Policy

The Contested Circle – Part 3: The Systemic Choke Points: Overcoming the Economic and Logistical Barriers The Gulf Between Ideal and Actuality The Circular Economy (CE) circulates widely as an idea and ideal, endorsed by major corporations and policymakers globally. Its advocates tout it as a regenerative system minimizing waste and maximizing resource utility. However, despite this broad endorsement, the actual implementation of the CE remains demonstrably limited and fragile. The gap between the transformative potential promised and the slow, fragmented reality of execution highlights several deeply rooted structural obstacles. ...

Key Takeaways Heroic entrepreneurs are myths: Every "self-made" success story omits the infrastructure, institutions, and accumulated knowledge that made success possible. Innovation is collective: Even inventions attributed to individuals build on public research, shared knowledge, and supportive ecosystems. Government creates markets: The instant noodle industry emerged from US food aid, Japanese industrial policy, and public infrastructure—not just private vision. The myth serves interests: Attributing success to individuals justifies their rewards and obscures the social conditions of innovation. The Story They Tell Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Foods, is celebrated as the inventor of instant noodles—a global industry now worth over $45 billion. ...

When Disaster Strikes 1 Part 1: Disasters Don't Create Inequality-They Reveal It 2 Part 2: Why Some Cities Burn (And Others Don't) 3 Part 3: The Sacrifice Calculus 4 Part 4: Elite Disaster Strategies 5 Part 5: Famine and Political Power 6 Part 6: Earthquakes and Governance 7 Part 7: Pandemic Politics 8 Part 8: Why We Forget ← Series Home Key Takeaways Forgetting is politically convenient: Disaster memory challenges interests that benefit from the status quo. Attention is finite: Political systems can only focus on so many issues—and disaster preparedness loses to immediate concerns. Disaster industries profit from amnesia: Some industries depend on repeated disasters—and have incentives to prevent learning. Memory requires maintenance: Keeping disaster lessons alive requires institutional and cultural work that rarely happens. The Eternal Return In 1900, a hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing an estimated 6,000-12,000 people—the deadliest natural disaster in American history. ...

Reflections on Development 1 Reflections on Development - Part 1: What 'Development' Truly Means 2 Reflections on Development - Part 2: Beyond GDP - Measuring Material Progress and Well-being 3 Reflections on Development - Part 3: The Human Element - Investing in the 'Creativity of the Poor' 4 Reflections on Development - Part 4: The Cultural Context - Institutions, Values, and Sustainable Change 5 Reflections on Development - Part 5: The Synthesis - Turning Reflections into Collective Action ← Series Home Key Takeaways Holistic Vision: You cannot fix the economy without fixing culture; you cannot empower the poor without giving them technology—everything is connected. For Individuals: Be a conscious consumer—value local products and recognize the “cultural code” in what you buy. For Professionals: Design for reality—use modern knowledge to upgrade the local reality of farmers and craftsmen. For Policymakers: Invest in “Know-Why,” not just “Know-How”—build a National System of Innovation focused on local challenges. The Green Opportunity: Leapfrog dirty industrialization by utilizing renewable biological resources and solar energy. We have traveled a long road in this series. We started by rethinking the very definition of development (Part 1), challenged the way we measure economic success (Part 2), recognized the untapped potential of the poor (Part 3), and acknowledged the vital role of our cultural code (Part 4). But as Dr. Hamed El-Mously reminds us, “Reflections” are useless if they remain trapped in a book. The ultimate goal is Synthesis—bringing these disparate ideas together to fuel a movement of change. ...