Connecting dots

One of the interesting things about writing papers for a degree in business and human rights is the various things from my past that crop up. I spent part of today reading "When Corporations Rule the World," by David Korten. I heard Korten speak in Philadelphia years ago, thanks to Judy Wickes' Sustainable Business Network. For non-Philly people, Judy owns The White Dog Cafe, which for decades has been a leader in all the principles of sustainable business (paying a living wage, sourcing locally, low carbon footprint, etc.) Korten's speech stayed with me and I wanted to read his book so I could quote him in the paper I'm working on now on the Right to Development.

I'm also re-reading The World is Flat to capture the free-trade, globalization doctrine championed by Thomas Friedman. I also expect my trip to Haiti is going to result in a few comments about the role of NGOs. I guess the joy of being a mature student is being able to draw on decades of living. It's also reassuring to me, as I connect the dots, that I'm pursuing the right program for me--something I have often doubted. My academic readings rarely make any reference to the real world. It's all theory and white papers and working groups and UN sinecures. I guess there's a reason for this? If you muddy academia and theory and goal-setting and analysis with reality, somehow you pollute the outcome--is that it? Or just that the academics and U.N. rapporteurs writing these journal articles don't spend any time in the real world? Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to getting back into the real world at some point.
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