And while the debate on the economy is gaining momentum, perhaps we ought to start by defining the animal itself. I imagine that the most effective way to understand what we are dealing with is to first appreciate what it is. This is logic at play. And that is what complicates this debate; that logic is not entirely common, and can at times be very subjective. Therefore, to narrow the parameters of this complex matter will help accelerate ideas and solutions that can solve our shortcomings. Defining the economy will immediately affect not only what we are doing, but also how we are doing it. It will transform our mind to set it in complete tandem with the future we are leading to. We already know the sort of future that lies ahead if we keep in the current trajectory. And to keep using the same consciousness [that birthed our current situation] to solve the problems that we face, is nothing short of madness. And this is where our quest must begin, by paying attention to the consciousness that informed our present. What was at play that informed the decisions that were made that eventually led to our current outlook? What caused conflict such that today our first learned instinct is to defend ourselves? What happened that led to the need to secure more of the material wealth we have?
These are some of the questions we must interrogate thoroughly before we even attempt to turn this ship around. For example, I know we are itching to create more jobs, but is it not prudent to investigate the set-up of our labour system first? Is this not what troubleshooting is, that you trace your system to see where the bottlenecks are? It is easy to blame our education system or leadership or efficiency or corruption, etc, for what is on the ground, but are these really the cause? Can we stand and argue this case in the court of truth and it holds? From where I stand, we have no leg to stand on until we roll-up our sleeves and trawl our own sewer. Yes, it stinks and we will be revolted until we puke, but we must do it! We must do it with pride because by the time we are done; we will appreciate what we will have achieved. And unfortunately, this is one of those things that all of us must partake in, which means the strong must be prepared to carry the weak. Indeed, no one should be left behind! At the celebratory banquet, we should be able to confidently churn statistics that report on how none are sick or unemployed or in prison or marginalised. So where do we begin?
With the flies! And if you think that a few squirts of [an] insecticide will do the trick, you are mistaken. That is the sort of solution that the consciousness that created our situation could come up with. When the waste became unbearable, the solution was to kill the flies, an action that has weakend the very eco-system we depend on. With fewer flies, the waste has piled so much we now choke on the many terrible gases it produces. Now you have an eco-system that is heightened to unprecedented stress levels trying to adjust to what is going on. Imagine the stress that flies are facing trying to reproduce at twice their natural rate just so that the pile that now threatens the existence of this world is taken care of. Therefore, you must deal with the sewer as it is the reason the fly is there in the first place. The fly is merely responding to its natural instinct, which is to help in the clean-up. But to deal effectively with the flies you must first investigate why you have waste to begin with ÔÇô it does not matter in what quantities. This act alone has far reaching implications on our current standing.
Many questions arise and they are multi-pronged. Others speak directly to who we are, while others address why we are, etc. How much of the resources at hand can be shifted and be made available for this task? What are we willing to give up to be able to harness this opportunity? How soon do we give it up? What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can help us [to] track our performance? How do we mitigate the impact of our actions as we tackle the task at hand? The more the questions are asked, the clearer the KPIs will be. All those KPIs must then converge to create one main object ÔÇô to have a self-sustaining economy, with neither loss nor gain. This is; at its most basic definition, what life generally, is striving to achieve ÔÇô balance! Therefore, our current debate around the economy should not be limited to the billions of dollars gained, needed or lost. We will forever rue the day we started using money to measure the state of our welfare. I imagine that our situation is much dire than the ‘money’ tends to portray. The only way to know is to slow things down and interrogate our situation. Therefore, I am compelled to suggest that We Need An Economic Cooling – this is actually a title to my book.
*K. Gabriel Rasengwatshe is a business strategist, author and presenter of Gabzfm Business Hour, on Wednesdays, 6pm-7pm.
