I learned about political oppression in my classes in political science. That is the way democracy is suffocated: No freedom of speech and whoever speaks against the approved line of thought, dictated by the oppressing government, might end up in jail; You have to follow the official narrative.Democracy is supposed to be different. Freedom of speech. Freedom of expression. Freedom to dissent. But it appears to me this freedom is getting increasingly under attack. Not formally. No laws. No education on what is right and what is wrong. No official censors. 

Every system — whether it is a person, a family, a company or a country —to be healthy must be effective and efficient in both the short and the longrun. I’ve discovered there are four roles (PAEI), which can be viewed as organizational vitamins, that need to be performed well in order for the system to be healthy.

Ichak Adizes, one of the world's most famous business consultants, gave an exclusive interview for the Creative Society project.

My cardiologist quit his profession and took a job as an administrator for an insurance company, reviewing heart problem claims. He was required by Medicare to charge fees as if he was practicing on a farm on the border of Mexico. However, he lived and practiced in one of the most affluent communities in America, where the cost of living is very high. Some bureaucrat designed the borders of this region for Medicare charges without regard to the differences in the cost of living inside the region. He made better money and with less stress as a bureaucrat than as a practicing cardiologist. Most of the doctors in Santa Barbara do not take Medicare due to the low fees and the amount of paper work involved.

Antisemitism represents a much broader problem. There are countries in the world that have no Jews. They still hate the Jews. People there don’t know what a Jew is, how a Jew looks like, how a Jew behaves. They still hate them. What’s going on? When there are problems that people cannot easily analyze and understand, they look for an explanation. It is human nature to seek explanations. We cannot live in a situation where we don’t know what’s going on and simply accept ignorance. This human need for understanding gave birth to research. To science. To education. To religion.

My commentary on Kazakhstan and Ukraine - Russian situation got strong comments from the readers. It calls for a response. If a doctor explains to a patient why he got a heart attack does it mean the doctor supports heart attacks? In interpersonal or international relations, which are loaded with prejudices and strong positions,

I hear from many American friends that the whole reason why Russia is threatening Ukraine and making ultimatums is that Russia wants to expand and has aspirations to rebuild the Soviet Union. That is why it is in Kazakhstan and is now threatening Ukraine.I have a different analysis of the situation. Last week, I wrote a commentary about the situation in Kazakhstan. Now let us focus on Ukraine.On the Eastern side of Ukraine live two-million Russians who speak Russian. Who eat Russian food. Who sing Russian songs. The West wants to expand NATO to Ukraine, which includes these two-million Russians.

When he was the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, I served as a consultant to Karim Massimov, the former head of national security for that country who is now in jail under charges of treason. I spent many, many days over a period of two years working with him.I spent time with former President Nazarbayev as well, who after a few consultations asked for further services, which I could not provide. I had to go on dialysis and eventually had a kidney transplant.

Breaking news – Facebook has changed its name to Meta. The first question we all asked ourselves when we heard was – what is Meta? The second – why? The term “metaverse” comes from science fiction and refers to a 3D virtual world inhabited by avatars of real people. Facebook defines it as a set of virtual spaces in which you can create and explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space as you. It is a concept that is broader than any one application, and it can be used anywhere – an excellent focal point for R&D efforts, with the potential for a bright future.

Some readers in their commentary asked me if it is the Scandinavian model of socially conscious capitalism. It is better than vulgar capitalism but it is not good enough. The tax rate in these countries discourages economic growth. By the way, at the beginning of the 1970's I was invited by the Prime Minister of Sweden to deliver a presentation on industrial democracy to the parliament. Later I was on stage with Olaf Palme, the future Prime MInister of Sweden. They were exploring what model to use. You can say Germany also has something better than vulgar capitalism. It is called co-determination where unions sit on the board of companies. More integration than the confrontative, adversary relationships the capitalist system fosters.