The Games People Play

Read this, read this, read it!!!

I.T., a friend at MIT, casually sent me the article, adding that one of the main reasons why he enjoys economics is that this particular field of study toys with people through experiments. In my mind's eye emerged the image of a puppet show - a marionette guided by two giant hands - and I could not help but share my fears with him. I told him that economic policies often serve the interests of few and thus, inequality is brewed. From inequality spur jealousy, violence, conflicts and instability. Envy is not a deadly sin for nothing.

Then I was reminded of a recent discussion on inequality and how it was time to change my stubborn attitude towards the phenomenon. While some level of inequality and unequal distribution of income is required for growth, too much of it most likely creates more problems than solutions. One must keep an open mind when it comes to social policies, but remain focused on the goal of encouraging investment and entrepreneur opportunities.

"You never know what policy is going to be effective for what group of people," my friend elaborated. And this is what I find most curious (and frustrating, sure) about economics. A single policy has so many variables for all of which it is impossible to control, so many possible and hardly foreseeable outcomes. Case studies can be helpful and we can learn from past mistakes, but who knows if the same economic theory can apply universally without catastrophic consequences.

I suppose this is where sociology and psychology come in handy. Or as my friend cleverly pointed out, "The more you know about people, the easier it is to manipulate them."