TED Community » marco valente

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• +2

  A comment on Talk: Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies

  Mar 14 2012: It seems to me easy to agree on the fact that to bring about more equality is a good thing. It's not easily done though. One of the fundamental means is to have a salary system and a redistribution system that promote greater equality (I live in Sweden and it works well). For the latter, to get a good redistribution system that is accepted by all a key component is trust that those who do take part of your money and redistribute it must be competent and trustworthy, so that the redistribution is perceived as i) done for a good purpose; ii) done with a sense of fairness; and iii) handled by policy makers who are under the public opinion's scrutiny and have the trust and legitimacy from the voters.
  As a European myself (born and raised in Italy, and moved to Sweden a few years ago for work), I would never see redistribution as "theft" by any means, therefore my view may be far away from those of a north American audience. At the same time the issue of legitimacy is crucial, doesn't matter which continent we are from. If I trust that the policy makers are accountable and make a good use of the money they take from my salary I would be happy to give it away for the greater good on a more equal and well functioning society. But again is of key importance that I trust them to do so, hence in countries where corruption is higher (Italy vs Sweden) it will take a lot of change in the political system to gain the trust of the voters. Many of my views are based on recent works of Swedish social scientist Bo Rothstein, if you wish to read more.
• +2

  A comment on Talk: Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change

  May 25 2009: I think the whole process through which Lomborg sets the priorities is inherently biased. There is a tremendous power in asking the right -or the wrong- questions. Because when you are in charge in setting the field, you inevitably are going to affect the way the groups work together, the type of discussion, and ultimately the solutions.
  I would say that the biggest flaw of his thought on this speech is that he considers the world's most pressing problems as separate, and competing with each other. But if we go through his list, we can see at a glance that they are so much interrelated!
  Amongst the world's 10 biggest problems that he lists we find: communciable diseases; sanitation and water; malnutrition and hunger; conflicts; education; population and migration. I think it's impossible not to see how these problems are interrelated, whereas Lomborg treats them as separate issues, which is not only wrong, but even counter-productive.
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Ray Anderson: The business logic of sustainability

  May 25 2009: I totally agree. Anderson has used The Natural Step Framework as a compass to guide this strategic action plan. This helped him to see a big picture perspective, putting every action into context and as a guide to strategically plan for a company that is part of the solution, and not the problem anymore.
  I wish that some more people who take a great, science-based approach in working for sustainability can be speaking at TED more often. Wouldn't it be amazing to have more often people like Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken, and dr Karl-Henrik Robert (the founder of The Natural Step) at TED?

• A comment on Talk: Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change

  Mar 22 2009: okay, can I say a sad joke? sorry guys, but I can't help speaking my mind.
  
  Lomborg gave this talk back in 2005, asking: what would we do if we had 50billion to spend over the next 4years? Now, I am pretty sure that the way he tried to prioritize his list was quite flawed because he wanted to put climate change on the bottom of the list.
  Moreover, consider that February 2005 was well before the new IPCC report was released.
  
  So, here's the thing: he was very worried that we would have taken climate change too seriously for his taste. Sadly, looking back from March 2009 we can say: don't worry, Lomborg. We haven't actually invested massively in climate change prevention or mitigation.
  
  Not yet, though. I really hope that Copenhagen 2009 will represent a new beginning for international policies against climate change. It is not about proving him wrong. It's about protecting our very nest. We might be remembered as "The Age of Stupid" if we don't act boldly on this.
  Cheers,
  m.
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Ory Okolloh on becoming an activist

  Nov 30 2008: I found this speech very lively and passionate. It's admirable that her spirit is so strong, and she insists so much on the principle of building from the inside a new society in Africa.

• A comment on Talk: Chris Anderson on TED's nonprofit transition

  Nov 24 2008: chris you are doing an amazing job since TED has come accessible in the internet. It seems to me that projects like this make the most of the amazing potential that the internet has. Keep it up with the great job!

• A comment on Talk: Isaac Mizrahi on fashion and creativity

  Nov 24 2008: TED has great talks, but this one is not worth as the average amazing-inspiring-groundbreaking TED talk. Boring :/