recent months, throughout the nation—spearheaded by religious leaders—many “anti-sectarian rallies” have occurred.

Though, when viewing these protests one must be skeptical.

Critics have noted that these revolutions—as with the akin 2011 “ant-sectarian” rallies—are primarily done through traditional channels, such as mainstream religious organizations. Due to organization through such traditional channels, the protests fail to fully embody the ideas and messages of the people.

These revolutions, as Abdul-Hussain points out, will not create a representative government. This is proven by experience— all past revolutions, including the Lebanese civil war in 1975, created a government that was not representative of the people. If the Lebanese people take up the call for revolt, and use non-traditional routes, revolt will finally succeed. HMR

“Despite positive publicity from leading news sources, when one scours the internet and social media sites, many sites are found calling for revolt and change—such as Lebanon Now! “

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

37

Beirut, Lebanon

DANGER NUCLEAR HAZARD WHY LEBANON SHOULD KEEP IRAN FROM THE BOMB

A

round twenty years ago, visitors called Beirut “the Paris of the Middle East”: especially compared to its neighbors, Beirut was prosperous, tolerant, and democratic. That particular label vanished after a bloody civil war destroyed Beirut’s infrastructure and killed many of its residents, but, slowly but surely, Beirut has marched back towards its tolerant heyday. All this, however, is threatened by its neighbor Iran’s steady progress towards a nuclear capability, which is wreaking immediate harm within the Middle East and threatens to cause regional chaos.

If Beirut wants to avoid becoming the Paris of Purgatory, it should do all it can to keep its neighbor from attaining weapons of mass destruction.

The first cost Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear device imposes upon Lebanon is the cost of economic sanctions on Iran. Lebanon is Iran’s biggest trading partner and thus has a vested interest in Iranian prosperity. International sanctions, however, have dramatically hurt the Iranian econo-

38

BY NATHAN RAAB my. As U.S. Undersecretary of State for Terrorism and Financial Intelligen on Iran’s access to capital and insurance have crippled Iranian industry.

Already, according to PBS’s Margaret Warner, major corporations like Toyota and Lloyd’s of London have withdrawn from Iran, and the Iranian state—hardly one to exaggerate its own problems—reports unemployment exceeding fourteen percent and inflation exceeding twenty percent.

It doesn’t help Beirut, which relies, in part, on Iranian investment and tourism to drive its economy, when Iran is unable to invest and Iranians are unable to make ends meet. Thus, there is an immediate economic incentive for Lebanon to lobby Iran to stop its drive for nuclear technology.

An even greater economic incentive exists when considering the economic turmoil that would occur if Iran formally announced possession of a nuclear weapon or even a nuclear capability. Iran is neither predictable nor content with its current status as one of many Middle Eastern powers.

Instead, as secret U.S. intelligence

files leaked by Wikileaks reveal, Iran is “intent on regional hegemony in Iraq, the Gulf, and across the Middle East.” With an unstable, nuclearly armed Iran on the prowl, economic uncertainty would increase and deter investment. As Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed remarked to the U.S. ambassador (a remark revealed by WikiLeaks), “all hell will break loose” if Iran winds up with the Bomb.

More important than these two purely economic reactions to an Iranian nuclear device would be the global and regional security ramifications of one. The most likely – and less harmful – result would probably be some kind of regional arms race; as British Foreign Secretary William Hague warns, once Iran has developed a nuclear weapon, “other nations across the Middle East would certainly want to join them.” Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia especially, according to BBC news analyst Peter Biles, would fear an Iranian bomb and work to make their own.

What Hague terms a “new Cold The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Beirut, Lebanon War” would mean nothing good for the Middle East as a whole. The United States’ fifty-year standoff with the Soviet Union, notes Stephen Schwartz, took a total of $7.13 trillion dollars away from investment in infrastructure and put them instead into nuclear weapons, while risking incalculable physical and human damage.

Now imagine the same thing – except with four mutually suspicious nuclear powers, not two; except with weapons security abysmal at best; except with governments wont to sponsor religious fanatics and terrorists. Such an unstable Mexican standoff would be of no strategic benefit to Lebanon, a country which has forsworn nuclear weapons and has no aspirations for regional hegemony. Lebanon is a country of merchants; it benefits from regional trade, not mutual suspicion.

Yet the latter will be the best-case scenario in a world where Iran has access to a nuclear weapon.

Not quite as likely, but much worse, would be an Israeli strike on Iranian territory. Although a preemptive Israeli bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities is far from certain, the consequences would be dire.

Any Israeli route to Iran would pass through either Syrian or Saudi Arabian airspace, forcing Syria or Saudi Arabia to quickly take sides in the emerging conflict. Iranian retaliation of some form, analysts say, is almost certain, and Iran most likely would launch ballistic missiles from hardened sites at Israeli cities. According to the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, the ensuing geopolitical fallout could spark “a full-blown regional war that could lead to the deaths of thousands of Israelis and Iranians.” Lebanon, with a strong defense relationship with Saudi Arabia, would almost certainly be dragged in to such a conflict. With luck, and if Israel gains an early military advantage, the conflict will stay conventional. If Israel feels threatened existentially, however, policy insiders say that a defense involving nuclear weapons is very real.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

The fallout, whether real or metaphorical, would spell only bad news for the long-term prospects of the Middle East as a whole.

So the direct and indirect regional consequences of an Iranian bomb are bad. Why should Lebanon get involved? Lebanon could actually make a difference – more than other nations could – in the fight to slow Iran’s progress towards a nuke. Lebanon’s government is staunchly Islamist, it has strong trading ties with Iran, and it has no imperial designs on the surrounding region, which would give its arguments credibility with the radical mullahs who run Iran’s nuclear program. A polite and cooperative request from a fellow Arab nation would serve as an effective counterpoint to the blunt preconditions and demands imposed by Western countries and the United Nations. Perhaps most importantly, however, a Lebanese request would allow Iran to back down from its nuclear precipice while saving face among Iranian citizens, who overwhelmingly support Iran’s nuclear efforts. Instead of backing down under Western pressure, Iran would be working cooperatively with other Arab nations and building its ‘soft power’ throughout the Middle East. While this mode of thinking is perhaps not the most palatable to Western policymakers, it will be the kind of logic that convinces Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

At the end of the day, a nuclear Iran would not be a global catastrophe, but it would detract, not add, from overall global security. It is in the best interest of Lebanon – and the world – for it to keep its unstable neighbor from a nuclear weapon. If Beirut wants to continue its rise as the Paris of the Middle East, it would be wise for it to convince Iran to give peace a chance. HMR

THE NUCLEAR CLUB If Iran gets an atomic weapon, it will be the smallest member of an elite global club. Below, the club’s members, and the size of their nuclear arsenals:

2430 active warheads: Russia.

Most of these date from the Cold War.

1950

active warheads: the United States. These date from the Cold War as well.

160 active warheads: the

United Kingdom, from the Cold War.

290 active warheads: France,

from the Cold War.

180 active warheads: China, for

unknown purposes.

110 active (and insecure) war-

heads: Pakistan, developed illicitly in competition with India.

100 active warheads: India, de-

veloped in competition with Pakistan.

10 active warheads: North Korea,

for unknown purposes.

80 active warheads: Israel, for

unknown purposes.

39

Beirut, Lebanon

The Hezbollah Effect Jacob Zurita

D

iscord and antagonism in the Middle East have heightened following Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz and Syria’s unceasing domestic uprising. These events serve as precedents for ensuing conflict, which will be catalyzed by a developing Shi’a Muslim militant and political party, identified as Hezbollah. The organization, classified by the United States as a terrorist group, has recently become a part of the Lebanese government and has been steadily gaining power and influence in Lebanon since its formation in 1982. The organization is committed to the destruction of Israel by Jihad. Presently, Hezbollah receives political, and financial support, military training, and weapons from arguably the two most unstable governments within the Middle East, Iran and Syria. As a result, Hezbollah reflects Syrian and Iranian interests.

The more influence and control Hezbollah exerts on the Lebanese government and the stronger the organization’s alliance with Iran and Syria becomes, the

40

further extent dissension and conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

During the previous two decades, Hezbollah has transformed into a Lebanese political party by participating in the sectarian parliamentary administration. Last year the organization and its allies ousted Lebanon’s coalition government and reconstituted a new one by selecting the succeeding prime minister, Najib Mikati. Hezbollah and its opposition allies control 11 of the 30 seats in the Lebanese parliament, which is enough for vetoing power.

Hezbollah’s rapid growth and growing alliance with Iran and Syria are a matter of concern for Israel and the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the department is “constantly monitoring” the militant

group. Previously, Hezbollah has been willing to strike American and Israeli assets; in 1983 Hezbollah destroyed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 17 Americans. Later that year, Hezbollah bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 soldiers. Hezbollah demonstrated its firepower in the 2006 Lebanon war by launching 3,699 rockets into Israel. Additionally, the war proved the strength of Iran and Syria’s commitment to the alliance with Hezbollah by providing extensive military support.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out a military strike on Iran to impede its nuclear program, which they believe is intended to build atomic weapons. However, Iran states the program is a peaceful pursuit intending to find an efficient energy source. “AmeriThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Beirut, Lebanon

“

The more influence and control Hezbollah exerts on the Lebanese government and the stronger the organization’s alliance with Iran and Syria becomes, the further dissension and conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

”

A

ca knows that if there is a war on Iran, this means that the whole region will be set alight, with no limit to the fires,” stated Hezbollah deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem.

A conflict between Hezbollah, Iran, and Israel would drag a reluctant United States into immediate confrontation.

The United States is resolute on non-military pressure, such as the sanctions on Iran, especially since the presidential election is mere months ahead and a war would mean an increased economic deficit, despite having the unquestionable, dominant military capability. Regardless, Israel is ardent to end any friction in the region as the leaders indicated they are considering a pre-emptive strike on Iran. The drawback with this uncompromising approach, howThe Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

ever, is the effect it will create on the entire region. The new Islamic government in Egypt is improbable to watch from the bench while Israel tries to achieve dominance in the region through intense military action on fellow Muslims, nor will Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime stand idly by as it did during the 2006 Lebanon War. Coupled with Iran’s military support, a preemptive strike seems fatuous. Initiating war with Israel is a way for Assad to end anti-government protests and the uprising by rallying the country behind him and in his wake creating ultranationalists.

Consequently, a border skirmish between Israel and Hezbollah could be instantaneously transformed into a calamitous war that would have the potential to drag in all the neighboring Arab countries, the

United States and, the U.S.’s allies.

As tensions continue to increase in the Middle East, it is vital for the United States to monitor Iran and Hezbollah’s threat to our objectives, domestically and overseas. As history has shown in World War II and other situations, ignoring a lethal and evolving danger arrives with consequences. HMR

41

S達o Paulo, Brazil Economics

S達o Paulo, Brazil

HOPE ON THE HORIZON

media-1.web.britannica.com

S達O PAULO IS A CITY OF IMMENSE WEALTH. BUT IT IS ALSO A CITY OF SLUMS. How the Brazilian Government is Taking Steps in the Right Direction

BY MIHIKA KAPOOR 42

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil

A

s a sprawling city in which the stock market is growing faster than the rising skyscrapers, São Paolo is rapidly expanding and extending its economic power, assuming a pedestal as one of the top metropolises in the world. Unfortunately, this growth is predominantly concentrated in the upper stratums of Brazilian society, and many remain woefully ignorant of the poverty under their noses.

In São Paolo, the sixth most populated city in the world, the wealthiest 10% of the population dominates 42.7% of the city’s capita, while the poorest 10% control less than 1.6%. In 1999, parameter measures were used to determine the actual percentage of those who were “poor” in Brazil. A poverty line was created, and although there exist many standards and references for similar evaluations in various countries, Brazil’s economists based their poverty requirements on the relative residents of a household with income per capita under the minimal level of money required for necessities (the income needed to provide for food, clothes, transportation and housing). Moreover, a regionally-defined indigence line was also calculated. This was based on the costs of food supply (assuming everyone averages 2000 calories per day). 34% of households (53 million people) had an income under the poverty line and 14% of Brazil’s population (22 million people) fell under the indigence line.

The reasons for such high numbers can only be boiled down to one explanation: unequal distribution of wealth. The average Brazilian income is higher than the poverty line and 64% of countries have a lower income per capita than Brazilians.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

When compared to industrialized countries, the income of the working class in Brazil is 1/3 of that in those countries.

The impoverished represent 3.8 million people out of São Paolo’s total population of 11 million people, and the number of poor has only risen in the past years.

The indigent are relegated to living in slum-like conditions, unhealthily packed together like cattle. The living conditions of São Paolo are not helped by the monsoons, which heighten the subtropical temperatures and create severe problems in sewer-less slums. The rain often causes garbage and debris to clog drainage channels and taint the water supply.

The most common homes of these millions of people are favelas, private or public lands that essentially act as overpopulated and sewerless slums. São Paolo is home to over 1,600 favelas, 1,900 corticos (tenement houses) and 1,100 “irregular” land subdivisions, or areas without legally acknowledged titles.

While Brazil was subject to military dictatorship in the 1960’s, the government initiated a campaign to eradicate favelas, seeking to remove the ugly and unsanitary areas that tainted the world-renowned city. However, when the influx of rural population in need of industrial jobs only grew, it became clear that upgrading the areas would be a more effective course.

This method directly enhanced the lives of those living in favelas, was economically cheaper, and minimized animosity towards the government, which was no longer perceived by the indigent as enemies.

In 2010, the second largest slum, Paraisopolis, was temporarily evacuated of its 56,000 residents. The muddy stream bank was then equipped with proper drainage,

a ribbon park, a music school, and an outdoor cinema. Though this proved a step in the right direction, Paraisopolis was only one favela. That same year in Rio de Janeiro, new sewage treatment tanks were built for a gravity-fed water system in the Tijuaca favela. Such advanced work has not yet reached the favelas of São Paolo, but the implementation of such a system in the same country demonstrates the government’s willingness and ability to develop the favelas of São Paulo, as well.

In the span of a hundred years, from 1880 to 1980, São Paolo’s population has multiplied from a meager 32,000 to an overwhelming 8,500,000. Consequently, many problems have been concentrated in the city’s traffic system. São Paolo’s Tietê Bus Terminal is currently the second largest bus terminal in the world and supports approximately 17,000 buses. However, the downtown area is severely polluted, and the addition of more polluting forms of transportation in the area would be detrimental. However, the city would benefit from the addition and reconstruction of tramlines, which were popular during the early 1900’s. Trams are an excellent way of minimizing the high pollution in the city, and also provide an efficient way of travel.

Although residents in the lower stratums of São Paolo may feel dismal about their current state, there is hope on the horizon. If the government continues to replicate successful plans employed in other cities, both in and out Brazil, hygienic and well-planned housing should be coming their way. Once implemented, these improvements would help São Paolo reach its potential of being a world-class metropolis. HMR

ALTHOUGH THERE IS TREMENDOUS POVERTY IN SÃo paulo, there is hope on the horizon, for the government has displayed a willingness to take action 43

São Paulo, Brazil

e g r n e t a t h e e B C h t r o f ff

o d i av

D h na

n a H

44 40

?

A

s the 10th richest city in the world, São Paulo is a city centered on its economy. It holds the biggest financial center in Brazil and one of the biggest in the world. This financial center undergoing a major transformation to fit the constantly changing state of São Paulo. São Paulo is the leading business center of the Mercosur economy, a political and economical system that ensures free trade between Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. Therefore, the alterations to São Paolo’s economy will not only affect Brazil, but also surrounding countries. São Paulo’s stock exchange is often compared to that of New York The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil on services and businesses for the country, which could either help the countries economy or destroy the country’s global trade system. São Paulo has previously been rated the best destination for international events in the Americas, and so this focus on the tertiary sector will help this culture and tourism to grow.

This shift will surely benefit the country’s economy.

on the tertiary sector of economy. New York City, like São Paulo, is known for its entertainment. We are actually known as the entertainment capital of the world.

Our emphasis on the tertiary sector of the economy manifests in this industry. Since the move toward a focus on the tertiary sector of the economy has benefitted New York, it could be hypothesized that São Paulo – such a similar economy – will

Although the shift could potentially harm neighboring countries and trade, it is evident that the shift will still do more harm than good.

City, and, with the change in the stock market, they will be more alike than ever before. It is evident that São Paolo truly has a global economy.

São Paulo started off as a city that functioned under the industrial sector of business, but under the new transformation it has moved towards having a stock exchange market under the tertiary sector. The industrial sector is the sector that centers on the trade of natural and manufactured goods, while the tertiary sector centers on “intangible goods” such as services. The goods in the tertiary sector of the economy are focused on entertainment and culture. The city has taken the emphasis off trading goods and put it The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

This shift to an economy based mostly in services as opposed to goods may benefit Brazil’s economy but could also damage the economy outside of the country. São Paulo is the leading business center in the Mercosur Economy. In 1991, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay founded the Treaty of Asunción, which established a common market. The common market is called Mercosur. This market promised free trade and an easy movement of goods, currency, and citizens. São Paulo has the largest market of all of these countries - making it the leading market within Mercosur. When São Paulo’s market was focused on a more industrial sector, the other countries benefitted from its trade. The shift to a tertiary sector-based economy will not only damage the countries that were benefitting off of Brazil’s goods, but also São Paulo’s trade sector. São Paulo’s reconstruction of its economy is helping within Brazil’s borders, but also destroying relations out of the country. Because São Paolo is a center of international trade, the city must find a balance between its new tertiary focus and its old industrial focus.

New York City’s stock market is the second biggest in the world. But the size of the stock exchange is not the only similarity that New York’s economy shares with Tokyo’s. As São Paulo’s stock exchange moves to a more tertiary market it becomes more and more similar to that of New York. New York’s market has always been based on the tertiary sector. The shift over the years has been away from international trading and toward a focus

also be benefitted.

São Paulo could really benefit from this shift in the economy. Although the shift could hurt trade and potentially harm neighboring countries, it is still evident that the shift will do more harm than good. With a growing entertainment industry, this is where their city is headed, and this is where the stock market should be headed, too. As seen by similar cities, wit has in the past been very beneficial for cities to move away from international trade and focus on a more internal tertiary system. It is clear that São Paulo will truly benefit from this change. HMR

São Paulo’s economic reconstruction is beneficial within Brazil’s borders, but also destructive in terms of foreign relations. The city must find a balance between its new tertiary focus and its old industrial focus.

45

São Paulo, Brazil

A

s both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics look to permeate into Brazil, the largest country in South America prepares for years of attractive tourism, worldwide press, and international attention. Yet as tourists and other excited spectators gear up to flock to the gigantic country, authorities have started to crack down on the chillingly high crime rates of recent years. Right in the center of it all lies the country’s largest and most populated city: Sao Paulo. Despite the alarmingly high national homicidal rate of 22.3, Sao Paulo’s homicide rate per 100,000 people lies at a significantly less figure of 9.0. Over the past couple of years, Sao Paulo’s decrease in crime, mainly in homicidal deaths, has been seen as a model for the oft-perilous country. The steady decline of homicide and crime rates is uplifting, but Brazilian officials and world citizens should not remain content or satisfied. Sao Paulo is the 6th most populated

46

city proper in the world, which means the sheer number of people that live in one specific urban location, not those in living in the outlying suburbs, are taken into account. By the same measurement, Sao Paulo is also the largest city in the Americas and the Western Hemisphere. As it is such a highly populated and important city, it is not only the job of Brazil, but in fact the whole world to ensure the safety of all individuals inside its limits. The world should start living by the mantra that it is necessary to make our largest and most significant cities the safest and not accept the fact that our most populated urban cores might be our most crime-ridden and dangerous. Sao Paulo is headed in the right direction; it has established a competent and responsive police force, but now must demonstrate itself as a model city for prevention and long-term, sustainable safety for its citizens.

The crime rates of the two biggest cities in the United States, New York City and Los Angeles, are 6.4 and 7.6 respec-

tively, both ranking less than Sao Paulo.

Let it not be lost in the tremendous progress of recent years that Sao Paulo is still a city with a great prevalence and history of crime. In May of 2006, an established anti-Brazilian crime group carried out the deadliest attacks in Brazilian history within the densely populated city. The attacks left 141 people dead and 53 wounded, forever leaving a mark on the city that resulted in a commitment to reduce crime in Sao Paulo. While politicians, law-enforcement officials, and civilians have all made great strides into this present year, it takes only one brutal attack, one senseless group, or one person to undo the progress and leave Sao Paulo back on its knees.

The fundamental problem with the high crime rate in Sao Paulo is the fact that there isn’t one simple solution. Brazil’s most populated city has been home to any type of felony, ranging from violent organized crime to petty pickpocketing. The solutions that Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities must implement are not simple, The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil

&

Punishment Benjamin Greene

but rather complex and must forever be changing just as criminals alter their tactics. Brazil has established a paramilitary unit that acts in emergency situations, called the National Public Security Force, which parallels the United States’ SWAT Teams. Additionally, Brazilian authorities founded BOPE, an elite class of military police who will undergo any violent and pressing issues in specific regions of the country. While such endeavors have proved fruitful, the real solution for crime in Brazil and Sao Paulo doesn’t simply incorporate the immediate response of elite force units in the country, but more importantly the long-term prevention of violent crime. The effectiveness of the National Public Security Force, BOPE, and the Sao Paulo State Military Police is deemed irrelevant if it cannot prevent violent attacks in the first place. Sao Paulo must realize that immediate response to a crime is necessary, but long-term prevention to save the future lives of civilians is absolutely vital.

The question remains then, what does it really come down to? What can Sao Paulo realistically do to further reduce its homicide rate of the already non-endemic 9.0 and establish itself as a city of long-term safety and prevention? It’s not fair to simply proclaim that Brazilian special forces and the Sao Paulo State Military Police won’t play a critical and essential role, but at the end of the day, stopping the crime in and around Sao Paulo comes down to more than guns and bullets. Crime in Sao Paulo is intertwined with all the other problems that the city is forced to face, and at the root of it stands poverty and the everyday state of being of its inhabitants. The city is what the citizens make of it. Streets and buildings don’t shoot guns, but people do.

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

Therefore, politicians of Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities must turn their attention to implementing programs and laws that better the lives of these citizens.

A more effective education system must be established, because a lack of quality education is the basis for the majority of juvenile crimes; without a strong school network, young kids resort to gangs and violence. Furthermore, job creation keeps grown adults out of violence and places them into occupations that earn money for their families. It has become the responsibility of Sao Paulo’s politicians to enact reforms in order to further decrease the crime rate and make the city a continuously safe place to live.

Eradicating poverty or stopping all violent crime isn’t a long-term goal; it is a utopian ideal, only possible in fantasyland.

People understand that ridding Sao Paulo of all its criminals will never happen, but

there are undoubtedly huge strides that can still be made. We must not downplay the tremendous progress that Sao Paulo has undergone in recent years. The rapid and steep decrease in crime has been a testament to the resiliency of the people, government officials, and law-enforcers.

The municipal population is upward of 11 million people and will constantly grow for years to come. Now, of all times, is where Sao Paulo builds off of recent short-term success and establishes a culture of sustainable safety for citizens and tourists alike. The fate of Sao Paulo is in the hands of the people, ranging from the top of the political hierarchy to the bottom of the social class system. The future of the immense city will be found in the people who have picked up a gun one day and read a book the other day. It’s about time they choose the right one. HMR

47

São Paulo, Brazil

Going Up...

T

Maurice Farber

he Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo, colloquially known as Sampa, is home to some 20 million people and is roughly the same size as New York’s metropolitan area. This mega-city has the sixth largest urban concentration in the world, as well as the largest in South America, and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere, ranking behind Mexico City and ahead of New York City.

As such, São Paulo is the economic powerhouse of Brazil and South America, taking commercial precedence over Buenos Aires in Argentina. In fact, the economy of São Paulo is among the largest for a city in the world and is primarily based on tertiary

48

How São Paulo is showing its importance through height. economic activity such as the service sector and business. As the financial hub of a country of roughly 200 million people, it is no wonder São Paulo’s economy provides for attractive investments. Over the course of the last few decades, São Paulo has become the primate city of one of the fastest growing countries in the world; the near-coastal city is one of the figurehead cities of the BRIC coalition of “developing superpowers”: Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

As of now, São Paulo ranks as the tenth largest city in the world in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), placing right behind cities like Philadelphia and Mexico City. Due to its annual economic

growth rate of 4.2%, the Brazilian conurbation is expected to become the sixth largest city in terms of GDP by 2025, a title currently maintained by Paris. It is this, the more salient fact, that reflects the true significance of São Paulo as one of the world’s emerging preeminent global cities.

The city is undoubtedly fitting its mold as the international business and marketing hub in the Americas, aside from New York City, and despite its already immense size, can only experience more growth.

As Brazil is still classified a “developing” country, placed on the margin between the core and semi-periphery of the global economy, it wouldn’t be wrong to intimate São Paulo as a “developing” city as well, especially given its relatively high crime rate and the noticeable abundance of poverty that exists within the metropolis. It is therefore logical that, like many similar cities, São Paulo has been experiencing a phase of intense growth and enrichment that results in experiences that have become definitive of developing cities in the 21st century.

As evidenced by similar economic growth in cities around the global semi-periphery, São Paulo’s infrastructural and social development hasn’t been unique.

Many such cities are undergoing analogous change; however, given São Paulo’s rich colonial The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil

s .

and quasi-European history, and its relative prevalence in the global economy before the rise of the services sector, the city’s growth has occurred over a longer period of time than say Jakarta’s or Lagos’.

As per the aforementioned experiences prevailing in the world’s developing mega-cities, São Paulo has almost imitated the infrastructure growth of Hong Kong (occurring at about the same time) in relation to a construction phenomenon recently named “Manhattanization.” As is implied by the root of its name, Manhattanization refers to the special organization of very large cities in regards to tall buildings. As evident in several developing cities, Manhattanization occurs as a result of intense economic growth, coupled with relative fiscal stability and a large amount of direct corporate investment. What this phenomena strictly means is that such cities develop both business districts and residential areas as a series of densely packed high-rise buildings, reminiscent of the layout of skyscrapers throughout Manhattan. Manhattanization directly correlates to very high density of urban population, The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

a near constant use of a metropolis’ urban core (such as in New York City), and easy access to an extensive public transportation system, preferably an underground or elevated train. Like had happened in Hong Kong starting in the late 1970’s, this type of growth took off in São Paulo following an economic boom in Brazil where multinational corporations established headquarters and processing centers for their South American markets in the early 1980’s.

This incredible increase in construction of towers and buildings resulted in a total revamp of infrastructure throughout São Paulo’s designated business districts. The city’s government sought to revitalize public transport, such as the then aging subway, and improve upon health and living services to help create a cosmopolitan-like environment beyond the city center.

Their goal to create a truly global business hub had come to fruition. By the early 1990’s, over one hundred multinational companies had centered their South American operations in São Paulo, affecting change in the metropolis through direct investment in infrastructure. Exter-

nally, this change was most noticeable in São Paulo’s massive skyline. Immense concentrations of glass and concrete towers proliferated the cityscape in dominating fashion much like those in Manhattan; by the turn of the millennium São Paulo was nicknamed the ‘New York City’ of South America. This building boom continued well into the 21st Century, guiding similar booms in growing metropolises all across the global economic semi periphery, such as in Dubai, Bangkok, and even Shanghai.

Today, this process of Manhattanization in São Paulo has produced one of the most densely packed skylines in the world. In fact, São Paulo ranks behind Hong Kong and New York as the city with the third largest amount of closely concentrated skyscrapers, and actually has five different central business districts. Such numbers are a clear indication of the sheer economic significance of this Brazilian city and are symptomatic of the fact that São Paulo shows absolutely no signs of slowing growth. HMR

49

: p u C f o d n s l r n o a i o e t W a M orma f s n a Tr

São Paulo, Brazil

tt a l b sen

o R h bet

Eliza

S

ão Paolo, the largest city in South America, is scheduled to host the opening match of the 2014 World Cup. São Paolo is known to be the birthplace of Brazilian football - home to three of Brazil’s strongest clubs.

Large-scale sporting events like World Cup and the Olympics – which Brazil will be hosting in 2016 – bring both benefits and harms. These events can boost a country’s tourism market, force the government to invest in infrastructure development, and improve the host country’s perception in the eyes of the international community. However, these large-scale endeavors almost always leave countries in great debt, crippling their economies rather than reviving them. São Paolo and the rest of Brazil are optimistic about the outcomes of the World Cup and the Olympics.Despite this optimism, the city is already seeing symptoms of the downfalls of these sporting events.

Many Brazilians are ambivalent about the upcoming events. Throughout Brazil, many citizens believe that the government has acquiesced too easily to FIFA – disregarding the wellbeing of the people in order to please soccer’s ruling body. For instance, Brazil has a law that prohibits alcohol in Brazilian stadiums.

FIFA, however, has insisted that Brazil lift this ban for the World Cup in order to appease its sponsors. Additionally, Brazil usually offers students half priced tickets, however FIFA insists this will be bad for sponsors and this rule will not apply to the World Cup. Brazilians fear

50

that this trend of acquiescence will continue and cause even greater problems for the country.

The drawbacks of the stadium and infrastructure construction include the necessary evictions of many residents from their homes. Brazilian authorities claim that the evictions are in line with the law; however, many Brazilians are concerned by the effect that these evictions will have on the Brazilian populous. These decisions, cumulatively, have enraged the country.

Recently, protesters have forced work on the São Paolo stadium to cease for a brief period of time. The Homeless Workers Movement, a “shack-dweller’s movement,” in charge of the protest is not against holding the World Cup in Brazil. They simply wish to draw attention to the multitude of problems surrounding construction projects – particularly the evictions. The group feels that the projects, which intend to benefit the entire country, actually harm Brazil’s most vulnerable citizens. Although strikes throughout Brazil have been isolated up until now, recently union workers have threatened a collaborative, nationwide strike. The unification of the strikes is representative of the growing frustration in Brazil.

Trends of overspending and debt have arisen in Brazil. Already bogged down by crumbling infrastructure, high taxes, and restrictive bureaucracy, the country is three times over the planned budget for the World Cup. This debt will only increase.

The question arises of whether the

employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and tourism brought by the World Cup will be overshadowed by the debt that Brazil will undoubtedly incur. Brazil has, through World Cup preparations, a clear opportunity to develop and modernize infrastructure.

Unfortunately, many have recognized that Brazil is simply implementing temporary, palliative transit and infrastructure solutions. These temporary solutions will enable the influx of tourism for the World Cup, however, do not take advantage of the opportunities to have a lasting impact on the country’s infrastructure. The brutal reality is that the debt will most likely burden Brazil more than the benefits will help it.

The country in 2017, after both the World Cup and summer Olympics have concluded, will most likely be burdened with the debt from these events. Because the transportation and capacity solutions for these games are palliative, the legacy of the games will not be in the form of infrastructure, but rather in the form of overwhelming debt. Similarly, investments in structures like stadiums are known to have limited long-term benefits. Additionally, post-World Cup brazil could face a steep rise in unemployment. Many projects relating to the creation of stadiums and infrastructure are currently fueling Brazilian employment, however when these projects halt many workers will be left without work.

The Brazilian government, however, has sought to improve other sectors of the country by means of the World Cup – primarily through civilian disarmaThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil ment. Upon becoming the host country of both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games, Brazil made a commitment to rid the country of its reputation for violence. Congressman Vicente Candido explains, “We want to reinforce to the world that Brazil is a country of incredible natural beauty, fun-loving people, and wonderful people – not violence.”

The World Cup commission proposed the exchange of civilian owned firearms for World Cup tickets. Another part of this scheme is to reward the handing in of weapons with signed memorabilia. One plan proposes using destroyed guns to construct the goal posts for the World Cup stadiums. All of these initiatives are aimed toward Brazil’s greater project seeking disarmament and peace within its borders.

This past March, two deaths occurred in São Paolo relating to soccer.

In one instance involving a dispute between Corinthian and Palmeiras fans, riot police were deployed. Many Brazilians worry about the timing of these outbursts and fear that the supposed culture of violence in Brazil has transcended the culture of soccer just in time for the World Cup. The prohibition of alcohol in stadiums that FIFA has so adamantly opposed was a direct initiative taken to help combat fan violence. It is ironic that Brazil claims to be using the World Cup as a tool in efforts toward disarmament while they succumb to FIFA’s demands, which undermine previous disarmament legislation.

Renal Filho, a Brazilian politician, eloquently stated, “We must consider the social legacy in defense of peace.

In South Africa the theme was the fight against aids. Here, we must spread the culture of peace and disarmament.”

Regarding the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, president Nelson Mandela stated, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does.”

It is possible that it is this culture of unity that will incite disarmament and peace in Brazil in a way more significant than legislation could ever be. HMR The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

It is possible that this culture of unity, inspired by events like the World Cup and Olympics, will incite disarmament and peace in Brazil in a way more significant than legislation could ever be.

51

São Paulo, Brazil left to right:

1.bp.blogspot.com, google earth, www.eisenhower.dubuque.k12.ia.us

CITY OF

IENCE

HOW SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, IS TAKING ITS PLACE AMONG THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD SCIENCE COMMUNITY

BY WILL ELLISON

T

he city of São Paulo stands at the forefront of Brazil’s initiative to heighten its scientific influence worldwide by addressing environmental concerns in developing tropical countries. Brazil is already a world leader in tropical medicine, bio-energy, and plant biology and has access to unique habitats and ecosystems not found in or addressed by many other scientifically-oriented countries. The lack of attention given to these environments by the world’s other scientific powers makes it imperative that Brazil continue to invest in scientific research and innovation, a course that will allow Brazil to act as a regional scientific leader with the capacity to assist other tropical South American and even African countries with similar ecosystems and environmental concerns.

52

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil alistairdove.com

i.i.com.com

Left: Scientists work in a lab in São Paulo, Brazil; Right: Scientists attend a conference on scientific innovation in Brazil.

THE PIECES ARE IN PLACE: THE STRATEGY IS DETERMINED, THE MONEY HAS BEEN ALLOCATED, AND THE LEADERSHIP IS READY TO ESTABLISH BRAZIL AS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.

Brazil is transforming itself into a desirable location and destination for those interested in science. Although many of Brazil’s graduates head to Europe or the United States for PhDs or post-doctoral fellowships, especially since science today is a more international affair, Brazilians can now study advanced science at home.

Brazil currently generates half a million graduates and ten thousand PhDs a year, ten times more than were produced twenty years ago. Between 2002 and 2008, Brazil’s share of the production of the world’s scientific papers increased from 1.7% to 2.7%. Additionally, Brazil currently spends 1% of its GDP on scientific research, an amount that is still growing. Although this percentage of GDP is half that spent by other “rich-world” countries on scientific research, it is nearly double that spent by the rest of Latin America. Furthermore, Brazil’s scientists are increasingly pooling resources with international researchers, as 30% of Brazilian scientific papers now include a foreign co-author.

As Brazil’s richest state and richest city, São Paulo is a natural leader of the national effort to nurture its field of science. São Paulo has Brazil’s best universities, including the only two in Brazil that are included in the top 300 in global rankings. Brazil’s schools, especially those in The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

São Paulo, are rapidly improving. Furthermore, São Paulo houses many of the most eminent research and development structures in Latin America, and its regionally renowned universities attract a growing number of companies to establish bases there. “We have money, and plenty of ideas. We need more research groups, and more people to lead them,” says Galucia Mendes Souza, an expert on sugar-cane genomics at the University of São Paulo.

Although São Paulo has 22% of Brazil’s population, 30% of the country’s scientists with doctorates live there. São Paulo also produces 52% of the nation’s scientific articles published in global journals.

Moreover, São Paulo’s constitution ensures that 1% of the government’s tax intake is devoted to the state research foundation, FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo,

AS BRAZIL’S WEALTHIEST CITY, SÃO PAULO IS A NATURAL LEADER OF BRAZIL’s NATIONAL EFFORT TO NURTURE ITS FIELD OF SCIENCE.

translated to mean The Research Foundation for the Support of the State of São Paulo). FAPESP is one of the largest agencies dedicated to the promotion of scientific and technological research in Brazil.

This contribution from the state amounted to $450 million in 2010, in addition to supplemental funds from the federal government. Therefore, São Paulo can offer the money and facilities necessary to attract foreign researchers and ameliorate Brazil’s short supply of established scientists.

The stable funding for FAPESP, along with its autonomy, allows for efficient management of foundation resources and enables the organization to have a substantial impact on Brazilian science.

In 2008, FAPESP declared that it would begin research initiatives specifically addressing bio-energy and global climate change issues, and FAPESP supports research programs in biodiversity, information technology and genomics, which are all yielding promising results. The genomics organization created a scientific paper featured on the cover of the global scientific journal Nature. FAPESP supports scientific research by graduate and undergraduate students, professors, and application-oriented research by small businesses.

53

São Paulo, Brazil www.edesktopwallpapers.com

Brazil has access to unique ecosystems and natural environments which have not been given enough attention by the world’s other major scientific powers.

AS A COUNTRY WITH ACCESS TO UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS AND A LEADER IN TROPICAL MEDICINE, BIO-ENERGY, AND PLANT BIOLOGY, BRAZIL MUST ACT AS A REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC LEADER WITH THE CAPACITY TO AID POORER COUNTRIES WITH SIMILAR NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. 54

Brazil and São Paulo offer scientists more than adequate space for their research and growth. “You can have your own laboratory here. You can start an entire new area of research. Here, you’re a pioneer,” says Anete Pereira de Souza, a plant geneticist at the large University of Campinas in São Paulo. Brazil and São Paulo are increasing their funding for research at the very same time that research funding is being reduced in Europe and North America as a result of current financial conditions.

Despite Brazil’s progress, attracting major scientists will be difficult, for although Brazil pays junior researchers by international standards, it does not pay high level researchers as well. Publicly

funded universities do not possess the flexibility to offer more money to foreign scientists, nor can they put forward research-only contracts. All tenured academics in Brazil must teach undergraduates. Moreover, permanent positions can be taken only by open competition, which includes a public examination in Portuguese. Even so, FAPESP is doing its best, and it has advertised two-year fellowships at certain São Paulo universities in Nature.

FAPESP hopes that while participating in the fellowship, the scientists will learn Portuguese (lessons are included), and that some will wish to remain in Brazil.

Brazil’s new Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marco Antonio Raupp, states that “innovation is not an option, it is imperative. The future of our country depends on this creative effort.”

Although Raupp must still convince President Dilma Rousseff to continue sponsoring science and technology, Rousseff seems willing to do so. Raupp is a physicist who has led The National Laboratory of Scientific Computation, The National Institute for Space Research, The Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science, and The Brazilian Space Agency. The members of Brazil’s scientific community hope Raupp will follow the recommendations of the “Blue Book,” a document detailing a national science policy assembled following a nationwide consultation run by the science ministry in 2010. The Blue Book seeks an increase in spending on science and technology, to a level of up to 2% of Brazil’s GDP, by 2020, as well as innovative and sustainable exploration of Brazil’s habitats and the utilization of science and technology to decrease regional and social inequalities. Thus, Brazil’s government already has a detailed plan for the future of science and technology in the country. In addition, Brazil’s Congress has recently approved a large increase in the science budget in 2012, from R$6.4 billion (U.S$3.6 billion) to R$8.5 billion.

Thus, the pieces are in place, the strategy determined, the leadership is ready, and the money has been allocated to further the scientific endeavors in São Paulo and throughout Brazil and to enable Brazil to become an even more significant player in the global scientific enterprise. HMR The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil

BEYOND CHARITY THE BRAZILIAN WAR ON POVERTY

field.files.wordpress.com

DANIEL ELKIND

S

ão Paulo, Brazil, one of the world’s leading financial centers and the largest city in Latin America, has been aptly described as a “tale of two cities” -- home to great wealth and a sprawling financial industry while at the same time home to immense poverty and slums. São Paulo has been the beneficiary of an economic miracle engineered over the past decade by leftist and progressive Presidents whose dramatic economic policies have lifted the nation to the world’s fifth largest economy. At the same time, there has been another miracle at work in São Paulo and Brazil: the federal and local governments have embarked upon The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

a war against poverty with progressive programs that have used the nation’s new wealth to help the poor, rebuild housing, and promote education at a time when other nations are content to allow the income gap to widen. The result has been to place São Paulo on the crossroads of world history and to provide hope that poverty resulting from years of neglect can be reversed.

In 2002, Brazilians elected Luis da Silva (known as Lula), a prominent leftist, as their President. Although conservatives criticized Lula as a socialist, Lula successfully pursued innovative economic plans and anti-poverty policies at the same time and is now regarded by many as Brazil’s greatest President. During Lula’s eight year term as President, Brazil became one of the world’s fastest

UNDER PRESIDENT LULA, THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT BEGAN A WAR ON POVERTY CONSISTING OF ACTIVE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION TO PROVIDE DIRECT AID TO POOR FAMILIES AND TO REBUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF BRAZIL’S SLUMS.

55

São Paulo, Brazil www.jornalcomerciohoje.com.br

Brazil created the Bolsa Familia program to provide direct financial aid to poor families throughout the nation. growing economies, growing at an annual rate of approximately 4%, and exports rose by more than 350%. Lula achieved budget surpluses, privatized businesses, gave the central bank increased independence, and promoted industry. Lula lifted Brazil from energy dependence with progressive reforms such as a program that now sees half of all gas pumped in Brazilian filling stations consisting of ethanol produced from sugar. Moreover, when the world economies collapsed in 2008, Brazil’s economy remained largely unscathed because Brazil injected more than $100 billion into its economy in a policy criticized heavily by conservatives in the U.S. Brazil is not only a major exporter of commodities, but now also has a growing aircraft and automobile industry, is actively promoting the development of manufacturing, and is one of the most attractive countries to multinational corporations looking to build new plants.

At the same time, President Lula used Brazil’s increasing wealth to attack the poverty that had been a legacy from years of military rule in the midto-late 1900s. He instituted a massive family grant program, known as Bolsa Familia, to provide monthly stipends to Brazilian families under the condition that their children attend school and are

56

AS a result of direct action taken by the brazilian government, poverty in brazil has fallen from 33% to 23% of the population and the middle class has swelled dramatically. properly vaccinated, as well as programs to improve housing, medical care and education for the poor. According to a Congressional Research Service Report, “Over the course of Lulu’s eight years in office, Brazil’s per capita gross national income nearly tripled, and some 24.6 million people escaped poverty.” Between 2003 and 2010, poverty in Brazil fell from approximately 33% to 23% of the population, and the middle class swelled significantly. Moreover, when huge oil discoveries were found off the coast of Brazil in the Santos Basin in 2007, President Lula took steps to assure that the newly discovered oil reserves would benefit the

state, not just private industry, and that some of the revenues would be available for the nation’s war on poverty. As a result of his success, Lula left office in 2010 with an 87% approval rating.

São Paulo, the hub of Brazil’s financial industry, has served as a mirror image of these dual initiatives towards growing the economy and using some of the newfound wealth to reduce poverty with highly innovative programs.

On the one hand, São Paulo has benefitted from the economic miracle. São Paulo has been estimated to now have an economy larger than that of all but 47 nations, and has more than 30,000 millionaires out of a population of 11 million.

São Paulo is the home of the Bovespa, Brazil’s official stock exchange, and has experienced skyrocketing property values in its affluent areas. São Paulo is also home to one of the world’s leading universities, the University of São Paulo, and a hub of world class cultural events and organizations. At the same time, São Paulo is the home to extreme poverty, reflecting the migration of most of the poor in Brazil to the cities and the many years of economic neglect in the 1990s. São Paulo is notorious for its sprawling favelas, or shantytowns, and corticos, or tenements; it is estimated that more than 4 million The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

São Paulo, Brazil www.csmonitor.com

The despair of slum life is giving way to optimism throughout Brazil’s favelas. poor, or some 35% of the city’s population, live in the favelas and corticos. As the Guardian observed in a 2008 article, “London, Paris and New York have their own shameful juxtapositions of rich and poor, true, but São Paulo’s is in a league of its own.” The vast income disparity and poverty in São Paulo presents an enormous challenge.

Reflecting the goals established by President Lula of utilizing the full force of government to eradicate poverty, both the national government and local government of São Paulo have undertaken a broad range of programs to reduce poverty. These programs have placed Brazil in a very different position than other nations around the world, earning Brazil widespread praise for its innovation and encouraging observers to believe that São Paulo is making unusual progress in ameliorating its problem of extreme poverty.

At the national level, the Bolsa Familia program provides financial grants to more than 12 million Brazilian families below the poverty line and is one of the largest aid programs for the poor in the world. The Fome Zero program provides food aid to the poor. A law known as the 2001 City Statute is aimed at rebuilding the nation’s cities and reducing slum areas by settling issues of property ownership The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

The bolsa familia program provides MONTHLY STIPENDS to brazilian families under the condition that thieir children attend school and are properly vaccinated.

in slum areas, regulating development and property laws, and empowering municipalities to take redevelop their slums; under the statute, São Paulo designated “Zones of Special Interest” to be rebuilt or redeveloped with government aid.

Under the Lula administration, dozens of programs were developed in order to provide massive financial support for education and urban redevelopment and to assist the poor, including a “Right to the City Program” providing aid for rebuilding Brazilian cities and infrastructure.

New ministries of the federal government were established to implement these programs, including a Ministry of the Cities

intended to help cities develop new urban models to promote housing, transportation, and sanitation.

Following the example set by President Lula, the city and state governments of São Paulo have developed their own war on poverty. As noted in a recent report prepared for Urbis, a program intended to provide aid to assist the redevelopment of poor urban areas, São Paulo has created numerous agencies which are working efficiently and effectively to provide aid to the poor areas of the city and to oversee redevelopment efforts. A Secretariat for Housing and Urban Development manages programs to construct new housing for the poor, to upgrade slum areas with modern infrastructure, to resettle poor families in environmentally hazardous areas, and to involve the private sector in redevelopment efforts.

São Paulo has recently announced a new program to attract international developers by authorizing the construction of new housing conditioned upon the allocation of a number of apartments in each new complex to the poor.

While São Paulo’s problems are daunting, the commitment to attack poverty has resulted in widespread praise and optimism for São Paulo’s future. The Urbis report stated in 2009, “São Paulo has an explicitly pro-poor modern history...

There have been real improvements in the lives of the favela and cortico residents in the last six years. This lies in contrast to other current Urbis cities. . . .” Similarly, a 2010 report by the United Nations Human Settlement Program stated, “Public policy and actual urban realities reflect a pro-poor, pro-inclusive approach, which is positively affecting health, education, transport, housing, incomes and employment, particularly of the poor.” The report went on to note that, “despite the colossal [income] disparities [in the city of São Paulo], there is evidence of a new drum beat setting a new rhythm of hope.”

In the wake of its dramatic successes, São Paulo’s radical experiment in government action and direct aid should serve as a model for other countries in pursuing a war against poverty. HMR

57

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, Science South &&Technology Korea Science Tech.

Preserving Tradition in a City of Change

blogspot.com

58 The Horace Mann Review | Issue 1

David Hackel The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

A

lthough Seoul is a city that is economically, socially and politically connected to the west, it retains its own culture and thrives on its past. The history of the ancient country of South Korea is preserved within its capital. In fact, there is a “dong,” or a community within the city dedicated to maintaining Seoul’s culture. The formal name of this community is Insa-dong; it was established for the purpose of cultural maintenance in 2002. Unfortunately, Insa-Dong has faced certain difficulties in fulfilling it fundamental purpose: keeping Seoul’s culture alive.

As Insa-dong loses its unique Korean culture, so does Seoul. The government of Seoul hopes to maintain the Insa-Dong as a cultural zone to resemble the past and how that affects the present.

However, keeping the Insa-Dong a center of tradition has been a struggle over the last several years, especially as the InsaDong becomes more of a tourist destination. The fact that Insa-Dong has become

Seoul, South Korea interview for an article with The Chosun Ilbo—a widely circulated South Korean newspaper.

An owner of a traditional tearoom claimed the problem actually originated with the government. He complained that once Insa-Dong was labeled a “cultural zone” by the city of Seoul in 2002, real estate prices boomed, doubling within a few years. Thus, only stores such as cosmetic retailers were able to pay higher prices for leases and premiums, eventually bumping the traditional antique shop off the main thoroughfare.

The definition of “cultural zone” by the city of Seoul means the city government can ban the sale of items and regulate all business that may be harmful to the Insa-Dong’s purpose of promoting traditional South Korean culture. For the first time since the “cultural-zone” label was created, the city of Seoul is now taking action. For example, the city government has banned all mobile phone stores along the one-kilometer long road in Insa-Dong.

and stability. That being said, South Korea, in light of its massive military spending, has failed to devote enough resources to cultural preservation. Limited federal spending decreases the probability Seoul will succeed in preserving its traditional culture.

Nonetheless, Seoul’s attempt at protecting its tradition is admirable. The “cultural zone” label was a giant leap towards the protection of antique-shop dealers and the appreciation of tradition.

And while the challenge of keeping the Insa-Dong a community of tradition and history is monumental, Insa-Dong still remains the heart of Seoul. Containing over one hundred art galleries, traditional food and Korean antiques, Insa-Dong may be Seoul’s last hope for keeping its past alive. The ban of Chinese goods for sale in that region of the city is ideal, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to accomplish. Nonetheless, the city is slowly giving meaning to the label of “cultural zone.” HMR globalimages.net

“As chain stores move into this labeled ‘cultural zone,’ stores that sell traditional South Korean antiques get pushed further back from the center of the community into alleyways and side streets. In other words, the ‘cultural zone’ label is quickly losing credibility.” a tourist destination is a definite root of the problem because the desire of some shop owners’ to cater to the tourists has undermined those who yearn for cultural preservation.

Originally consisting of Korean goods and cuisine, the Insa-Dong has become overly populated with goods from China as well as cosmetic shops. As chain stores move into this labeled “cultural zone,” stores that sell traditional South Korean antiques have gotten pushed further back from the center of the community into alleyways and side streets. In other words, the “cultural zone” label is quickly losing its credibility.

The percentage of goods made in China had risen from practically zero to “around 50 or 60 percent,” said a staffer selling high priced handmade crafts in an The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

Some South Koreans look negatively upon the government’s recent actions.

The Chosun Ilbo quoted a local merchant, who has worked in the Insa-Dong for twenty years, as saying “We may be able to stop cosmetics stores from opening, but it’ll be difficult to stop sales of Chinesemade goods. Vietnamese-made products are even cheaper. Can you stop people from selling them?” That question has yet to be answered, but he may be right. As history has shown, people don’t always listen to what they perceive as oppressive government’s laws and regulations.

It is extremely difficult for South Korea, especially right now, to be concerned with its culture. Kim Jung Un has recently taken command of North Korea, so South Korea’s number one objective, other than preserving its culture, is to preserve peace

59

Seoul, South Korea

Trouble in the Water Nicholas McCombe

T

he people of Seoul have long been beholden to the whims of the North. The situation in Seoul is stable in the way that an acrobat on a tight rope is stable. North Korea has long expressed it malicious intent towards the South and is known to posses between 2 and 6 functional nuclear weapons. However, we should keep in mind that there is a mammoth gap between having and delivering a nuclear weapon.

60

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Seoul, South Korea Their recent failed rocket launch is a perfect example of the disconnect between North Korean nuclear capability and their ability to deliver those weapons. The solution to the West’s woes concerning North Korea is to let them simply fizzle out. It is simply inconceivable to me that, at this juncture, the North Koreans would launch any sort of attack against the South. The North has what a physiologist might call a “God” complex: the desire to be a player on the international stage and exert some sort of influence over international relations. The recent stunts by the new leadership in North Korea are transparent attempts to legitimize the rule of Kim Jong-Un and the West should take no stock in them.

The North Koreans have an incomprehensible belief that brinksmanship is an effective form of diplomacy. The United States and South Korea are in part to blame for the continued employment of this strategy on the part of the North.

Seoul has to understand that the appeasement of the North is a bad strategy if there ever was one.

The solution to the North Korea question consists of the following. Today, an attack against the South by the North would be tactically impossible given the heavy US presence in the area; therefore, secure in the knowledge that the North does not pose an immediate threat the west can in good conscience allow Kim Jong-Un to perform his acts of brinksmanship. The more radical the North becomes in its infantile ploys for attention

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 57

the harder it will become for China and Russia to vehemently oppose international sanctions as they do today. China essentially supports North Korea and with out china there would be no North Korea. As the situation stands today the rash actions of Kin Jong-Un have alienated North Korea from its allies. Only

The North Koreans have an incomprehensible belief that brinksmanship is an effective form of diplomacy. when the North has adequately isolated its self from China and Russia will the support exist in the United Nations Security Council to impose the kind of sanctions that will bring North Korea to its knees. Kim Jong-Un needs to lose the support of his allies in order to end the

family’s tenure of oppressive rule.

The end game for such a strategy consists of increase covert activity to foment discontent. Sanctions will help and hard line diplomacy will also but in order to free the North Korean people there needs to be a revolution. Covert action must run in parallel with diplomatic efforts; it would not be a stretch to assume that several NATO intelligence agencies, including but not limited to the CIA and MI6, direct operations in North Korea for the purpose of encouraging popular discontent. There needs to occur a paradigm shift in the thinking of the North Korean people from connecting starving with the efforts of morally depraved capitalist pigs of the west to connecting starving with the dear leader.

North Korea has a choice in the same way that South Korea and its allies have a choice. First North Korea must decide where its allegiances lie, between greater cooperation with the west or further isolation. The latter of the two, to crawl deeper and deeper into a cave whose walls are lined with the memories of past failed communist, authoritarian, and rouge states, would result in adverse consequences for the nations leaders and its people. It is simply a matter of how many die of starvation before all is said and done. Seoul, similarly, has a choice, for this city on the brink must chose between appeasement of the North and ignoring the North like a child who needs attention. HMR

61

Seoul, South Korea

Military service Jonah Wexler “On April 12, 2012, Tony Goo and Joon-Sung Jimmy Park, two freshmen in the Huntsmen program at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke to the review about their upcoming military service.�

C

Introduction:

an you imagine Justin Timberlake interrupting his career and enlisting in the American army for two years? That is exactly what South Korean pop star Rain did five months ago. Teenagers today in America do not have to face the prospect of being drafted into the army.

South Korea and the United States operate under a Mutual Defense Treaty. The border shared by South Korea and North Korea is one of the most heavily fortified in the world. South Korea shares many traits with the United States- they are both democratic and have capitalist economic systems.

While the US maintains a volunteer army, military service is mandatory in South Korea. Only men serve in the South Korean army. Men report for their physicals at 19 years old and most serve between 19 and 22; however, recruits are given the option to delay service due to education illness or the need to support their families. Men serve for 21 months in the army or 24 months in either the marines or air force. As in any army, a variety of jobs must be filled. Depending on the skills of the soldier, a recruit could be assigned to drive, serve as an inter-

62

preter, cook, or regular infantry. Since military service is such a part of South Korean national culture, those not physically able to join the army often choose another form of national or community service. Many soldiers apply for the American Base, Katusa, since it is considered to be a more pleasant experience, but few are accepted.

Most high school students in America anticipate a college experience followed by employment. In South Korea, male high school students know that they will fulfill mandatory national service before starting their careers. Notwithstanding the tension with North Korea, South Korean students have the same attitudes about service, as would America students. Military is viewed generally positively but is not viewed as a long-term career alternative for the overwhelming majority.

On April 12, 2012, Tony Goo and Joon-Sung Jimmy Park, two freshman in the Huntsmen program at the University of Pennsylvania, answered questions relating to their upcoming military service. Park will be joining the army in a few months when he completes his freshman year of college. Goo is deferring service until after his education is completed.

The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Seoul, South Korea Horace Mann Review Can you describe the security threat South Korea feels from North Korea and any other countries in its region?

Park As far as security goes, I do not believe South Koreans are too worried. We are used to North Korea’s threats, and there is significant reason to believe that it is not in the interest of North Korea to start a war with us.

Goo Right now, especially with the imminent satellite launch and possibility of another nuclear test, the world is very cautious of North Korea’s every move; however, in South Korea, I would say that the general sentiment is that Koreans worry much less about the possibility of war, often dismissing its chance of realization. The height of anti-North Korea sentiment came about during the Yeonpyeong island and the Cheonan ship bombings.

However, beyond those incidents, daily life in S. Korea definitely carries on without constant fear or anxiety. However, we do occasionally have civil emergency drills (much like fire drills), around eight times a year. Of course, I am speaking from the perspective of the general population; the government of S. Korea always holds N.K. issues as its top priority. In my opinion, the population is split between pro- and anti-unification.

HMR Can you describe the political environment in South Korea and how it could be similar/different to that of in America?

Park We are a democratic nation, just as America. Our president is elected for 5 year terms, and he may not be re-elected.

Though there are currently protests over press censorship from the government, we are nowhere near China or North Korea in terms of freedom of speech.

Goo The political environment in S. Korea is surprisingly similar to that of the U.S., split into two major parties. Currently the majority party is Grand National Party and the minority is United Democratic Party. They never agree with each other.

HMR Both South Korea and America are democracies and

capitalist. How are they similar and how are they different?

Park We are similar to America, with complete democracy and free market capitalism. However, one difference that I would note is that the income gap in Korea is not as wide as America. Koreans are very much for equality, and would not tolerate such gap between the rich and poor. Moreover, Korean economy is controlled to a significant degree by “chaebols” who are large family conglomerates. (LG, Samsung, Hyundai, etc,.)

These chaebol families dominate diverse sectors of the economy.

Goo I would say that they are very similar. As an economy, S. Korea is more export-oriented, which was an important contributor to its massive growth in the second half of the 20th century. Our democracy is also much younger and saw periods of dictator-like presidencies in the past.

HMR How is military service perceived in South Korea?

Park It is generally not looked upon too favorably. However, if a man has not completed service through illegitimate means, then he is harshly criticized and is nearly impossible for him to hold public office.

Goo Military service is viewed as something that all men should undergo (almost like a rite of passage) and also a means to serve your country. However, many younger males are reluctant to go.

HMR What are your feelings about going back to complete your military service?

Park While I cannot feel happy about leaving my good friends here in the US, there is no way I would illegitimately skip military service. There is just too much to lose if someone found out that I unlawfully dodged military service. If I can’t avoid it, I might as well enjoy it.

Goo Personally, I am still very much confused as to when to complete service and am reluctant to go. It’s two years of your life in your prime-time (the 20s).

“Military service is viewed as something that all men should undergo” Tony Goo and Joon-Sung Jimmy Park two freshman at the University of Pennsylvania who spoke on South Korea’s mandatory military service policy.

conclusion:

Both Park and Goo are reluctant to interrupt their education for military service; however, they will join their South Korean peers and form one of the largest active militaries in the world. One of the few times people of different economic and social levels come together as equals is during the army. While Park and Goo may not want to interrupt their schooling, they are patriots. They will gain an appreciation for national service along with an enhanced national identity. They will have an experience that most Americans coming of age will not. Goo’s and Park’s feelings towards military service are very similar to any young man required to serve in the army. America is fortunate enough to have a volunteer army, as many patriots volunteer to serve. In the long run, Park and Goo may be better off than their American peers because of their mandatory service. HMR The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

63

Seoul, South Korea

wwdwwwwww

depositphotos

The China Myth

The South Korean Economic Miracle and What it Says about Democracy and Capitalism

I

Alexander Posner

n 1986, South Korea was defined by its military dictatorship and struggling third world economy. Yet today, just twenty-five later, it has a thriving democracy and one of the most dynamic economies in the world.

How did this remarkable transition take place and what are the lessons to be drawn from South Korea’s example?

In attempting to answer these ques-

64

tions, it is helpful to understand the historical context of South Korea’s unprecedented political and economic growth. In the wake of the Korean War, in the 1950s, the southern part of the country lay in complete disrepair; poverty and malnutrition were rampant, and the income per capita was on par with those in the poorest parts of Africa. But in 1987, the Sixth Republic of South Korea was established, a change

that ushered in a new era of democracy, official accountability, and respect for human rights. Freedom of press and speech were expanded, and barriers limiting international travel were lifted. It was in this political and social climate that South Korea experienced one of the largest economic booms in human history.

Although South Korea does not have valuable natural resources, it has taken adThe Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Seoul, South Korea vantage of the human resource of creativity and innovation to drive its economic growth. Throughout the 1990’s, South Korean manufacturers began to embrace new high-tech industries including consumer electronics and industrial robotics—aerospace, microelectronics, and bioengineering. By the start of the new millennium, South Korea was exporting over $172 billion in goods each year, more than the $46 billion it exported in 1986. By 2010, the GDP per capita stood at $30,000, as thirteen fold increase from 30 years before. Also, in 2004, South Korea became a member of the exclusive “trillion dollar club” of global economies, and today it has the 15th largest economy by GDP. The South Korean economy even fared well during the most recent global financial crisis; it avoided a recession entirely and by 2010 returned to an economic growth rate of 6.1%.

South Korea’s transformation has happened at a time when there is a lively

with more than 1 billion people. Today, China sits 141st on the global Democracy Index (compiled by The Economist) with a score of 3.14 (on a scale of 1-10).

It is a notorious abuser of human rights, and is quick to censor or imprison those who publically challenge the government and government policy. Its crackdown on dissidents often turns violent, and the government continues to maintain tight control over the Internet.

While all of this is true, there is no denying that China has succeeded in facilitating incredible economic growth. China is the fastest-growing major economy and will soon surpass the United States as having the largest economy in the world. But many argue that if China were to embrace democratic ideals and principles, it would see even more economic growth, much of it on the back of widespread innovation—something that China currently lacks. More importantly, that economic prosperity could occur in a more equitable

“South Korea is an exemplar for the rest of the world. Its story demonstrates that the pursuit of democracy does not need to limit the economic aspirations of a nation.” debate about the relationship between democracy and development in Asia. On one side of the debate is and was Lee Kuan Yew, the long-time President of Singapore, who in the 1970s first advanced the theory that the path to prosperity and democracy in Asia would be different from that in the Western model. He spoke of “Asian values” and argued that less developed countries in Asia would focus first on economic development and then turn to individual liberties and political democracy. Even Park Chung Hee, the South Korean national builder who ruled from 1961 to 1979, was recorded as saying, “The gem without luster called democracy was meaningless to people suffering from starvation and despair.”

By the 1980s, China was following Singapore’s model by achieving remarkable economic growth while still maintaining strict political control in a country The Horace Mann Review | Issue 47

manner by promoting the rise of a vibrant middle class. As of this year, China’s GDP per capita is only around $5,000 (90th in the world); moreover, 65% of the population still lives without electricity, tap water, and modern conveniences such as flush toilets. In terms of quality of life indicators, China just doesn’t compare to South Korea.

South Korea is an exemplar for the rest of the world. Its story demonstrates that the pursuit of democracy does not need to limit the economic aspirations of a nation. Democracy and economic growth are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they are mutually reinforcing. While there is great truth to the proverb that rising tides lift all boats, there exists an even greater truth: the coexistence of democracy and capitalism raises them further and faster. HMR

The Facts China

9.91%

average economic growth (over past 30 years)

3.14

score on democracy index (scale of 1-10; higher is better)

South Korea

7.40%

average economic growth (over past 30 years)

8.06

score on democracy index (scale of 1-10; higher is better)

65

Seoul, South Korea

A ddicted Caroline Kuritzkes

W

e all know what it is like to be bewitched by our computers. We’ve been spellbound by Facebook and entranced by games like Words with Friends, glued to bright computer screens that pull us away from our homework. 7,000 miles away in Seoul, South Korea, adolescents are also absorbed with internet games and websites, experiencing the same mesmerizing effect that computers have on teenagers in the U.S. But there is a point where sheer internet entertainment can turn into dependency, or even addiction. Ten percent of children in South Korea have demonstrated symptoms of videogame addiction – one of the highest rates in the world, as estimated by some psychiatrists. Like any abused drug, videogame addiction has serious side effects; symptoms range from anger due to gaming withdrawal to lack of eating and sleeping, and even death. Fatal cases in South Korea have been reported from as early as 2005; one man died of a cardiac arrest after playing StarCraft for 50 hours, almost nonstop. Videogames have essentially become a drug of choice for South Korean adolescents.

So far, South Korea has attempted to reduce videogame addiction by opening treatment and rehabilitation centers, clinics where patients can go through a detoxification process. Patients usually spend about two weeks in these clin-

66

ics, where they receive medication, meet with therapists, and participate in outdoor activities. But the government has also taken more drastic measures to combat gaming addiction, some of which border on excessive censorship over the lives of South Korean citizens. In November, South Korea enacted the “Shutdown Law,” a piece of legislation that prohibits children under 16 from playing online games between midnight and 6 a.m. In effect, the government is enforcing a videogame curfew as a means of curbing online addiction. But does the government have the right to impose such a law?

The gaming shutdown law goes too far in limiting computer use and the world of the internet. Such strong censorship is almost dictatorial, resembling media control in communist Russia, China, and even neighboring North Korea. Not to mention, how does this form of internet censorship compare with our SOPA and PIPA bills, proposals restricting the web that have received criticism worldwide?

If the U.S. online piracy bills overstep the boundaries of internet censorship, then South Korea’s gaming shutdown laws are, without a doubt, too restrictive.

The main problem with the gaming curfew is that it restricts the civil rights of minors. Just like it is the obligation of parents to instill healthy habits in their children, the responsibility falls on parents, not the government, to control the hours The Horace Mann Review | Vol. XXI

Seoul, South Korea The Brown Box, the first ever video game system invented in 1967 by Ralph Baer.

The Magnavox was the first ever widely produce home video game system selling 330,000 units in its life time.

1970 1965 1975

The Intellivision, released

by Mattel.

Maze Wars was considered to be the earliest first person shooter.

1985

The Gameboy, an instant success has sold 118 million units to date.

1990 1995

The Nintendo N64 represented the end of an era for cartridge based systems.

2000

The Horace Mann Review | Issue 7

Pong, one of the earliest arcade video games.

1980

of videogames that their children can play.

Though there is some evidence that videogame addiction can cause the release of dopamine, compared to cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol, the biological effects and consequences of compulsive videogame use are much less severe. Users may become addicted to the behavior of playing videogames, but while the behavior is addictive, the substance itself is not. This distinction is a faint, yet important one, and it distinguishes substance addictions like alcohol, cigarette, and drug abuse from behavioral addictions like eating, exercising, working, and videogame playing. While behavioral addictions may waste a person’s time or make someone unproductive and moody, the long term health risks of behavioral addictions are not nearly as profound as those caused by substance addictions.

For that reason, it makes sense that the government strictly regulate the use of substances like alcohol and cigarettes, but control behavioral addictions like playing videogames much less tightly.

That is not to say that videogames shouldn’t be regulated at all. Online gaming addiction is a problem that the South Korean government needs to address, just in the right way. But there is also the question of how gaming laws should be enforced. Teens have found simple ways to break their gaming curfew; for example, many underage gamers have logged onto adult accounts online so that they can play computer games past midnight. South Korea needs to find a remedy for gaming addiction that both respects the moral rights of game users and that can be practically enforced.

The South Korean government could tax and put warning signs on videogames to discourage users from buying them – a solution not unlike the one that many countries, including the U.S., have adopted to dissuade individuals from smoking cigarettes. The consequence of this fix also falls on the game developer, rather than the game user. Though game creators and

the online gaming industry – a trade that earned more than $1.1 billion in exports in 2008 – will suffer large losses in revenue, the rights of online gamers, as well as their health, will be protected.

Another solution is to determine and address the root of the addiction; that is, why do South Korean teens choose to spend so much time playing videogames?

Ultimately, videogame addiction stems from free time and stress. In the same way that American teens procrastinate through computer use, filling up homework breaks and other time stretches with Facebook, children in South Korea seek refuge in computer games – a place to escape after a long, demanding school day.

But although many students in the U.S. fill their afternoons with sports, theater productions, and other extracurricular hobbies, children in South Korea spend up to fourteen hours a day in school, and once their regular classes are over, it’s customary for students to take additional courses after school (like Chinese or English for example) or study with a tutor. In fact, South Korean students commit so much time to studying after school that they do not have the same exposure to extracurricular activities as children in the U.S. If the South Korean government makes more extracurricular activities available in the school system, students will be able to escape the stress of school, fill up free time, and excel in real hobbies, rather than virtual ones.

It is imperative that the South Korean government either revise its shutdown law or eliminate its gaming curfew altogether. By taxing the videogame industry and implementing after school activities into school curriculums, South Korea can discourage teens from buying and playing videogames while preserving the health and civil rights that teens deserve. HMR

The Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wi make up today’s video game market.

2005

2010

The Gamecube was was the first ever system to use optical discs.

67