Hryts on Economics

By Volodymyr Kish

The modern world is indeed a complicated and confusing place, and over the past decade, nothing has been more confusing to the average Ivan than the strange world of economics.  Our lives have been buffeted and at times deeply distressed by the apparently uncontrollable and chaotic behaviour of global financial markets which have wreaked havoc on budgets and the financial well being of both individuals as well as nations.  Bankruptcy, bail-out and belt-tightening have become standard topics as much at the family dinner table as in corporate boardrooms.  It seems that even the basic premises of the free enterprise system are being questioned, despite its relatively recent decisive victory over the disastrous Marxist-Communist experiment.

I too have been greatly troubled by the chronic economic instability that has become the implacable conundrum of our age.  My RRSP’s have taken a beating, my salary as a government worker has been frozen, and my long planned and anticipated golden years of retirement are losing their 24-karat sheen and looking more like pig iron.

As usual when I am perplexed by inscrutable issues, I turn to the wise man of Pidkamin, my cousin Hryts (also known to the locals as the Hercules of horseradish and Genghis Khan of garlic).  Hryts lives off the beaten path in the little known village of Pidkamin on the road between Brody and Ternopil in Western Ukraine.  One would think that Pidkaminites would take me to task for alluding to them as being “off the beaten path”, yet, quite the opposite is true – they jealously guard their relative anonymity, preferring to keep their pastoral tranquility and agreeable lifestyle to themselves.  Having had the pleasure of enjoying Pidkamin’s charms, I can understand why.

But, to get to the point, I called Hryts recently and related the details of my economic malaise to him in gory detail.

As usual after hearing me rant or whine, he chuckled, and I could hear him working his thinking liulka (pipe), drawing in the smoke from the aromatic Turkish tobacco that was one of his few extravagancies.  I recall him once telling me that their pipe tobacco was the only positive thing to come out of some one thousand years of troubled Ukrainian-Turkish relations.

“My young turnip,” he exclaimed, “you’ve been reading too many books and not thinking straight.  Economics, like its twin brother, Politics is in essence ridiculously simple. The problem is that the majority of the people, you included, allow yourself to be deluded and manipulated by people with fancy degrees, honey-coated tongues and snake oil to sell.”

“But,” I protested, “the modern world of finance and global markets has become incredibly complicated – we are living in a world of swaps, derivatives, syndication, securitization and so on. Understanding all of this is difficult and regulating it has become next to impossible!”

“Aha!” he exclaimed loudly, “You have found the clove of garlic in the bowl of soup!  The movers and shakers at the top of your economic pyramid have deliberately made it so, so that they can pick your pocket and blame it on the reality of complicated ‘market forces’ at work.  They count on the average person’s greed and lack of financial expertise, coupled with the absence of government regulation to create ever more complex financial scams. And, holding the vast majority of any country’s wealth, they can “buy” political insurance against their government’s interference in their profitable enterprises.  And frankly, it is independent of the form of government – it works equally effectively in oligarchic Ukraine as in free enterprise America.”

“But,” I protested, “that sounds very much like the Marxist interpretation of history and economics.”

“Marxist, Shmarxist!” he retorted. “It’s got nothing to do with Marxism or Capitalism, and everything to do with basic human nature.  The shrewd and the ruthless will always prey on their credulous brethren, whatever system of government you have.  We will finally attain civilization when we have a responsible government that finds the right balance of control so that the smart and ambitious have enough free rein to innovate and create wealth, while at the same time ensuring that they don’t do so at the cost of impoverishing and economically enslaving the ‘unwashed masses’ who only desire a reasonable opportunity at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Hryts, as usual, once again demonstrated his talent for making even the most obtuse things clear.