Solving the economic puzzle – step one

The economic force is absolutely fascinating to watch. It’s like a big monster that makes the world turn on its axis and nobody quite understands how all of it works. However much we theorise, there are always some unknown depths that haven’t quite been explored as yet. Then we see all these explanations of why food prices (among others) are doubling and tripling and quadrupling like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe there’s a correct answer in there somewhere. Maybe they’re all right. Maybe they’re all wrong.

Understanding Economics

One commonality that most often comes across though is that all these explanations set out with an angle in mind. They go on to paint a part of the picture, and the rest of the canvas is yours – literally. It’s an open invitation to get creative, and while we do end up with a masterpiece of speculation in our hands, those little hungry tummies dotted all over the globe only get emptier than ever. They all insist on what the solution should be – based on a reality that existed at the time – when the theory that propagated a certain answer was formulated. Some are more pragmatic; but then the question arises as to how exactly to measure that reality that has to be dealt with? Is one human perception as good as another? Or do we have to contend with the ’best intentions’ of those actually in a position to take practical steps?
We are flooded with a cloudburst of information that the layman cannot make head or tail of. This could be the answer, or that, or the other. Your conclusions are your own to draw. Perhaps it is that unanimous inquiry that will present the solid, tangible reality to us at last. About why economic ‘growth’ appears to be the primary objective of any government, about why it has become a fundamental truth we start building on instead of examining its repercussions first. We know it’s our consumer who holds the strings in his hands, but why is that so important anyway? Why is consumption the gear that makes the machine work? Let me rephrase; why is consumption the only gear that motivates the wheel to turn? Is it really true that we live a life of pain and struggle, get ourselves education, work and work and work and face each new day that comes with the main thought in our head being that at the end of all this we get to consume more?
I’m not moralizing. I’m curious. Because if this really is the case – as it very much seems to be in most parts of the world – then it lays the basis for an ethic in itself. If we’re not careful, and are busy consuming and consuming more, then consuming the most becomes THE ethic. Why should we not analyse it as one then?

An economist is an artist

It’s all very well to keep our area of focus narrow, so we can dig deeper. For clarity’s sake, maybe there isn’t really another way. But the problem is that this is not how we make our everyday decisions. We consider the implications a conclusion regarding one sphere would have on all the other spheres that overlap and follow on. Or at least, we’d be better off doing so. So that one decision can never be made using only that one set of data. It’s like putting blinkers on.
The true economist is an artist. He puts in layers and layers of colour, tweaking a little here and a little there. He throws aside his fancy brushes and paints with his fingers. He paints till the final result is such that nobody can fail to appreciate. Before you get up to condemn me to no closer than a hundred metres of the word ‘economics’, let me elaborate. It is an exact science only to the beginner, or even the intermediate. Science is what gives it its systematic structure, its theory basis, its research. But when it comes to interpreting and applying that to a real situation – very often life and death cases – it’s the normative sense that takes over. Right now, we don’t need theories we need results that everyone can see, or at least steps towards a result that everyone can at least try to foresee. And for that, maybe it is time that we jump into the playing field.

Optimism with perspective

Why bring the layman into such a complicated field? Well, as far as he’s concerned, cut the complications. But we can all see, feel, hear and even smell the boiling pot simmering faster and faster ‘out there’. Pakistan is fighting natural disasters, manmade disasters, terror, hunger, lawlessness and a hundred other things. The Key word is that we’re “fighting”. We will continue to do so. But our solidarity is best conveyed through sharing that best of treasures: Hope.
No matter how bad things get, the idea that our experts are working hard and getting results that we can see, however slowly, is a ray of hope for everyone. That’s why, just a bit of communication, a bit of reassurance that that average person can actually understand, even just some advice, some understanding of why and how and what, would go a long way.
And we should all be able to do this for ourselves. That’s a part of why it’s so important to learn to ask the questions first, rather than jump straight to bickering about the answers. As stated above, maybe there aren’t completely right or wrong answers. Everybody would view a picture with their own brand of genius, through their own particular goggles. Add it all together and you get a dimensional view, zoomed in and zoomed out, and that’s enough detail for a lot of debate. Discussion is healthy- it will broaden the picture further. It will also add new aspects to ‘right’ and ‘wrong’- or ‘practical’ and ‘impractical’ as far as policy implementation is concerned. But there’s no way to know whether the topic at hand is truly the most relevant and necessary one until we’ve sorted out our faculty of inquiry.

Reassessing fundamentals

When we move forward at the speed of light, it starts demonstrating quite so many complex problems; maybe it’s high time to retrace our steps a bit. Maybe we need to reassess the fundamentals. For example, if money- too much or too little- really is the root of most troubles, then is that an inherent characteristic if the entity in and of itself? Or is it only unquestionably true because you and I believe it to be? Do we need aid as a matter of basic subsistence as we are made to believe we do, or to satisfy our wants rather than needs? Are we really helpless in the face of our own policy makers, or do we have only ourselves to blame? And again, if we had our priorities straight at this time of crisis, would our ‘wants’ really matter at all?
The list goes on and on. When a certain mindset becomes the ethic of a community, it must be tackled on a number of fronts. Critical thinking is our strongest weapon at a time like this. Even if we are forced to draw the conclusion that we must go back to the root and start building again, on the psychological and therefore policy-wise approach, tightening our belts and taking the leap now is perhaps a better option than waiting for matters to get out of hand altogether. And this is the worst-case scenario. We are all first-hand witnesses of how the nation is sustaining the struggle today- and has been doing so for an unbelievable will with unbelievable courage. Our losses have been exponential. Yet here we are. This should be the greatest proof of our abilities and potential, and our resilience in the face of a daunting task. But the time to make the corrections is now. The massive relief efforts by our students especially show how economically aware this nation is becoming, because ultimately it is simply a question of surviving and surviving well.
Some might define ‘surviving well’ as ‘surviving happily’- and that’s certainly something everyone can understand. It doesn’t involve any money either. ‘Material prosperity’ and the ‘production, consumption, and transfer of wealth’ must be questioned, understood, and must only be improved, but they certainly aren’t something to die for or live for.

The writer is a freelance contributor