Learning activity 2

Evidence: Speak your mind

1. A political system is optimal not because it produces the policies that you prefer. It produces the
policies that much smarter people prefer.
I disagree with this statement, I believe that the interests of different social classes and different
intellectual coefficients are very varied, and decisions should not be made for an entire country,
based on the interests of a minority. If we adopt a system of government in which the voice has
the wise, and the opinions of those who are not trained efficiently are not taken into account, we
will have decided to be part of one more tyranny.

2. The ideal system depends on the cultural attributes of the population.

I totally agree with this statement, because I don't think there is a single ideal system for
everyone, since not all countries are educated in the same way and therefore do not respond in
the same way to the different political systems that exist. Given the case that in a country like
Colombia that has a mostly rebellious and stubborn culture, a political system such as Cuba will be
implemented, in 2025 we will have been living 5 years in a communist dictatorship where those
who are going to suffer the most it will be the poor and the middle class that they will hardly have
where to grab, since misery and hate will become the daily bread; while, in other countries due to
their culture, they could adopt this political system and later the majority of the people will have
benefited.

3. Individuals should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability.

I agree with this idea, I think it would benefit us all, because it would allow us to serve in positions
where each person's abilities can be exploited, and in schools they will have been empowering
them for the duration of a given training program; Although we all have several capabilities, only a
few of them determine where our true value as professionals is. Having clear what they are would
help us to get to know each other better, to know how to stand out, and to expand our
professional horizons.

4. Unlike the private sector, the government is motivated by public interest.

I disagree with this statement, the government of our country IS NOT motivated by public interest,
but it SHOULD be. The government, instead of seeing the private sector as an engine of
development for the country, is controlled by it, as if democracy were in charge of the private
sector and not of the people. Currently, Colombians face a government that does not represent
us. This is a government at the service of the interests of multinationals, of powerful countries
such as the United States, of landowners, of the values of elites, and of course, of a political group
that is not interested in Colombia being a country in that we can live in peace. We have to wake
up, look for the mechanisms that the State gives us to make opposition and, most importantly,
reconcile, otherwise, tomorrow when the country is in ruins the culprit will have been the people
and not the president.

5. Taxes allow the government to create jobs and provide welfare programs for people in need.

I totally disagree with this statement, taxes in this country are not invested in guaranteeing the
human development of all Colombians, on the contrary, part of these monies, they go to the
corrupt box. Taxes serve to sustain the functioning of the State and should be used to guarantee
the overall prosperity and validity of human rights, life, quality of life, education, health, public
services, public safety, subsidies to vulnerable sectors in order to guarantee social justice, and
equal opportunities, but it is not so. We Colombians spend taxes all year round, 24 hours a day,
and if one day we get to retire, we will have been working a lifetime just to survive while we fill
the pockets of the congress.

6. Governmental programs encourage people to become dependent and lazy instead of inspiring
them to become hard-working and independent.

I disagree that this idea is applied in Colombia, because here in Colombia practically not much is
invested in programs that benefit the less favored, and to enter the few programs that exist, a lot
of protocol and many requirements are required; basically in this country, (in what refers to the
middle and lower class) he who does not work, does not eat. However, in other countries where
they usually "give" things to poor people, they tend to get used to having no need to strive to get
what they need; as an old saying goes "give a man a fish and you will have given him food for one
day, teach him to fish and you will have fed him all his life"; therefore I think it is essential to put
the effort before the facilism in any human activity.