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Humanitarianism (Raëlianism)
In Raëlian literature, humanitarianism is a collection of economic ideas designed by Raël (pseudonym of Claude Vorilhon) to complement geniocracy. Name There is no official name for the economic ideas, but – according to Raël's book '' Intelligent Design: Message from the Designers'' – "humanitarianism" is one of the names initially suggested by the (god-like aliens), and is the name of the ideology onwards. Intelligent Design: Message from the Designers,(2006) p.98 Relation with capitalism Humanitarianism accepts the capitalist notion that through competition and technological innovation, some companies may install automation in an attempt to reduce costs, which replaces jobs and reduces the ''aggregate'' consumer base. ''As long as'' there are industries which have not reached maturity, the employment will return to a natural level, as will the consumer base. In the framework of humanitarianism, capitalism is considered to be the best way for industries to mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geniocracy
Geniocracy is the framework for a system of government which was first proposed by Raël (leader of the International Raëlian Movement) in 1977 and which advocates a certain minimal criterion of intelligence for political candidates and also the electorate.Raël, Geniocracy''. ''Nova Distribution'', 2008. Definition The term ''geniocracy'' comes from the word ''genius'', and describes a system that is designed to select for intelligence and compassion as the primary factors for governance. While having a democratic electoral apparatus, it differs from traditional liberal democracy by instead suggesting that candidates for office and the body electorate should meet a certain minimal criterion of problem-solving or creative intelligence. The thresholds proposed by the Raëlians are 50% above the mean for an electoral candidate and 10% above the mean for an elector. Justifying the method of selection This method of selectivity is deliberate so as to address what the concept cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commercial debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of #Principal, principal and interest. Loans, bond (finance), bonds, notes, and Mortgage loan, mortgages are all types of debt. In financial accounting, debt is a type of financial transaction, as distinct from equity (finance), equity. The term can also be used metaphorically to cover morality, moral obligations and other interactions not based on a monetary value. For example, in Western cultures, a person who has been helped by a second person is sometimes said to owe a "debt of gratitude" to the second person. Etymology The English term "debt" was first used in the late 13th century and comes by way of Old French from the Latin verb ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, terminology, and mechanisms—including photographs, diagrams, videos, animations, and articles. The website was acquired by Discovery Communications in 2007, but was sold to Blucora in 2014. The site has since expanded out into podcasting, focusing on factual topics. In December 2016, HowStuffWorks, LLC became a subsidiary of OpenMail, LLC, later renamed System1. In 2018, the podcast division of the company, which had been spun-off by System1 under the name Stuff Media, was acquired by iHeartMedia for $55 million. History In 1998, then North Carolina State University instructor Marshall Brain (1961–2024), started the site as a hobby. In 1999, Brain raised venture capital and formed HowStuffWorks, Inc. In March 2002, HowStuffWorks wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Brain
Marshall David Brain II (May 17, 1961 – November 20, 2024) was an American author, public speaker, futurist, businessman, and academic, who specialized in making complex topics easier to understand for the general public. Brain was the founder of HowStuffWorks.com and the author of the ''How Stuff Works'' book series. He hosted the National Geographic channel's ''Factory Floor with Marshall Brain'' and ''Who Knew? With Marshall Brain''. Early life and education Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California, where his father designed components for Moon rockets. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1983, and a M.S in computer science from North Carolina State University. Marshall taught in the computer science department at North Carolina State University from 1986 to 1992. He also wrote computer programming manuals and ran a software training and consulting company.Manjoo, Farhad"Welcome to the machine?", ''Salon'', 18 Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiwork
Critique of work or critique of labour is the critique of, or wish to abolish, work ''as such'', and to critique what the critics of works deem wage slavery. Critique of work can be existential, and focus on how labour can be and/or feel meaningless, and stands in the way for self-realisation. But the critique of work can also highlight how excessive work may cause harm to nature, the productivity of society, and/or society itself. The critique of work can also take on a more utilitarian character, in which work simply stands in the way for human happiness as well as health. History Many thinkers have critiqued and wished for the abolishment of labour as early as in Ancient Greece.Cross. G. social research,Vol 72:No 2: Summer 2005 An example of an opposing view is the anonymously published treatise titled ''Essay on Trade and Commerce'' published in 1770 which claimed that to break the spirit of idleness and independence of the English people, ideal "work-houses" should impris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technological Singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the most popular version of the singularity hypothesis, I. J. Good's #Intelligence explosion, intelligence explosion model of 1965, an upgradable intelligent agent could eventually enter a positive feedback loop of successive Recursive self-improvement, self-improvement cycles; more intelligent generations would appear more and more rapidly, causing a rapid increase ("explosion") in intelligence that culminates in a powerful superintelligence, far surpassing all human intelligence.Vinge, Vernor"The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era", in ''Vision-21: Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in the Era of Cyberspace'', G. A. Landis, ed., NASA Publication CP-10129, pp. 11–22, 1993. - "There may be developed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trade Credit
Trade credit is the loan extended by one trader to another when the goods and services are bought on credit. Trade credit facilitates the purchase of supplies without immediate payment. Trade credit is commonly used by business organizations as a source of short-term financing. It is granted to those customers who have a reasonable amount of financial standing and goodwill. (Kuveya, 2020) There are many forms of trade credit in common use. Various industries use various specialized forms. They all have, in common, the collaboration of businesses to make efficient use of capital to accomplish various business objectives. Trade credit is the largest use of capital for a majority of business-to-business (B2B) sellers in the United States and is a critical source of capital for a majority of all businesses. For example, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, has used trade credit as a larger source of capital than bank borrowings; trade credit for Wal-Mart is 8 times the amo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the Economic ideology, economic, Political philosophy, political, and Social theory, social theories and Political movement, movements associated with the implementation of such systems. Social ownership can take various forms, including State ownership, public, Community ownership, community, Collective ownership, collective, cooperative, or Employee stock ownership, employee.: "Just as private ownership defines capitalism, social ownership defines socialism. The essential characteristic of socialism in theory is that it destroys social hierarchies, and therefore leads to a politically and economically egalitarian society. Two closely related consequences follow. First, every individual is entitled to an equal ownership share that earns an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Netocracy
Netocracy was a term invented by the editorial board of the American technology magazine ''Wired'' in the early 1990s. A portmanteau of ''Internet'' and ''aristocracy'', ''netocracy'' refers to a perceived global upper-class that bases its power on a technological advantage and networking skills, in comparison to what is portrayed as a bourgeoisie of a gradually diminishing importance. The concept was later picked up and redefined by Alexander Bard and Jan Söderqvist for their book ''Netocracy — The New Power Elite and Life After Capitalism'' (originally published in Swedish in 2000 as ''Nätokraterna : boken om det elektroniska klassamhället'', published in English by Reuters/Pearsall UK in 2002). The netocracy concept has been compared with Richard Florida's concept of the creative class. Bard and Söderqvist have also defined an underclass in opposition to the netocracy, which they refer to as the consumtariat. The consumtariat Alexander Bard describes a new underclass ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microcredit
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically do not have access to traditional banking services due to a lack of collateral (finance), collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credit history. The primary aim of microcredit is to support entrepreneurship, facilitate self-employment, and alleviate poverty, particularly in low-income communities The United Nations declared 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit to raise awareness of microfinance as a strategy for poverty reduction and financial inclusion. By the early 2010s, microcredit had expanded significantly across developing countries, with estimates suggesting that more than 200 million people were beneficiaries of microcredit services worldwide. While widely adopted, the effectiveness of microcredit remains debated, with mixed evidence on its long-term impact on poverty alleviation. Despite its widespread adoption, the impact of microcredit on poverty al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by a number of basic constituent elements: private property, profit motive, capital accumulation, competitive markets, commodification, wage labor, and an emphasis on innovation and economic growth. Capitalist economies tend to experience a business cycle of economic growth followed by recessions. Economists, historians, political economists, and sociologists have adopted different perspectives in their analyses of capitalism and have recognized various forms of it in practice. These include '' laissez-faire'' or free-market capitalism, state capitalism, and welfare capitalism. Different forms of capitalism feature varying degrees of free markets, public ownership, obstacles to free competition, and state-sanctioned social poli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines. Automation has been achieved by various means including Mechanical system, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices, and computers, usually in combination. Complicated systems, such as modern Factory, factories, airplanes, and ships typically use combinations of all of these techniques. The benefit of automation includes labor savings, reducing waste, savings in electricity costs, savings in material costs, and improvements to quality, accuracy, and precision. Automation includes the use of various equipment and control systems such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers, and heat-treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering, Stabilizer (ship), stabilization of ships, aircraft and other applic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
