Wednesday 23 April 2008

10 Commandments to Save the Earth


Speaking at the United Nations on 21 April popular left-wing Bolivian president Evo Morales proposed 10 commandments to save the planet, life and humanity. They were:


1. Acabar con el sistema capitalista
Putting an end to the capitalist system

2. Renunciar a las guerras
Renouncing wars

3. Un mundo sin imperialismo ni colonialismo
A world without imperialism or colonialism

4. Derecho al agua
Right to water

5. Desarrollo de energías limpias
Development of clean energies

6. Respeto a la madre tierra
Respect for Mother Earth

7. Servicios básicos como derechos humanos
Treat basic services as human rights

8. Combatir las desigualdades
Fighting inequalities

9. Promover la diversidad de culturas y economías
Promoting diversity of cultures and economies

10. Vivir bien, no vivir mejor a costa del otro
Living well, not living better at the expense of others



What do UNITYblog readers think of Evo Morales' 10 "commandments"? Post your feedback by clicking 'comments' beneath this post. Or maybe come up with your own list of commandments.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Morales' 10 commandments seem like a solid set of principles by which to save humanity. Despite this I can see two criticisms, firstly the 4th Commandment "Right to water" probably would be better if it read as "Right to water, food and shelter." Secondly both 6 and 7 are very ambiguous, "Respect for mother Earth" and "Treat basic services as human rights" are both honorable objectives but they do not state what "basic services" are. For example what level of health care would be considered a human right, a doctor in the town/village or a fully fitted hospital?
I have no doubt that Morales has the intention and desire to make "basic services" as broad a category as possible but others might not see it or act as such. The same criticism can be leveled at 6. Despite this I think the 10 commandments are a good framework on which any society should be based. They just need to be backed up by more solid policy and defined objectives to prevent them from being interpreted and misused as widely as the Christian 10 commandments are today.

Josh