VIEWPOINT 2

THE ECONOMIST, THE POLITICIAN AND THE MAN IN THE STREET: THE KINETIC THEORY OF GASES

It was not my intention to publish this VIEWPOINT so soon after the first; however, events have pre-empted my intention……

Let us not fool ourselves; we (as in the world) are on the edge of the cliff. Recently the IMF published its World Economic Outlook (all 242 pages of it). It is NOT bed-time reading and although it paints a pretty dismal picture, an underlying message of “don’t panic” can be found deep inside. Being contrarian by nature, I question this.

Firstly, take the economists point of view: “Here you are, stuck between a rock and a hard place but don’t worry; go about your daily routine as ‘we’ have everything under control. We have the tools to overcome the situation - but it’s those damned politicians who won’t or can’t understand what medicine we are prescribing for the ‘patient’ and as a consequence make your life misery.” (That’s their subliminal message).

Now, the politicians: “We only have your welfare and well-being at heart. Yes, you are faced with severe problems and we are slowly implementing what we consider strategies that are in your best interests; naturally these take time to filter through the systems, but trust us.” (Oh, yeah?).

To the average man in the street, all he wants is his job, his salary, to be looked after when he is ill, to have an acceptable level of social services available as and when they are needed. He doesn’t give an atom for global geopolitics, for empty promises or threats from external organisations to reduce spending or cut services – a quiet life is what he desires. Just ask any Greek you meet.

Which leads me to the kinetic theory of gases. In VERY simple terms, this states that it is impossible to accurately predict the speed or trajectory of any single molecule of gas, but given a sufficient number, one can extrapolate their velocity and direction. My equation is therefore simple:

1 molecule of gas = 1 average man in the street

Individually, we are zero in the eyes of economists and politicians; we are there to do their bidding, to lay down our lives for them, to get rich or poor depending on their “views and needs”; they are unable to deal with us in small numbers but given a sufficient number, they are probably well-pleased with their efforts. The problem with this is that there are more losers than winners! And the losers are NEVER them! I am not promoting revolution, merely seeking valid answers to valid questions….

From one ‘molecule’ to another, I wish you all every success,

Peripatetic Scribe