Re: Fwd! - A fish story

Douglas M. Hinds (dmhinds@acnet.net)
Thu, 20 May 1999 22:51:45 -0600

Nice story. Too bad it doesn't fly. First of all, the fisherman is filling his immediate needs but not bettering anything. He's just a harvestor, not a sower or a cultivator or a soil fertility improver. As for the capitalist - he suggests nothing better than more of the same, with no consideration for the fact that these are non renewable resources that he did not create nor fortify. There is nothing in his plan that insures the continued presence of the resource he wants to see exploited. Lastly, life in "idylic" mexican seacoast villages with limited infrastucture, resources, communications links, educational institutions and productive opportunities is not what most Mexicans want. This is a back to Eden fantasy and there is no inherent wisdom in poverty. (Even so, I cleaned up the type a bit, to make it more readable. It's still enjoyable, even if it doesn't hold up to analysis). The fisherman was just trying to get by, not dig himself a deeper hole - but there's!
not a whole lot of virtue in that. There's a lot more than can be done that's worth doing; gardens and orchards to be´planted, beauty to be created, things to be expressed, things to be built, wrongs to be righted, and rights to be upheld. Even on the Mexican seashore.

D H

This is not to criticize the post, just dissect it.

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 20/05/99 at 11:23 AM Bill Liebhardt wrote:

>I debated about sending such a serious post on values, work and the meaning
>of life but I thought you all could handle this and see the humor and
>wisdom of the following. Bill Liebhardt
>>
>>
>The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
>
>The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
>
>The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, playwith my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor."
>
>The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
>
>The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15-20 years."
>
>"But what then, senor?" The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."
>
>"Millions, senor? Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
>

Douglas M. Hinds
Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural, A.C. (CeDeCoR)
(Center for Community and Rural Development)
Petronilo Lopez No. 73
Cd. Guzman, Jalisco 49000 MEXICO
e-mail: dmhinds@acnet.net, cedecor@acnet.net, cedecor@ipnet.com.mx

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