Homo Economicus?
The development of nations is not just an economic process.
Development is not synonymous with productivity measured in the Gross Territorial Product (GDP).
It is an upward movement of society represented by the behavior of multiple factors associated with progressive and comprehensive well-being, translated into the variables: Bio-psycho-social-economic, of its members.
Unfortunately, the conception of development that has been used in the plans of nations has been almost exclusively economic.
Criticism that continues to be valid, even when it includes another fundamental economic indicator: the real degree of distributive justice of the PTB in the population. True development transcends the world of physics.
This involves being interested in the welfare of the other, living sustainably and in true democracy. It implies being based on ethical principles, to the extent that projects are designed and implemented that improve the quality of human society and the conditions of the earth.
Development:
In Venezuela there are 14.7 million inhabitants who live in households with a monthly income of less than 400 thousand bolivars. Furthermore, the richest ten percent of the population receives 37.9 percent of total labor income, while the poorest fifty percent receive only 10.8 percent.
These calculations are based on official figures: The Survey of Households by Sampling of the National Institute of Statistics, for the first semester of 2003. (Ortega, 2004)
The daily life of these numbers is evident in the misery belts, the feeling of personal insecurity that the population lives constantly, the growing presence of abandoned children and young people on the streets, among others.
Despite the undeniable importance of a well-planned economy, if an adequate psychological, moral and civic base is not available in the population, any economic plan to develop a Country is destined to fail.
Here, the social dimension of Emotional Intelligence enters, whose search is the sense of empathy, “putting oneself in the place of others” (Ryback, 1998), and the way of managing interpersonal relationships, attributes that must begin to be developed in the individual from the family and school, fostering feelings of identity, cooperativism, teamwork and above all values that are guided towards respect for life, not only for human beings, but for all living things. In other words, to form in the citizen, an ecological conscience, that allows the self development from the inside out. From this perspective, the best way to define Emotional Intelligence with a social character is to consider that it is about the ability to apply awareness and ecological sensitivity,to discern the purest feelings that underlie everything that surrounds us, taking into account the new government policies, the strategic alliances that are being taken into account, the sowing of oil as a profitable product for the population and especially the endogenous development of our people (Orozco, 2006).
A way of knowing Emotional Intelligence, as an endogenous factor that allows development from the inside out, first in the individual and then in society and later in the Nation, is evaluated through the following capacities:
Tolerance of ambiguity: Ability to navigate through turbulent waters and conveniently interact with unpredictable environments both personally, as well as in the national and international context.
Composure: Stay calm and balanced in times of stress. Natural disasters, wars, fluctuations in oil prices, among others.
Empathy: Placing yourself in the place of the other, understanding their motivations, helping them to develop, assuming ecological awareness, having social responsibility in what is done, both from a personal point of view, as well as from the Nation. Do not think so much about what the Country can do for citizens, but about what citizens can do for others and their Country.
Energy: React to adversity and keep motivation high, despite the failures that may have been experienced.
Humility: Maintaining the sense of equity and social justice, principles that must be instilled as values, from the family and school. Also being able to receive criticism about the performances and recognize one's own mistakes.
Confidence in oneself: Recognize one's own strengths within the Venezuelan labor context, exploit them and put them to work, either with the formation of cooperatives, congestion processes, which allows sharing of responsibility, decision-making, participation and commitment to the development of the business.
The aforementioned would correspond to the psychosocial dimension of development.
Development is something rooted in the values, beliefs and customs of the people. The psychosocial circumstances of a nation should not be marginalized in the designs of development plans since it does not happen in the abstract.
A developed society is mature in character. That is, it respects the sovereignty of other countries, does not impose its interests on others, does not use forceful measures, nor does it threaten the natural resources of other nations, and uses peaceful methods to resolve conflicts.
A mature society cares about the interests of others, takes into account the welfare of others, considers the consequences on others and on ourselves, including our actions and lack of them.
A mature society conducts its activities in an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable way. The activities of a mature society must be conducted under the premise of nurturing the earth and humanity on a local, regional and global level.
A mature society practices true democracy.
The case of Venezuela is a good example of how economic growth was synonymous with "development" between 1972 and 1982. Venezuela was a country with a high rate of economic growth that failed to take advantage of a favorable but transitory circumstance: A sudden and marked increase of oil prices. We had money, but our tendencies imported from other countries and beliefs were still underdeveloped. (Eg. Indiscipline, disorder, inconstancy, dishonesty, irresponsibility). As Peñaloza (1992) sums it up, at that time, our behavior of saving, investment, personal and social administration, personal effort was based on the belief: "God, oil and the government will provide, in that order" (p.35).
A feasible, comprehensive and stable development plan must create the necessary psychosocial support understood, accepted and executed by the group. This base is not something that can be imposed, it is something that must educate and persuade. Development is, as Grodona in Salas (1996) points out, a cultural phenomenon. Today endogenous development is managed even in the most popular sectors of the country.
The word endogenous means "from within", which means, in conjunction with the word development, the possibility of economically boosting a country based on their own potentialities. (Breuker, 2006). The success of this model depends on a profound change in the thinking of the Venezuelan, which will possibly be seen fully in the next generations. Real changes occur when processes exceed established structures and it is necessary to create new structures that express those processes. When the new state of affairs offers more benefits to the entire population, the change is considered positive, until a new change occurs that makes the previous one obsolete.
This can only be achieved through education. Traditional Venezuelan education teaches anti-change beliefs, which is shown in our everyday language, where work is visualized as a “curse, punishment, heavy load, sacrifice, torture, slavery, among others.
Until now, Psychosocial (Endogenous) intelligence has been massively and systematically educated in the "Global Village", the new generations receive a little elaborate cultural heritage, somewhat chaotic, folded by myths and prejudices that have been creeping through time, not taking into account a true process of systematic socialization that educates values and beliefs that allow us to be better parents, siblings, friends, partners and citizens.
Day by day. The Conquests, Colonialism and Imperialism, according to Silíceo, Angulo and Siliceo F (2001) do not need to use armies and wars, for that there are more subtle and imperceptible allies, such as the media in all its modalities: television, press, fashion, among others. Aggression, depression, consumerism and addiction are the most common escape routes from the spiral of silent self-destruction that are subliminally imparted on a daily basis through the media. Faced with this dominant anthropology, a new model must be developed that recovers, for future generations, absolute and transcendent values, through forms and means of transmission (communication) that allow finding ways of construction and not of destruction of the human race.
Faced with this amorphous mass that constitutes today's culture, one should not, nor can one compromise on the "what", but, without a doubt, the challenge is to redefine the "how", especially those, that having worked before, now seem outdated.
What has favored this social and cultural context in the world? Undoubtedly, globalization, as indicated by the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, has good and bad things, of which among the latter, the most significant is having made the human being a victim of an information explosion, but of a implosion of meanings ”. You know about everything, but at the same time about nothing and, most seriously, not at all.
In front of a mass of people superficially aware of "everything", it is often believed that the opinion of the majority is a title of legitimacy to support any decision, no matter how absurd, irrational and unfair it may be.
That is why the definition of democracy proposed by Fernando Savater is adequate, when he says that "it is the right to publicly defend all opinions, especially because they are all equally valid." Opinions, says the Spanish philosopher, will be valid not according to what is said, but according to their rational foundation and the arguments that support it, something that would have to be worked from within, to awaken a mass that is asleep and in a "Light" culture. This "Light" culture, Enrique Rojas mentions, produces beings devoid of "existential and vital calories, proteins and minerals" in front of which, the options of becoming aware of themselves and building a solid ethical code become major challenges, such that it is easier to deny or disqualify,rather than accept, much less face.
Conclusions:
Yes, as a consequence of the above, it is concluded that the suffering of the human being and especially in underdeveloped countries, subject to the great powers and powerful media, is the ability to not be able to “self-direct” consciously and responsibly, the fundamental competence of Intelligence Emotional, manifested in the control of oneself, their own development and impulses, it is inferred then that endogenous development is an internal dimension, which allows the self-determination of peoples and as a result favors the self-awareness and self-criticism of the citizens, generating an adequate model of what a participatory democracy should be “This capacity for self-criticism implies honesty and integrity, and responds to the ancient mandate of the Delphic oracle which, like the Socratic sentence, read“ Know yourself ”.Self-criticism also supposes the knowledge of our own strength, weaknesses, emotions, needs, desires and impulses ”. Silíceo and others (2001, P. 29).
Bibliographic references:
Breuker (2006) "Endogenous development model" Opinion Article, Panorama: 25-5-2006.
Goleman (1999) "Emotional Intelligence" Edit. Vergara.
Ortega (2006) "An effort to understand poverty and inequality in Venezuela" IESA debates., Volume X, Number 4, October-December 2005.
Romero García (1999) "Psychological Growth and Social Motivations", Ediciones ROGYA.
Ryback (1997) “Work with your Emotional Intelligence” Circles of Readers.
Salas Auvert (1996) "Social Intelligence" planet.
Siliceo, A. Casares, A and González M. “Leadership. Organizational Values and Culture ”McGraw Hill.
