Quick: Which one is least creepy?
The "Under the Bridge"
The "G.O.A.T" (a.k.a. Get Out at Once)
The "Fu Manchu"
The "Fu Shadow"
The "Trash 'Stache"
The "Productive Citizen"
Monday, December 8, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Francis Fukuyama on Political Order and Political Decay
This past week, Francis Fukuyama came to The Hauenstein Center at GVSU to give a lecture on his new book, Political Order and Political Decay. To sum it up in a sentence: it’s been a pretty bad year for order in global politics.
(The director of The Hauenstein Center in his introduction described Fukuyama as one of the top five political thinkers in the world. Who knew they had rankings on that? Is that the AP or the Coaches Poll? Will Fukuyama make the College Football Playoff? So many questions…)
Fukuyama rose to fame after the publication of his book The End of History and the Last Man, in which he argued that liberal democracy stood alone as the only form of government compatible with socio-economic modernity (opposed to say communism, as Marx had posited).
The New York Times, in a review of Political Order and Political Decay, wrote:
Fukuyama argues that political order is held up by three pillars:
• The state, which is granted certain powers and responsibilities;
• The rule of law, which is a constraint on the powers of the state;
• Democratic accountability, although it’s important to remember that procedural accountability doesn't always equal substantive accountability. (Meaning, just because they say they're doing it doesn't mean they're actually doing it. See: voting in Afghanistan.)
These three pillars are necessities in a liberal democracy. Like the legs of a stool, unbalance one of them and order becomes wobbly.
Looking more closely at the state, there exists a difference between a modern state and a patrimonial state. In a modern state, there are clear distinctions between public and private. Corruption is possible, but it can be squashed through both the rule of law and democratic accountability.
In a patrimonial state however, the government itself is a species of private property. The king, ruler, president owns everything. The modern version is called a neopatrimonial state; take, for example, Ukraine. The democratic elections that precipitated the recent protests and rioting returned to power a president who had raided the treasury to build himself a massive palace outside Kiev. Soviet-esque corruption at its finest and most brazen. Other prominent examples of struggling democracies include India, Nigeria and Greece.
In Greece, ever since their transition to democratic rule, parties have won power via a system of patronage, rewarding supporters with civil jobs. And that’s been their downfall; Greece now has seven times per capita the amount of public workers as the UK. It’s not that these countries don’t understand democracy, or are incapable of practicing it, it's just that their democracies are immature. For most, they’ve been at it for less than a century.
It’s important to remember that the US hasn’t always been the beacon-on-a-hill of democracy that we are today. (That was sarcasm.) The system of patronage ravaging countries like Greece and Ukraine takes its lead from early 19th-century American politics, specifically the presidential election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. A century of patronage tradition followed that took the assassination of James Garfield and the trust-bustin’ exploits of Teddy Roosevelt to fix. Democracy created problems of corruption, but was also key to eventually solving them.
Which brings us to political decay. Why is there still corruption in America? After all, the three pillars of our ‘stool’ remain intact and balanced. (Right?)
Fukuyama argues that despite America’s problems, we are not in decline as a democratic society. The rise in interest groups, though, is troubling. They are legitimate entities, but there is simply too much money involved, manipulating elected officials and distorting the views of the electorate. K Street lobbyists don't represent voters, just wealthy elites. Add to this mix intense polarization and extreme gerrymandering and you are left with the wide split between the parties that we see today.
The Founding Fathers, when writing the Constitution, wanted to maximize individual liberty, and as a result instituted the genius system of checks and balances that we know and love. Partisan politics, however, have led to this system transforming into what Fukuyama calls a "vetocracy", or a rule by veto. It is so bogged down and obstructed that necessary reforms to government are nearly impossible. (Case in point: the budget. Entitlement reform. Immigration. The tax code. Need I go on?) The US is a crucial model of democracy internationally, and we are simply not acting like a very good role model right now.
An audience member asked him if he still felt liberal democracies were the "end of history", and he said he did. Two-thirds of the countries on Earth have some form of a democracy. He admitted however, that the Chinese system is a threat to his thesis, because they have made a viable state despite running an authoritarian-style government, which may be attractive to developing countries.
Assorted notes:
After the talk, in the receiving line to get my book signed, I asked Dr. Fukuyama about neo-conservatism and if it is actually possible for a benevolent hegemon to even exist. (Fukuyama famously broke with Dubya and his merry band of neocons after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.) He murmured something about breaking with them in '03, which I already knew thanks to a quick pre-lecture scan of his Wikipedia page, and then said something along the lines of "we underestimated the hard military power that was needed." No shit. I was hustled through without another follow-up.
My original question, though, asked if a superpower is ever able to truly act benevolently when aiding, interfering with, or invading another state. True-believer neocons would probably say yes, in that the adoption of democracy is worth any unrest or upheaval caused. The quagmire of Iraq, in my opinion, is proof enough that it is actually not worth it. Reality bites, as they say.
 |
| I did not take this photo. |
(The director of The Hauenstein Center in his introduction described Fukuyama as one of the top five political thinkers in the world. Who knew they had rankings on that? Is that the AP or the Coaches Poll? Will Fukuyama make the College Football Playoff? So many questions…)
Fukuyama rose to fame after the publication of his book The End of History and the Last Man, in which he argued that liberal democracy stood alone as the only form of government compatible with socio-economic modernity (opposed to say communism, as Marx had posited).
The New York Times, in a review of Political Order and Political Decay, wrote:
Over the years since, Fukuyama has continued to argue the case, and has now summed up his efforts with a two-volume magnum opus that chronicles global political development from prehistory to the present. A quarter-century on, he remains convinced that no other political system is viable in the long run, but concludes his survey with a sobering twist: Liberal democracy’s future is cloudy, but that is because of its own internal problems, not competition from any external opponent.Large, traditional powers like China and Russia are banging their drums and looking to expand their territories, while small, nontraditional groups continue to make noise across the Middle East and Africa. The hope we should have, according to Fukuyama, is for all of these states to get to Denmark. Not on the map per se, but to get to Denmark’s level of stability and low corruption. If Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, et al., looked like Denmark, the world would be better off. The problem is, we don't know how Denmark got to be Denmark. How did Vikings turn into social democrats? Maybe we'll never know.
Fukuyama argues that political order is held up by three pillars:
• The state, which is granted certain powers and responsibilities;
• The rule of law, which is a constraint on the powers of the state;
• Democratic accountability, although it’s important to remember that procedural accountability doesn't always equal substantive accountability. (Meaning, just because they say they're doing it doesn't mean they're actually doing it. See: voting in Afghanistan.)
These three pillars are necessities in a liberal democracy. Like the legs of a stool, unbalance one of them and order becomes wobbly.
Looking more closely at the state, there exists a difference between a modern state and a patrimonial state. In a modern state, there are clear distinctions between public and private. Corruption is possible, but it can be squashed through both the rule of law and democratic accountability.
In a patrimonial state however, the government itself is a species of private property. The king, ruler, president owns everything. The modern version is called a neopatrimonial state; take, for example, Ukraine. The democratic elections that precipitated the recent protests and rioting returned to power a president who had raided the treasury to build himself a massive palace outside Kiev. Soviet-esque corruption at its finest and most brazen. Other prominent examples of struggling democracies include India, Nigeria and Greece.
In Greece, ever since their transition to democratic rule, parties have won power via a system of patronage, rewarding supporters with civil jobs. And that’s been their downfall; Greece now has seven times per capita the amount of public workers as the UK. It’s not that these countries don’t understand democracy, or are incapable of practicing it, it's just that their democracies are immature. For most, they’ve been at it for less than a century.
It’s important to remember that the US hasn’t always been the beacon-on-a-hill of democracy that we are today. (That was sarcasm.) The system of patronage ravaging countries like Greece and Ukraine takes its lead from early 19th-century American politics, specifically the presidential election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. A century of patronage tradition followed that took the assassination of James Garfield and the trust-bustin’ exploits of Teddy Roosevelt to fix. Democracy created problems of corruption, but was also key to eventually solving them.
Which brings us to political decay. Why is there still corruption in America? After all, the three pillars of our ‘stool’ remain intact and balanced. (Right?)
Fukuyama argues that despite America’s problems, we are not in decline as a democratic society. The rise in interest groups, though, is troubling. They are legitimate entities, but there is simply too much money involved, manipulating elected officials and distorting the views of the electorate. K Street lobbyists don't represent voters, just wealthy elites. Add to this mix intense polarization and extreme gerrymandering and you are left with the wide split between the parties that we see today.
The Founding Fathers, when writing the Constitution, wanted to maximize individual liberty, and as a result instituted the genius system of checks and balances that we know and love. Partisan politics, however, have led to this system transforming into what Fukuyama calls a "vetocracy", or a rule by veto. It is so bogged down and obstructed that necessary reforms to government are nearly impossible. (Case in point: the budget. Entitlement reform. Immigration. The tax code. Need I go on?) The US is a crucial model of democracy internationally, and we are simply not acting like a very good role model right now.
An audience member asked him if he still felt liberal democracies were the "end of history", and he said he did. Two-thirds of the countries on Earth have some form of a democracy. He admitted however, that the Chinese system is a threat to his thesis, because they have made a viable state despite running an authoritarian-style government, which may be attractive to developing countries.
Assorted notes:
- A broad middle class is key to sustaining democracy, making it easy to understand where and why democracy has failed, the most obvious example being much of Latin America. Social inequality often gives rise to populist politics, and the accompanying unrest and instability.
- Gerrymandering is a problem. Re-districting ought to be done on a non-partisan basis, as they do in California, to fix this mass polarization and huge incumbency advantage.
- Are instant runoff elections the solution, where candidates are ranked and votes reassigned if the voter's top choice loses? It would make it easier for third-party challengers to get their voices heard.
- In response to a question regarding Islamic extremism, he argued that ISIS is not a huge threat, but is made more viable by the vacuum of modern states in the area. The instability in the region results from an ongoing Shia versus Sunni civil war, which in itself is shaping up as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It won’t stop until they figure out it makes sense to stop fighting, similar to the battles between denominations of Christianity across the centuries.
- “The desire for democracy is strong but actually doing it is hard.”
After the talk, in the receiving line to get my book signed, I asked Dr. Fukuyama about neo-conservatism and if it is actually possible for a benevolent hegemon to even exist. (Fukuyama famously broke with Dubya and his merry band of neocons after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.) He murmured something about breaking with them in '03, which I already knew thanks to a quick pre-lecture scan of his Wikipedia page, and then said something along the lines of "we underestimated the hard military power that was needed." No shit. I was hustled through without another follow-up.
My original question, though, asked if a superpower is ever able to truly act benevolently when aiding, interfering with, or invading another state. True-believer neocons would probably say yes, in that the adoption of democracy is worth any unrest or upheaval caused. The quagmire of Iraq, in my opinion, is proof enough that it is actually not worth it. Reality bites, as they say.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
The Beach Boys...and my #IceBucketChallenge
"Hey Rolling Man, got a song you’d like to hear tonight?"
I peeked back over my right shoulder. Surely that was directed at me, although that's not how I typically prefer to be addressed. (I was pretty sure I was the wheelchair user in question because although I was situated in the back of the accessible seating area at the Meijer Gardens, I was the only concertgoer on wheels. I don't make a practice of comparing disabilities to one another, but does one foot in a boot entitle five senior citizens to the entirety of the front row of the section? It's technically within the arbitrarily enforced rules, but I digress...)
I spotted the gentleman who had asked the question. He looked...out of place. These Beach Boy tickets were $62, yet this guy looked like he had been out fishing earlier, or on a jog and had decided impromptu to see a concert. Short running shorts, kind of grungy shirt, weird hat...all the better I guess to remain incognito.
Because the guy was Bruce Johnston, Grammy-winning songwriter, keyboardist and vocalist and one of two original Beach Boys (along with Mike Love) to grace the stage that night.
Overhearing murmurs around me that this oddly dressed guy was a Beach Boy, I froze. My mind was immediately purged of Beach Boys song titles. Just don't say a Beatles song, I thought. Favorites like "God Only Knows" and "California Girls" were erased from memory.
I stalled. "Uh...um...uh..."
Still nothing. I bit my lip. Choking in the clutch! Lyrics popped into my head:
"...c'mon, let's cruise, you got...nothing to lose..."
Finally! But still no song title. Oh well. I started lightly singing, "C'mon let's cruise, you got..."
He cut me off. "Still Cruisin! Great choice!"
They played it halfway through the first half of the concert, dedicating it to 'his friend in the back'. Pretty cool moment.
I peeked back over my right shoulder. Surely that was directed at me, although that's not how I typically prefer to be addressed. (I was pretty sure I was the wheelchair user in question because although I was situated in the back of the accessible seating area at the Meijer Gardens, I was the only concertgoer on wheels. I don't make a practice of comparing disabilities to one another, but does one foot in a boot entitle five senior citizens to the entirety of the front row of the section? It's technically within the arbitrarily enforced rules, but I digress...)I spotted the gentleman who had asked the question. He looked...out of place. These Beach Boy tickets were $62, yet this guy looked like he had been out fishing earlier, or on a jog and had decided impromptu to see a concert. Short running shorts, kind of grungy shirt, weird hat...all the better I guess to remain incognito.
Because the guy was Bruce Johnston, Grammy-winning songwriter, keyboardist and vocalist and one of two original Beach Boys (along with Mike Love) to grace the stage that night.
Overhearing murmurs around me that this oddly dressed guy was a Beach Boy, I froze. My mind was immediately purged of Beach Boys song titles. Just don't say a Beatles song, I thought. Favorites like "God Only Knows" and "California Girls" were erased from memory.
I stalled. "Uh...um...uh..."
Still nothing. I bit my lip. Choking in the clutch! Lyrics popped into my head:
"...c'mon, let's cruise, you got...nothing to lose..."
Finally! But still no song title. Oh well. I started lightly singing, "C'mon let's cruise, you got..."
He cut me off. "Still Cruisin! Great choice!"
They played it halfway through the first half of the concert, dedicating it to 'his friend in the back'. Pretty cool moment.
------
You may have seen a video or two online over the past few weeks of people dumping ice water over their own heads in the name of charity. Who am I kidding, of course you have. It's impossible to go on Facebook or even step outdoors without seeing someone accept the Ice Bucket Challenge, some reluctant, some eager (usually depending on the ambient temperature) and proceed to soak themselves in ice water.
ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's disease, is a debilitating muscular disease. It truly is a terrible affliction and deserves this spotlight, money, and research attention. The background behind the Challenge is pretty cool; it's amazing to see how and why things go viral on the wild, wild Internet.
Of the many iterations of the Challenge floating around out there, this one's my favorite. Steve Gleason, a former New Orleans Saint and an inspiration of mine, participated wholeheartedly in the Challenge. Read his story here and watch his video:
Without further ado, here's my video (edited for length and expletives):
Now what should the challenge be to raise awareness and money for Spinal Cord Injury research?
Burrrrrr!
Now what should the challenge be to raise awareness and money for Spinal Cord Injury research?
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Some New Stuff at PT
It may be summer, the time of vacation and waning motivations, but that doesn't mean I'm slacking off! I'm still making it up to the gym Mondays and Fridays, for six hours a week of standing, walking, weights, and pain.
Here's my latest walking video from Friday.
We've really slowed the rhythm down, in an attempt to get me to do the bulk of the work of pulling my leg through while the other leg is in stance. As you can see below (thanks to those handy Michigan slippers that help my feet slide more easily) I'm playing at least a small role in those baby steps, be it a reflexive, involuntary movement or actually something that I'm contributing to.
Let the record show I collapsed with exhaustion after each of these videos. I'm tensing up my whole body trying to activate those pesky hip flexors, and as a result my arms, torso, even head feel like they're going to fall off.
After a few hundred feet of walking/stumbling, we moved on to something new: crawling. I've been working a lot on building my triceps up (it's beach season, after all!), and could really see the difference in how much better I could support my upper body. It used to take a person on each elbow to keep them from buckling; now I can manage them pretty well on my own with only a bit of help.
Above, we used the harness over head to help support my torso and hips. In the video below, we said, "Screw you, harness," and ditched it. It was definitely more difficult, but I was able to emerge without an epic face plant. Counting that as a win!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
A Poverty Simulation
Last week, I experienced a poverty simulation, hosted at Steelcase and put on by Access of West Michigan. A group of around 50 Steelcase employees, local medical residents, and interested community members had their eyes opened by this deeply impactful encounter.
We each were assigned a new identity for the simulation. I took on the persona of Yuri Yarrow (I went out a limb and bestowed upon Yuri a simply majestic Russian accent), a 75-year-old man with a chronic lung condition and an inability to walk long distances. My wife Yomelda and I survive on a monthly Social Security stipend of $726. With that, we must pay for bus fare, our mortgage, groceries, and anything else we might need.
The month-long simulation was broken up into four 15-minute weeks. We were assigned various tasks to be completed during certain weeks, to make the simulation as realistic as possible. For instance, Yomelda and I both had doctor’s appointments, her for her diabetes and me for my chronic lung condition, during week 2. That meant, during week 1, we needed to be sure to buy enough bus fare to last us the entire month, as our poor health prevented us from walking places. The planning and strategizing required to satisfy all of these necessities on such a tight budget was stressful enough – and this was only a simulation.
Week 1 started out fine enough. I headed to the bank to cash our Social Security check, where despite not having an account, I was able to thanks to a loan we had apparently taken out the month prior. I returned home with our $726 (minus paying back the loan) to give to Yomelda, who used our last bus pass to head across town to buy more bus passes. She was able to squeak in a trip to buy groceries before the whistle blew signifying the end of week 1.
Week 2 would be a wake-up call. It started normally; we split up our meager pile of dollars and bus tickets and headed out to complete our weekly tasks. After Yomelda bought the groceries for the week (skimping on them for the first time, thanks to our hefty mortgage and utility payments due that week), she met me at the health clinic for our appointments. Keeping in character, several wistful references to Mother Russia may have been uttered.
The nurse ran through our lengthy list of ailments and prescribed the necessary treatments, periodic blood glucose level tests for Yomelda and an ER trip for me if my lungs start acting up. The ER --welcome to life on Medicare and a fixed income. Without Medicare, however, there is absolutely no way we would have survived the month with enough money for even the barest necessities. (The simulation certainly put a different spin on the seemingly constant debates over the social safety net and entitlement programs.)
To add insult to injury, we returned home to find most of our possessions had been stolen, including a television, cell phone, jewelry, and furniture. Even with our free medicine and various senior discounts prolonging our financial solvency, there’s no way we could afford to replace any of them. A police officer roamed the room during the simulation, but, true to form, she seemed unwilling to provide much assistance.
Weeks 3 and 4 played out similarly. A trip to the food pantry netted a three day supply of food to supplement our dwindling grocery budget. I can only hope Yuri and Yomelda have a community center or bingo hall within walking distance, because they certainly have no money for entertainment. With their phone and computer gone as well, their options for social interaction and stimuli seem bleak.
This impactful simulation was just that - a simulation. It's hard to imagine living your life full-time in such a way, but that is the sad reality for tens of millions of Americans. After the 'month-long' simulation, some of the administrators from Access shared some of their personal stories and experiences with poverty. One woman spoke of a divorce and a failed business and before she knew it, she and her kids were homeless and slipping into a cycle of depression and substance abuse.
Poverty truly can happen to anyone, and in trying economic times, it's not as uncommon or as far away as you might think -- a reality which makes organizations like Access and the awareness they bring all the more important.
We each were assigned a new identity for the simulation. I took on the persona of Yuri Yarrow (I went out a limb and bestowed upon Yuri a simply majestic Russian accent), a 75-year-old man with a chronic lung condition and an inability to walk long distances. My wife Yomelda and I survive on a monthly Social Security stipend of $726. With that, we must pay for bus fare, our mortgage, groceries, and anything else we might need.
The month-long simulation was broken up into four 15-minute weeks. We were assigned various tasks to be completed during certain weeks, to make the simulation as realistic as possible. For instance, Yomelda and I both had doctor’s appointments, her for her diabetes and me for my chronic lung condition, during week 2. That meant, during week 1, we needed to be sure to buy enough bus fare to last us the entire month, as our poor health prevented us from walking places. The planning and strategizing required to satisfy all of these necessities on such a tight budget was stressful enough – and this was only a simulation.
Week 1 started out fine enough. I headed to the bank to cash our Social Security check, where despite not having an account, I was able to thanks to a loan we had apparently taken out the month prior. I returned home with our $726 (minus paying back the loan) to give to Yomelda, who used our last bus pass to head across town to buy more bus passes. She was able to squeak in a trip to buy groceries before the whistle blew signifying the end of week 1.
Week 2 would be a wake-up call. It started normally; we split up our meager pile of dollars and bus tickets and headed out to complete our weekly tasks. After Yomelda bought the groceries for the week (skimping on them for the first time, thanks to our hefty mortgage and utility payments due that week), she met me at the health clinic for our appointments. Keeping in character, several wistful references to Mother Russia may have been uttered.
The nurse ran through our lengthy list of ailments and prescribed the necessary treatments, periodic blood glucose level tests for Yomelda and an ER trip for me if my lungs start acting up. The ER --welcome to life on Medicare and a fixed income. Without Medicare, however, there is absolutely no way we would have survived the month with enough money for even the barest necessities. (The simulation certainly put a different spin on the seemingly constant debates over the social safety net and entitlement programs.)
To add insult to injury, we returned home to find most of our possessions had been stolen, including a television, cell phone, jewelry, and furniture. Even with our free medicine and various senior discounts prolonging our financial solvency, there’s no way we could afford to replace any of them. A police officer roamed the room during the simulation, but, true to form, she seemed unwilling to provide much assistance.
Weeks 3 and 4 played out similarly. A trip to the food pantry netted a three day supply of food to supplement our dwindling grocery budget. I can only hope Yuri and Yomelda have a community center or bingo hall within walking distance, because they certainly have no money for entertainment. With their phone and computer gone as well, their options for social interaction and stimuli seem bleak.
This impactful simulation was just that - a simulation. It's hard to imagine living your life full-time in such a way, but that is the sad reality for tens of millions of Americans. After the 'month-long' simulation, some of the administrators from Access shared some of their personal stories and experiences with poverty. One woman spoke of a divorce and a failed business and before she knew it, she and her kids were homeless and slipping into a cycle of depression and substance abuse.
Poverty truly can happen to anyone, and in trying economic times, it's not as uncommon or as far away as you might think -- a reality which makes organizations like Access and the awareness they bring all the more important.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
World Cup
To say I've been enjoying the World Cup so far would be an understatement. My only complaint is the games are too tightly scheduled together. Who has 7-8 hours per day to watch soccer? I wish, but sadly a few other things have remained on my schedule this month besides just watching the action from Brazil.
The world's biggest sporting event has seen an amazing mix of upset wins (Netherlands over Spain!), thrilling goals (John Brooks of the US vs. Ghana!), and upstart countries poised to make historic runs to the final 16 (Who had Chile, Costa Rica, and Algeria in their WC brackets??). The goal-scoring pace, is the highest since 1970 and over a goal/game higher than the 2010 Cup. Maybe it's the design of adidas' groundbreaking Brazuca ball, a more aerodynamic ball with only six patches and internal stitching, or maybe it's the laid-back Brazilian culture and the way they've mastered o joga bonito, 'the beautiful game', that's inspired such entertaining play. Whatever it is, it's been a joy to watch. The coolest part is seeing 32 countries from all over the globe, each with their own culture, style of play, even hairstyles, match up on an even playing field and duke it out for soccer supremacy.
Here's my favorite goal so far, frame-by-frame:
USA plays next on Tuesday, July 1st, at 4pm.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sir Richard Branson at the Economics Club
He is dyslexic, which if you read Malcolm Gladwell's latest book you'd be convinced is not so much a hindrance as a surmountable obstacle that bestows upon its sufferers useful traits, like an ability to work hard, negotiate and think outside the box. By struggling to read and understand what was going on in school, he didn't achieve the sort of success early on you might have expected from someone of his stature.
He grew up with a very strict mother and a slightly easier father; at age 15, he convinced them to let him drop out of school to start a magazine. This would be the first of over 400 companies he's started during his life. A funny story he told was years after he left school, and had made a little money, the headmaster came calling for a donation, in the hopes of building a new girls dormitory. Not having enjoyed his time at the school very much, Branson said he'd only give if he could name the dorm after his company. (Virgin, for the slow ones.) Needless to say, the headmaster stopped calling.
The magazine taught him the art of survival and from there he was off. His airline was started almost on a lark - needing to get somewhere quickly (I think he said he had to meet a beautiful woman somewhere outside of driving distance), his only hope was to charter a private plane, which at the time he could barely afford to do. He set up a sign in the airport selling seats on his chartered ride for $29, and sold them all in almost no time. His interest piqued, he called up Boeing to inquire about how to buy a used 747, and Virgin Airlines was born.
He battled the incumbent British Airways incessantly, leading to this epic stunt:
I was woken up at 5.30am one morning to be told that the BA-sponsored London Eye had a technical problem - they couldn't erect it.They had the world's press waiting to see it going up and I knew we had a duty to give them something to look at. We had an airship company just outside London so we scrambled a blimp and the end result was an airship flying over the wheel bearing the slogan 'BA Can't Get It Up'!!
His business philosophies are refreshing. His entire goal in any business endeavor he starts or joins is to make his customers lives better, and at the end of the day to be proud of his products. He's heavily philanthropic and noted that business leaders can and should do more to tackle the problems of the world. After all, personal freedom comes from economic freedom. He talked a lot about the importance of resolving conflicts before they escalate out of control and into lose-lose situations for all of the parties involved. He was actually part of an envoy set to visit Saddam Hussein to encourage him to acquiesce and cooperate on the verge of the US invasion in 2003. Sadly, that meeting was just a few days late - the bombing started the day before they were set to fly in.
It's not hard to see why he's so successful. He leads from a position of warmth and openness - he espouses the virtues of praising his employees and celebrating their successes rather than becoming angry at their failures. Clearly, with the wide array of ventures he's got going at any one time, he needs to be a good delegator and surround himself with good people.
You may have heard about his space travel company, called Virgin Galatic. That might be the last frontier he has yet to conquer - and you can join him too! (for the low, low price of $250,000.)
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