Why?

The magistrates never engage the people in unnecessary labor, since the chief end of the constitution is to regulate labor by the necessities of the public, and to allow all the people as much time as is necessary for the improvement of their minds, in which they think the happiness of life consists.


-Thomas Moore. Utopia. 1901.

Sometimes, it really takes only one image (Photo: Courtesy of www.un.org) to remind me of why I am doing all this grad school thing. I am an idealist and can't lose my utopian dream that somehow, through the little things I accomplish, the world might just become a better place for its most vulnerable citizens. Through the prism of this image, all the long and dry papers on the politics of development that I read tonight all of a sudden serve some purpose. I am sure that all of you who read my blog can find a visualization for your sources of professional motivation. Please, show me when you have a minute.