Spur of the Moment Guide to FACTFULNESS: WEEK 22
p. 123 –128
At the beginning of the fifth chapter, Hans Rosling tells a story from his time as a doctor in Mozambique. By telling that story he illustrates how a person should change their thinking when dealing with a bad situation. For example, as a doctor, he was responsible for too many people with very few resources. It was far more useful and he managed to prevent many more deaths by focusing on preventive care than spending more time trying to treat terminal cases at the hospital.
That idea probably has a broader reach. Think about it. There are systems around the world with various degrees of success whether they are political, economic or educational systems. Many a country has tried a “proven” system only to see it fail. When that happens most probably attribute the system’s failure on bad implementation.
Wanting to build systems based on high ideals is great, but perhaps less than perfect would perform better. So instead of building systems based on theories, one should look more into what resources are available and what kind of an impact a system can have for the highest percentage of people affected. Then, after a certain level has been reached, perhaps it will easier and more beneficial to switch to another system based on higher standards.
Of course, there are many faults with that idea but is the alternative better? Is a “good” system a better alternative when it cannot be implemented properly because of insufficient resources?
*The Spur of the Moment Guide to FACTFULNESS is a series of posts of first thoughts while reading the book FACTFULNESS by Hans Rosling (this is an affiliate link).*
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