MANILA, Philippines — In a zero sum game, there is only one pie and of one size so that between two contenders what one gets is the loss of the other. For a win-win situation the critical thing is to have a bigger pie or another pie.

To do this, one has to innovate and produce the bigger pie to share.

This is true of negotiations from Spratlys to NPA or MILF; in personal negotiations from marriage to business deals. Here thinking out of the box can help.

Sometimes the solution can be staring us in the face but we do not see it for we are not looking for it there. The ideal is if we can enlarge the pie or find another pie so each one gets what he needs or wants. The ideal is a win-win situation. This makes everybody happy.

In this world, the problem is that there is only a finite amount of goods at our disposal. If there were no limit, there would be no problem. But even though we have a limit to resources we can always look for more or create an increase. It may not be limitless but man’s ingenuity can make more available.

Improved productivity is a partial solution. How can we produce more from the same resources so that everyone gets what he needs? A second help is creativity; to create what we need or can use.

Sometimes there are unused resources or not presently of immediate use. For example, the water hyacinth that is clogging our rivers can provide the fiber for hand bags, as someone is already doing in Manila, or it can produce the organic fertilizer that can cut the need for chemical fertilizers; it may even be used instead of asbestos in providing roofing with a mixture of cement or chemical binders from bagasse.

Another example is the janitor fish that is a pest on the Marikina River which could serve as fishmeal for the poultry industry. Problems will crop up with innovation. Problems can always have solutions.

We have had a good year economically but visitors to our neighbors like Vietnam find our progress miniscule compared to the progress of our neighbors. We have always been told to get our act together. We are but not everyone, it seems, is already putting his shoulder to the task.

 Is this true? We may just not be aware, as we are not orchestrated from a central point but each one may already be helping to pull the cart of the nation while, at the same time, doing a lot of carping against fellow citizens. We have gotten used to calling for others to change and to move forward. However, besides carping at the same time, we may not have been idle. We carp but, at the same time, are doing something for the nation.

Results are what count. Even the Constitutions are just another instrument to promote the welfare of the citizens. The rule of law is better than any other system that we have tried. But even that, we must not forget, is just an instrument and not the objective.

The test of the pudding is in the eating; not on how it was baked or the ingredients that were used. Does that mean that the end justifies the means? Of course not, but if the means are not thoroughly evil or harmful, we must weigh the negative results against the intended end. Killing cannot be justified by any rationalization for it is taking life which does not belong to us but only to the Creator.

However, is some violence justified if one is willing to take the consequences? Is Inday Sara justified in doing what she did? Is the Chinese lady justified in trying to catch the baby falling ten floors at the risk of her life and of broken limbs?

Is the policeman justified in beating up the drug pusher in his community where our laws are unable to provide safety or justice? Why do we need to constantly revise our laws? Are we bent on serving and loving God and our neighbor? Do we really love our country? Are we bent on serving the welfare of the people?

Are we justified in espousing minor violence in fighting for justice? Together with more questions, we have to say there are no absolutes. Or are there? Do we end up with sloganeering or advocating the ideal but know we won’t ever get there? Love God above all things and your neighbour as yourself. Do unto others what you would others do unto you. So help me Lord. Do not put me to the test. <emeterio_barcelon@yahoo.com>