Raj Patel

thumb|Raj Patel in 2010 Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British academic, journalist, activist and writer. Quotes We are not the consumers of democracy, we are its proprietors. Ways to Counter the Excesses of the Market (24:00) FORA.tv right|120px We are all familiar with the idea: Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime. That sounds reasonable enough. … But think of the model that rests on. It constructs people in developing countries that sort of people sitting by the rivers and eating fish and then they look at the river and said: "- So what's that? - It looks like a fish. - Well, how do we get it out? - Well I have no idea, we would have to wait for white man to come and tell us." It's important to remember that actually there are systems of governance that already exist. There are models of development that already exist in developing countries that actually are much more sustainable than the model of free markets that we have been trying to export. How free is the market FORA.tv right|60px When you introduce markets in food, then you introduce two very simple rules. The first rule is this: if you have money you can get the food from wherever around the world. The other rule markets impose is this: if you do not have money, you will starve. This is an important point … The reason why people starve is because of poverty … not because of a shortage of food … but because the only way to access the food is through the market. About global food economy Marquette University (Retrieved on February 11, 2010.) The question is: why are there markets of food at all? About global food economy Marquette University (Retrieved on February 11, 2010.) The opposite of consumption isn't thrift. It's generosity. The Value of Nothing right|150px Generosity makes us happiest. We'll be happier people when we share, not when we impose, but when we learn from one another. Because when I'm connected to everyone I disappear … in being excellent you lose yourself. And when you're connected to everyone, that's the best thing that can happen. Speech at 21 minuti (Retrieved on February 9, 2010.) The problem is that we are living now with the consequences of the others people mistake. It would be nice to make our own and learn from them. That is the art of democracy. That is the art of citizenship. About democracy (Retrieved on July 20, 2010.) External links Raj Patel blog Category:Living people Category:Economists from England Category:Political activists Category:University of Oxford alumni Category:Cornell University alumni Category:1972 births Category:People from London