Jonathan Marks: In praise of conflict
جوناثان ماركس: على الحكومات أن تكافح الشركات لا أن تتعاون معها.
Jonathan Marks works at the intersections of ethics, law and policy -- writing and speaking about torture, obesity, fracking, health care and other pressing issues of our time. Full bio
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and human rights lawyer
by an accident of history,
بمصادفة التاريخ،
who had just quit his job
one morning and said,
about human rights abuses in China."
الإنسان في الصين."
about human rights abuses in China
حقوق الإنسان في الصين
trade relations with China."
with his tail between his legs,
he returned again to his boss,
about human rights in Burma,"
do anything about human rights in Burma
حقوق الإنسان في بورما
any trade relations with Burma."
he knew he had to leave.
that got to him.
with other governments,
were being harmed.
a vision of the world.
who are not at the table,
an obligation to protect.
somewhat skeptical of a lawyer
giving talks about ethics for free.
عن الأخلاق مجاناً.
I'm downwardly mobile.
أن يذكّرني، فأنا متحرك إلى الأسفل.
we lead our personal lives,
التي نقود بها حياتنا الخاصة،
to one side for the moment,
we think about major problems
بها في المشاكل العظيمة
in the United States,
في الولايات المتحدة،
three branches of government,
and the judicial branch.
more sacred in our Constitution,
في دستورنا،
and the judicial powers."
والقضائية عن بعضها البعض."
and exercise of power.
the perils of influence.
the constitutionality of laws
of government accountable
الحكومة الآخرى
relationships with them.
as one famous scholar put it,
struggle with each other.
حقاً مع بعضها البعض.
the importance of struggle
get together and agree
الأمريكيتين إتفقتا
below 250 dollars a ticket.
للتذكرة الواحدة.
some would say collusion,
two airlines were to say,
شركتي طيران قالتا:
the route from LA to Chicago,"
من لوس أنجلوس حتى شيكاغو،"
the route from Chicago to DC,
من شيكاغو وحتى واشنطن العاصمة،
or collusion instead of competition,
وليس منافسة،
the importance of struggle
between branches of government,
بين أفرع الحكومة،
the importance of conflict
among corporations,
between the public and the private.
are collaborating with industry
and the environment,
with the very corporations
the problems they are trying to solve.
المشاكل التي يحاولون حلها.
decided to address a serious problem:
في المناطق الريفية في الهند.
with national and local governments
الوطنية والمحلية
multinational soda company.
than one million dollars,
of a months-long promotional campaign
من الدعاية الترويجية
and color scheme.
for its products.
التجارية لمنتجاتها.
for the intergovernmental agency,
للوكالة الحكومية الدولية،
to promote sustainable living.
لتعزيز المعيشة المستدامة.
of sugar-sweetened beverages
المحلاة بالسكر
and drunk out of plastic bottles
وتشرب من قوارير بلاستيكية
grappling with obesity,
from a public health
one public health problem,
بالصحة العامة،
of dozens I discovered
من بين العشرات التي اكتشفتها
between government and industry.
بين الحكومة والصناعة.
about the initiatives in parks
promoting exercise,
creating voluntary pledges
وهي تخلق تعهدات تطوعية
have become the paradigm in public health,
نموذجاً في الصحة العامة،
from the point of view of industry.
public health problems and their solutions
الصحة العامة وحلولها
their commercial interests.
and lack of physical activity.
involving major corporations.
الجنسيات يشمل شركات كبرى.
in strategies of influence
to which industry will not agree.
والتي ستكون ضد مصالح الصناعة.
to increased regulation
stave off even more regulation
out of the market.
to do certain things,
of their unhealthy products,
منتجاتهم غير الصحية،
competition law,
means reaching agreement with industry.
الوصول لاتفاق مع الصناعة.
have been sold.
is building a well pad on your land.
of the Hallowich family.
of the noise, vibration
from the flaring of natural gas.
من حرق الغاز الطبيعي.
where this image appeared,
حيث ظهرت هذه الصورة،
we discovered why they fell silent.
"What happened to the Hallowiches?"
"ماذا حدث لعائلة هالويتش؟"
had made a secret settlement
ابرمت اتفاقاً سرياً
a take-it-or-leave-it settlement.
and start your lives again,
of your experience with our company,
مع شركتنا،
experience with fracking,
by a medical examination.
the Hallowiches for accepting
to silence a squeaky wheel.
في إسكات عجلة صارخة.
is the legal and regulatory system,
القانوني والتنظيمي،
networks of agreements
and seal off data points
وختم نقاط البيانات
and epidemiologists,
from issuing a violation notice
bad from a public health point of view;
من وجهة نظر الصحة العامة؛
not because they are isolated examples.
ليس لأنهما مثالان معزولان.
of the public official
suicidal thoughts in adolescents.
تزيد من أفكار الإنتحار لدى المراهقين.
who went after the food company
الذي اقتفى أثر شركة غذائية
health benefits of its yogurt.
المزعومة للزبادي الذي تبيعه.
directed at both sides of the aisle
الموجه من كلا الجانبين
in the darkness,
we need to engage in conflict.
إلى الإنخراط في الصراع.
in direct conflict with corporations.
are inherently good
act to promote their commercial interests,
لتعزيز مصالحها التجارية،
undermining or promoting the common good.
إما لتقويض أو تعزيز الصالح العام.
of governments
of our common good.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Marks - Bioethicist, lawyerJonathan Marks works at the intersections of ethics, law and policy -- writing and speaking about torture, obesity, fracking, health care and other pressing issues of our time.
Why you should listen
After studying law at Oxford University, Jonathan Marks qualified as a barrister and mediator, and he spent a decade in full-time practice in London. He became an expert on human rights, working on cases about torture (the Pinochet case), the protection of privacy and personal data, and the regulation of food, drugs and the environment.
The Greenwall Fellowship in Bioethics and Health Policy at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities led to his current appointment as Director of the Bioethics Program at Penn State University, where he is also affiliated with the Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs. He remains an academic member of Matrix, a London barristers' chambers with offices in Geneva.
Marks is passionate about teaching and lecturing, as his TED talk, and an article in the New York Times both attest. The talk offers a preview of his book manuscript, The Perils of Partnership. It also draws on research he conducted during his six-year affiliation with the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard and during residencies at the Hastings Center and at the Brocher Foundation in Geneva.
Learn more about Marks's ideas from several articles, essays, and op-eds here.
Jonathan Marks | Speaker | TED.com