Applied Smart Power by a SEAL

[Firn]

I carried for a long time a crazy idea, taken out of Keynes Magnus Opus:

If--for whatever reason--the rate of interest cannot fall as fast as the marginal efficiency of capital would fall with a rate of accumulation corresponding to what the community would choose to save at a rate of interest equal to the marginal efficiency of capital in conditions of full employment, then even a diversion of the desire to hold wealth towards assets, which will in fact yield no economic fruits whatever, will increase economic well-being. In so far as millionaires find their satisfaction in building mighty mansions to contain their bodies when alive and pyramids to shelter them after death, or, repenting of their sins, erect cathedrals and endow monasteries or foreign missions, the day when abundance of capital will interfere with abundance of output may be postponed. "To dig holes in the ground," paid for out of savings, will increase, not only employment, but the real national dividend of useful goods and services. It is not reasonable, however, that a sensible community should be content to remain dependent on such fortuitous and often wasteful mitigations when once we understand the influences upon which effective demand depends.

In Afghanistan we have the trouble that men out of work are for understandable reasons easy to recruit to help or fight for the enemy, as Rob said. There has been and there still should be a lot of money around to invest into Afghanistan. There are many excellent projects around, but for a great many reasons they are difficult to implement. But I reckon that the need for good planning and oversight so as to not squander the money does greatly reduce the speed in which things are built and thus the money goes into pockets. So even inefficient and partly questionable yet very laborious activities as pickaxing roads through a valley or paying villagers to pile up walls could do a great deal of good by primary and secundary effects.

First it puts people at work and helps them to bring something home. Secondly they are less likely to support directly the enemy. With the money they earn they can consume what they think to need most. This stimulates the local economy by bringing in earned money and lessening the security threat. Of course this all sounds simple and is still is difficult to do. It will certainly also foster corruption and a host of other problems like inflation but it might be a part of a sensible approach for the most pressing problems. Just thinking as a whole like a drunken sailor and not like an accountant might actually help.


Firn