China: depois do horror do Grande Salto Para a Frente, o horror da Revolucao Cultural: Frank Dikotter (Cato Institute)

Se estivesse em Washington, iria pessoalmente, inclusive para comprar o livro pessoalmente. Como não estou, vou assistir a palestra online, como abaixo. Frank Dikotter vive em Hong Kong, e publicou, alguns anos atrás, um novo livro sobre o Grande Salto para a Frente, de Mao, entre 1959 e 1962, revisando para cima o número de mortos, para algo entre 30 e 40 milhões de mortos.
Paulo Roberto de Almeida

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History, 1962–1976
Book Forum
Monday, April 25, 2016
Cato Institute, Washington, DC, 11:00AM - 12:30PM

Featuring the author Frank Dikötter, Chair Professor of Humanities, University of Hong Kong; with comments by Xia Yeliang, Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute. Moderated by Marian L. Tupy, Editor, www.humanprogress.org, Cato Institute.

After the economic disaster of the Great Leap Forward that claimed tens of millions of lives from 1958–1962, Mao Zedong launched an ambitious scheme to shore up his reputation and eliminate those he viewed as a threat to his legacy. The stated goal of the Cultural Revolution was to purge China of its bourgeoisie and remaining capitalists. The Cultural Revolution soon resulted in street fighting between rival factions. As China descended into chaos, the military intervened, turning the country into a garrison state marked by bloody purges that killed as many as one in 50 people. After the army itself fell victim to the Cultural Revolution, ordinary people used the political chaos to resurrect the market and hollow out the party’s ideology. In short, they buried Maoism. Please join us for a discussion of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and its unintended consequences.

REGISTER  or  Watch online Apr 25

Livro: como os bandidos e os piedosos moldam as politicas públicas

O livro, que vai ser debatido em um Book Forum do Cato Institute, em Washington, trata unicamente das políticas regulatórias nos EUA, e não tem nada a ver, aparentemente, com o Brasil.

Na verdade, ele tem tudo a ver, e pode ser simplesmente traduzido da seguinte maneira:

Como mafiosos, traficantes e bandidos de alto coturno estabelecem, deliberada ou involuntariamente, uma coalizão prática com fundamentalistas religiosos, piedosos morais, mas totalmente ingênuos e ignorantes, para introduzir e manter políticas nocivas que afetam a todos e fazem a sociedade retroceder.

E então? Tem ou não tem a ver com o Brasil atual?

Pena que não vou estar para assistir...

Paulo Roberto de Almeida 

Bootleggers and Baptists: How Economic Forces and Moral Persuasion Interact to Shape Regulatory Politics

Book Forum

Thursday, October 9, 2014 12:00PM

Featuring the authors Adam Smith, Assistant Professor of Economics and Director, Center for Free Market Studies, Johnson & Wales; and Bruce Yandle, Dean Emeritus of the College of Business and Behavioral Science, and Alumni Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Clemson University; with comments by Susan Dudley, Research Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration and Director, Regulatory Studies Center, George Washington University. Moderated by John Samples, Vice President and Publisher, Cato Institute.

The “Bootlegger and Baptist” theory, an innovative public-choice theory developed more than 30 years ago, holds that for a regulation to emerge and endure, both the “bootleggers,” who seek to obtain private benefits from the regulation, and the “Baptists,” who seek to serve the public interest, must support the regulation. Economists Adam Smith and Bruce Yandle provide an accessible description of the theory and cite numerous examples of coalitions of economic and moral interests that desire a common goal. The book applies the theory’s insights to a wide range of current issues, including the recent financial crisis and environmental regulation, and provides readers with both an understanding of how regulation is a product of economic and moral interests and a fresh perspective on the ongoing debate of how special-interest groups influence politics. Please join us for an engaging discussion of why government regulation fails so often to attain the public interest.
 

or Watch online Oct 9