On Capitalism and why Occupying it is important

LET ME REITERATE IT, I don’t despise capitalism, but I do have some issues with it — although I must admit, the system has yet to affect me directly, and other Middle Class people I suppose.

I am not a fan of free market or privatization. I have never been. And I don’t think we should encourage those practices. Why? Because they simply won’t bring betterment. Not for the underdeveloped countries, at least. But you see, these kinda talks have always seen as “high” or “sophisticated” topics that everyone raising the very issues must be some “socialist” or “commie” or “playing-smart” or “boring!” dudes.

Thus, when Occupy Wall Street started to merge last month in the city that never sleeps, the New York, I was so happy. Finally, I got to see bunch of people, the laymen, talking and cursing capitalism.

And I did not have to wait for long for the movement to inspire people around the globe, including people here in Jakarta. Starting last week, Jakarta has its own movement: Occupy Jakarta.

I haven’t again checked it, but if they still manage to stay, everyone passes the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) building in South Jakarta in the morning till afternoon now might see a group of [now still small] people gathering, ranting about how capitalism is entering its end.

God knows I couldn’t be happier seeing those people coming from various backgrounds telling each other their opinions about capitalism. I remember one protestor brought a poster says: “The 1% is making history, but the 99% is trying to change it.”

Surely, not everyone in the city supports the movement. Many said the movement won’t gather steam if they stuck on the abstract capitalism issues. Another said Occupy Jakarta supporters are childish followers, because why bother Indonesia’s economy, when now it is in its best shape since 1997? They suggest these childish people to fight for more concrete problems such as religious intolerance and violence, or corruption.

I am not saying these notions are wrong, or think that they are not significant matters worth struggle for. But I always believe economy, or prosperity to be exact, is the core of all problems. Even I believe the intolerance issues got to do with it.

Basically, if you have enough money and can send your children to good schools they will get good education, no? They’ll learn many things, including respecting others, no? And when you are content and happy, you surely will say no to an offer of joining a religious rally or attack for $3, no?

Certainly, our economy is blooming and might be in its best shape since the last crisis, based on statistic. Based on new BPS stats released on July, the poor now constitute 12.5 percent (30.02 million) of Indonesia’s population, down from 13.3 percent (31.02) last year (poverty line = Rp 233,740 ($27.35) per capita per month). And the government sees an accumulated $94.7 billion in foreign exchange reserves — the largest amount in Indonesian history. Further, the country is also targeting 6.4 percent of economic growth this year. What a compelling data!

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Lessons for Indonesia from Ha-Joon Chang

ONE: “YEAH, SO THIS is the anticapitalist girl,” a sport editor shouted to the group in a karaoke session, teasing me after I sang Michael Buble’s Feeling Good, off key surely, last week.

Two: still from last week, a friend told another fellow of mine to soon run away from me once she hears me saying ‘money’ or ‘banks’ *straight face*

“Don’t get near Anita, she’ll brainwash you with the anticapitalism theories,” so my friend said, then shrugged my shoulders and continued her sentence, “Although it’s obvious that she would never go beyond words after all, she keeps giving up on shoes and dresses and bags.”

Three: several days ago, just right after I attended Ha-Joon Chang’s lecture at the University of Indonesia, my editor asked me, “How’s the anticapitalism talk? So you are now a socialist? ”

Oh, almost forget, Four: someone on Twitter even called me a “leftist.”

Seriously people, don’t you have another label for someone who criticizes capitalism? *sigh*

Let me clear things out. First, I am not an anti. Are you kidding me? I am anti the giant system applied by [almost] every nation in the universe? Me against the world? Sounds plain stupid. Second, if you’d call me anticapitalism, what would you call Stiglizt? I am really sorry that I have to drag him into this discussion. He’s sweetly innocent.

But you see what I mean? What I’ve been trying to say is: sorry, I need to quote Janine R Wedel again: “if capitalism is to thrive, it needs to be saved from itself and its most ideologically-hardened practitioners” — Wedel wrote, attributing it as the message she got from some at INET’s Brentton Woods meeting.

Indeed, that’s my point: I think it’s important to save capitalism [if we don't want to use or invent another system], plus give a second wise thought on free trade. And I am happy that of course am not alone on that. And let me share my concerns with you, people, here.

I met one of the prominent economists who shares that same perspective, last Wednesday. I attended Ha-Joon Chang’s lecture! He brought this topic: The Myth and Paradoxes of Capitalism: Lessons from the History of Today’s Rich Countries for Indonesia.

The lecture went on for almost two hours. Too bad he was on a tight schedule, he did not manage to give audiences comprehensive answers in the Q&A session.

Points of his lecture: it is important for the government to protect its market (read: freeing it! or at least not totally freeing it. Even the US protects its domestic market. Chang said all of today’s rich countries, except for the Netherlands and pre-WWI Switzerland, used protectionism for substantial period).

Meaning, the state needs to bailout state-owned enterprises when needed (a policy that’s opposed by the Central Banks, so history tells. Chang mentioned an example of Toyota in Japan in 1950s).

The state should also seriously look at the intellectual property rights issue. And the most important thing is: productivity, and to gain it you should be really good at something, aside from protecting your market by limiting/put high tariff on same products [the country desires to boost] to enter the country. It’s by applying those that Finland is now oh so damn good with its Nokia and Korea with its Samsung and steel also Japan with its cars.

“When it comes to high-productivity activities, countries usually become good at something only because they have deliberately decided to become so,” Chang said.

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Too big to miss, a conspiracy?

I AM AN ENTHUSIAST, economics enthusiast. But I must tell you that I only know a sliver of economic theories and I barely understand monetary terms. I am a layman, seriously, one of the “don’t do math” people so Larry Summers would call.

I didn’t go to university studying economics and I hated the subject back then in the high school, with my oh so boring teacher.

Now, some of you might think I am heartless, but to be honest I started to fall for economics in 2008, when the global crisis hampered many countries badly, especially the US.

As time goes by I follow this exciting competition between the US and China, and wizard, it made me go down deeper with economics. I told myself, “man, economics is very sexy!” [I must admit that I have some other reasons for economics, but will only tell you later on in this post.]

Since then, I read and watched some documentary films, interviews, and seminars mostly on YouTube. My readings and watchings sometimes resulted in me getting mad at our rooted financial integration system. Yes, I am talking about that “interrelationships and potential spillover between what so called home and host countries.”

So at one point just recently, I wonder whether I really-truly got into this fad because I asked one of my good friends to give me a book — written by Simon Johnson and James Kwak entitled: 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown — for my birthday [thank you so much, JJ! I love the book!! Although I must admit that I haven't even started reading it. Haha, I know I am such a psycho. Will read it after writing this post].

The book was actually released last year, and what they wrote were probably just the same with what I have read some places else or watched in the Inside Job [Simon Johnson was in the film — although appearing very shortly — I seriously recommend you to watch the film. It's a must!]

I want the book not only because of what is written in it. I also want the book because of [one of] the writer[s]. I love Simon Johnson! C’mon, have you watched Simon Johnson on INET’s Brentton Woods Conference? He was like awesome!

Now,  let me get to my “another reason to fall for economics.” You’ve heard about the too big to fail thingy? If you haven’t or simply don’t care, let me sum it up for you:

YAY! Thank you JJ for the book!

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So sayonara, nice to know ya, Hollywood?

“BUT YOU PLAYED it for a midnight show last week, so how on earth you do not know whether your theater will be showing it again anytime soon?” I could hear myself almost screaming to the phone.

A lady at the other end of the receiver, if she’s normal then she must be hating me by now, replied calmly, “it depends on the central office, miss. I really couldn’t say…”

I interrupted abruptly, “but logically, if you have the movie, then you will play it, right? The reports said that cinemas won’t be able to play whatever films HAVEN’T imported, but 127 Hours absolutely HAS ENTERED the country, because you got the film already, you even showed it last week, RIGHT?” I felt the necessity to emphasize whatever words I have, because it is clear that this argument of mine is very logical, and besides, I still couldn’t forgive myself for not just hitting the cinema last week to watch 127 Hours.

“But really, I cannot say anything…”

Another immediate interruption, “but how come? How come you do not know and cannot say anything?”

She sighed, a long-deep exhalation, “it depends on the central office, miss. I cannot say anything, really. The film is here, but whether it will be shown soon, I really don’t know.”

“Where’s your central office?” I asked in despair.

“In Wahid Hasyim,” she said, referring to a main street in Central Jakarta.

“Right, thanks!”

These days, seriously, I probably would kill for a James Franco.

Yes, the lady I talked to over the phone yesterday, she’s a 21 Cineplex employee. I was literally forcing her to explain to me something she clearly was unaware of. Sheesh! Sorry, am on the rag!

But ow, ow, fuckity-ow have you heard the news? Cinemas, at across the archipelago, face threat of Hollywood boycott. Yes, HOLLYWOOD, where fine, not so fine, and far from fine fantasies came. It is because of a tax impose — a new import policy drew by the Indonesian respective government that went into effect last month, January 2011.

Today, I mean, the days before the halting of foreign-film distribution, “imported films already had to pay a 23.75 percent excise duty, a 10 percent tax to the central government and another 10-15 percent of the profit from ticket sales to regional governments” Noorca M. Massardi, the chairman of the Indonesian Cinemas Association and spokesman for 21 Cineplex, told Indonesian media.

The new tax on distribution, he said, was also as much as 23.75 percent.

“It is an outrageous import tax on distribution rights that has never before existed in any film business practice in the world,” Noorca said.
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Let’s prepare some antidepressant for inflation

*a ramble note

IT’S JUST DAYS after some experts in Davos, Switzerland, said that burnouts caused by global economic turmoil will be our “greatest challenge to the global health system” in the future that I start feeling one now: stressed out.

I need some antidepressant drugs for both: yes, the turmoil and the stressfulness itself. Oh, and probably some more of them for I have depressed-ly finished reading this piece: inflation is eyeing Indonesia. And as a matter of fact it might become the next global crisis.

Can you believe, that in near future we will force ourselves to come to work even if we’re sick because of these things called “rising food prices” and “debt crisis.” Sigh. Welcome to the “global burnout syndrome.”

No, I don’t have any financial issues today. Not yet. I am in the pretty much secured financial condition. However, seeing how fragile anyone of us to safely escape from being shaken by the economic turbulence is worrying me.

Inflation now, when Indonesian economics is claimed to be stable? I don’t think I am ready for it.

Let’s talk facts, how good is Indonesia’s economics today? According to the data and stats: we are pretty good.

But based on what I see everyday: we are pretty good in growing gaps between the poor and the have. I still see people eating garbages and children beg inside public buses in Jakarta.

Based on stats: the administration had managed to lift more than 1.5 million people out of poverty [we are now reaching the 13 percent based on MDG's baseline and is eyeing to cut it even to 7.5 percent in 2015], and accumulated $94.7 billion in foreign exchange reserves — the largest amount in Indonesian history. Indonesia is also targeting 6.4 percent of economic growth this year, very compelling!

But a friend of mine always said, statistic is anything but data filled with figures we desired to see.

How good our economics actually is when 20 out of 50 million of Indonesian youth today couldn’t go to schools and universities graduates couldn’t find jobs?

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