May 17, 2009 | E.W.F, Speeches, Voice of Ethiopia (past)
Article from the original Voice of Ethiopia
Volume 2, Number 35
Saturday September 24, 1938
We must choose between collective action and individual action. Human beings are drawn together living in communities for their mutual benefit. They are drawn by an instructive force to live together in groups for their mutual protection. But frequently they fail to avail themselves completely of the benefits of collective action.
Individual Action
There is no system which cannot be shown to possess some advantage over another system which has the same purpose. Individual action has certain advantages over collective action. When government is in the hands of one man or a small group decision can be made more quickly and executed with greater speed than when it depends on collective action.
But the possibilities of effort are far greater. A man’s knowledge and experience are limited, his emotions are at times unreliable. For these reasons error is more likely to occur than if he had the knowledge and experience of many persons to draw upon.
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May 17, 2009 | H.I.M, Speeches
Ever since We were entrusted with the responsibility of leading Ethiopia, one of the several wishes We cherished for Our people has been to witness the arrival of a time when Our people will be able to realize their problems as well as potentialities and through mutual discussions come out with solutions for improvement.
In order to bring about the fulfilment of Our idea, We established the Ministry of National Community Development eight years ago. Our first directive to the Ministry was in short to go down to village level and give instructions by which the people can improve living conditions and solve social problems.
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May 17, 2009 | H.I.M, History, Speeches
Emperor Haile Selassie I
“Life is full of trials and tribulations, and man in his struggle to survive and guide his own destiny has to be prepared to meet its many challenges, particularly in our modern world.
Education can harness man’s immense potential and enable him to be better equipped in his lifelong pursuit so that he can utilize his strength and intellect to the highest use. Mankind has benefited from this through the ages. Much as man has progressed in the scientific and technological fields, he has not made a parallel endeavor to enrich himself spiritually. The materialism of today is overriding the spiritual values to the extent that today we observe a lot of unrest and social upheavals which have become common phenomena the world over.
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