Assume that our entire planet consists of only five people - one farmer, one doctor, one architect, one blacksmith and one butcher. There is no money involved in this system and everybody renders their services in exchange for the services received from the other. Let us concentrate on the butcher. He grows five hens. These five hens produce five eggs daily. He consumes one egg and the other four eggs are distributed to the other four. So this system consumes perfectly. He gets sick exactly twice in a year. His house is repaired twice in a year. And he gets food from the farmer every season. Similarly, there is perfect harmony in this system.
This went on for years and years when suddenly another butcher landed from another planet. He had ten hens with him and so he came up with an offer - two eggs instead of the one egg that is now being offered.
* The story is a short analogy of how capitalism works. One person has to lose for another to win. So, there will always be losers. Communism tried to build a system of not having losers by either killing the second butcher or by putting the first butcher on welfare where he gets services for free though he does not render any service. The system failed!
* The butcher from the other planet denotes revolutions (scientific and sociological). And revolutions put people out of work.
* So, what all the people in the world are trying to do is to find innovative ways to put others out of work. From the barter system to high funda stuff like sub-prime mortgages, newer and newer ways to put others out of work are being formed.
* In a system where everyone cannot be a winner, what do we do with the losers?
* Is this a justification for charity? Everybody else in the planet should try and do something for the poor butcher. Or should everyone work more and eat more eggs (from both the butchers)?
Please share your thoughts…
PS: And you wanted to do an MBA to understand these questions? Sheez!
