In these early days of Lent I have come across a good reason to stay with my career: I don't entirely believe in its fundamental concern. Or rather I believe that it's fundamental concern is essential but it is also the basis for economic abuses and misperception of value. Private property is a very helpful feature of society but only up to a point. Beyond which we get the increased isolation and huge disparity between have and have-not that we see in the US and between various parts of the globe.
However, having no Land Administration System at all makes it even more difficult for those on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. Creating land records is the beginning of a path that can create reasonable wealth for the most people. It can be an important part of the technologies which help to underly a society based on enough.
There is a justice concern wrapped up in all the day to day work of maps, deed searches, comparable sales, and poring over county and assessor data. In some of my reading today ("Land Administration for Sustainable Development" from ESRI Press) I found this hopeful and helpful tidbit:
The international land policy literature observes three components within the broad goal of sustainability:
* Efficiency and promotion of economic development
* Equality and social justice
* Environmental preservation and a sustainable pattern of land use (GTZ 1998; Deninger 2003)
You never know what might come of remaining engaged here. An opportunity through the GIScorps or my own company's international efforts might open up a pathway to contribute to a world based on enough rather than just more without end. I can certainly get behind that.
Blessings to you on the Jerusalem road.
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