miniZibaldone

The Overworked American by Juliet Schor   Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan   Tocqueville's Discovery of America by Leo Damrosch Guanxi (The Art of Relationships) by Roberto Buderi Does Catholicism Still Exist? by James Schall  Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peggy Noonan  Where the Wasteland Ends by Theodore Roszak 

From an address When faced with tenets of the Church’s Social Doctrine, it is objected frequently: “These teachings would have us be charitable organizations or that we transform our  businesses into philanthropic institutions”. We have heard this criticism. The only aspiration of the Church’s Social Doctrine is to guard over the integrity of  people and social structures. Every time that, for whatever reason, this integrity is threatened or reduced to a consumer good, the Church’s Social Doctrine will be a  prophetic voice to protect us all from being lost in the seductive sea of ambition. Every time that a person’s integrity is violated, society, in a certain sense,  begins to decline. And this Social Doctrine of the Church is against no one, but in favour of all. Every sector has the obligation of looking out for the good of all;  we are all in the same boat. We all have to struggle to make sure that work is a humanizing moment which looks to the future;...

Inquirer  on labor dispute A study by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) International Court of Arbitration in Singapore showed the Philippines as not far behind more developed  economies in terms of the number of arbitration cases, especially in the past five years. [...]  At the rate private companies are locked in disagreements with the state on important projects, there is an urgent need for both the government and the private sector  to look with favor on dispute settlement mechanisms and arbitration. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on human trafficking and slavery Changes in mores and lifestyles increase the risks of falling victim to not just the modern-day slavery of sex trafficking but also rape and other forms of violence,  abuse and exploitation.  For instance, from newspaper reports of recent rapes emerge a pattern of the victim encountering the perpetrator while drinking alone, with friends or with strangers  in a park...