the __earthinc

Veblen introduced some interesting ideas in The Theory of the Leisure Class. My professor seems to insist that Veblen was an early pioneer in the field of signalling.

Although Veblen drove his ideas to the extreme to bring in absurd implications that I simply will not buy, there are specific arguments that I find attractive and readily agreeable. This is one of them:

The same pervading canon of vicarious leisure is also visibly present in the exterior details of devout observances and need only be pointed out in order to become obvious to all beholders. All ritual has a notable tendency to reduce itself to a rehearsal of formulas. This development of formula is most noticeable in the maturer cults, which have at the same time a more austere, ornate, and severe priestly life and garb; but it is perceptible also in the forms and methods of worships of the newer and fresher sects, whose tastes in respect of priests, vestments, and sanctuaries are less exacting. The rehearsal of the service (the term “service” carries a suggestion significant for the point in question) grows more perfunctory as the cult gains in age and consistency, and this perfunctoriness of the rehearsal is very pleasing to the correct devout taste. And with a good reason, for the fact of its being perfunctory goes to say pointedly that the master for whom it is performed is exalted above the vulgar need of actually proficuous service on the part of his servants. They are unprofitable servants, and there is an honorific implication for their master in their remaining unprofitable. It is needless to point out the close analogy at this point between the priestly office and the office of the footman. It is pleasing to our sense of what is fitting in these matters, in either case, to recognize in the obvious perfunctoriness of the service that it is a pro forma execution only. There should be no show of agility or of dexterous manipulation in the execution of the priestly office, such as might suggest a capacity for the turning off the work. [The Theory of the Leisure Class. Chapter 6: Pecuniary Canons of Taste. Thorstein Veblen. 1899]

As a side note, I am beginning to understand why a Veblen good is called a Veblen good. It all begins with this book.

Q: You said earlier that it is unclear if population growth and technical progress lead to economic growth and that it might be that the causal relation is reversed. If the reverse is true, how would you tweak the endogenous growth models?

A: As you may have guessed, I am not a fan of Solow.

Lemons, lemons ev’rywhere!

Another question: when was Malaysia formed?

Bonus question: how old was Malaysia on August 31, 1962?

One last question: how old will Malaysia be on August 31, 2010?

Opinions abound and they are bound to hit some sensitive nerve. When it hits, there goes another police report. There goes another demand for an ISA arrest.

The right-wing group Perkasa has been at it for some time now, calling for the arrest of various individuals for challenging what the group considers as Malay rights. Leaders of MCA and MIC meanwhile have lodged police reports against Perkasa for calling for the abolition of vernacular schools. An Umno politician recently said that nobody should question the existence of these schools because the founding fathers had agreed to it — nobody should question it; neither such an ultimatum nor threat has any place in a democratic system that cherishes freedom.

Some debates are engaging in that there are outstanding ripostes to brilliant arguments as opposing sides try to outwit each other. An exploration of ideas happens along the way to awe both participants and spectators. They are well-researched and well-argued. Malaysia requires this kind of debate for it to take the next step into the future confidently. We have the infrastructure and the institutions to take that step. What we lack is the culture. The exchange of threats reflects that.

The ones taking place in Malaysia are unimpressive by any measure. There is no witty riposte. There is no brilliant argument. There are just people who disagree with each other so badly that they want to silence the other. They are unable to conjure attractive thoughts to undermine the others’ arguments. They are not creative enough to convince the others and the spectators why they are right and the others are wrong. All they can muster is “shut up or else.”

Worse, some of these arguments are made by members of the ruling coalition. One would expect more from them, given that they are driving the car.

When an argument is really a thinly veiled threat, it betrays something about it or those who make it. It is a weakness of intellect or laziness in thoughts. The gears in their heads stop running and their muscles begin to flex.

If this was the dominating atmosphere on the fringes, it could all be ignored safely. They can flex their muscle all they want in dark corners populated by cuckoos. But all this is happening in the center of the public arena.

It is because it is taking place in the centre that this lamented trend cannot be tolerated. It creates a climate of fear that crowd freedom out from the center.

No one in Malaysia needs any reminders that multiple issues need resolutions. These are old legacy issues and problems we inherited from our founding fathers.

None can claim to know what the eventual sustainable solutions are. What is true is that the way for us to begin to imagine those solutions is by being free to debate all issues with reason, not by resorting to threats.

First published in The Malaysian Insider on August 27 2010.

It was a beautiful day today.

The panel belongs to the Fisher Library.

What I like about this photo is the difference in sharpness of the shade.

After five disappointing years mingling with the unpure, Ajax finally return to top-flight soccer. Too excited Ajax are, that the Amsterdammers outrageously jumped straight into the so-called Group of Death, filled with AC Milan, Real Madrid and Auxerre. It is really hard to see a more competitive group for this season’s Champions League than the group Ajax are in.

Nothing could really describe how critical is the return of Ajax to the Champions League. Earlier in the season, manager Martin Jol who engineered the return almost left Ajax for Fulham. One of the reasons why he contemplated the move was money: Ajax had little to spare to strengthen its squad. The Champions League is big dollar championship that may solve the financial issues that Ajax face.

Apart from money is the issue of prestige. Especially after the Dutch’s good run in the latest edition of the World Cup, big rich clubs are targeting multiple Ajax players. Suarez is one. van der Wiel is two. Stekelenburg is three. Top-flight soccer is a factor that may encourage these players and others in the first team to stay a little bit longer amid opportunities to play in bigger leagues with bigger pay.

Ajax also need to attract good players for the obvious reasons. The youth is of course great but Ajax need more than just building the future. Ajax need to build the present.

Yet another reason why the return is important is the fans. One cannot begin to describe the shame of exile. Four-time European winner, down there, somewhere under the radar. “Ajax, oh, they were good.” They were good…

I am clearly delighted with the return but honestly, I do not think Ajax will advance too far this time around, especially with the like of AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Ajax have a good time. Last season was great. El Hamdouai so far has proven to be a good buy, clicking with Suarez and the rest of the team. But AC Milan and Real Madrid are not Vitesse, Groningen, Twente, PSV or even the old lady Feyenoord whom fate nowadays deserves pity.

Ajax struggled with PAOK and Dynamo Kiev during the qualification and play-off round. Based on that performance, frankly, Ajax will struggle against Auxerre. Ajax will struggle against the other two teams in the group.

Ajax played against Auxerre previously in the Champions League. I do not remember anything more than that.

I do not know if Ajax played Real Madrid in the Champions League before.

But I know that Ajax played AC Milan countless of times before. The most memorable meet-up for Ajax is, well, watch this:

A cafe along Glebe Point Road needs not worry about any break ins. At night, something guards it…

As I have written, there are not many posters around in Sydney as Australians vote.

This is one of few which are up.

It is the Greens’.

In Waterloo, which is about 20 minutes to the south of the central business district of Sydney, a man in his mid-30s approached me. He offered me a leaflet. The leaflet more or less says “Vote Liberal.” Although I cannot vote in the upcoming Australian federal election, I accepted the leaflet out of curiosity. Apart from that, it has been quiet here in Australia despite the election being just less than a week away.

Let me rephrase that and stress what actually interests me. I do not see too many posters around.

A question lingers in my head. Why is that so?

Without access to newspapers, television and the Internet, it would take an effort to realize that Australia is in its campaigning period. The atmosphere in the streets and in the city right now is no different from any other typical day. People just mind their business, as if the upcoming election is a minor distraction.

Contrast that to Malaysian elections. Election time is always carnival-like in Malaysia. It is noisy and it is colorful. Loud speeches will blare into the night. More strikingly is the poster war. Colors representing major political parties will decorate the streets. Once it is election time, you will know it, even if you are apolitical.

Some Australian friends of mine try to explain this phenomenon to me by stating that Australian politics is boring. It is really a contest between two uncharismatic politicians representing two unexciting political parties, they say. Australians are not entirely excited about it. On top of that, I live in a safe seat for Labor. There is little contest to be expected. In other words, the level of excitement translates into a poster war, or lack of it.

That explanation does not explain my experience in the United States. I lived in Ann Arbor during the 2004 presidential election. It is an overwhelmingly Democrat town. I do not remember seeing too many posters hung in public places but the election was still electrifying.

One may expect infrastructure to have some part in causing poster wars. If the communication infrastructure like television and radio is unable to relay messages, posters are effective for the job.

Now, the US and arguably Australia have a more developed communication infrastructure than Malaysia. As far as Kuala Lumpur is concerned, the level is comparable. Yet, if one wants to witness a poster war, the Malaysian capital is the place to be. Or compare Kuala Lumpur with some rural area like Ijok.

If infrastructure was an issue, Kuala Lumpur should experience less of a poster war compared to other places. In fact, there were poster wars everywhere in most previous Malaysian elections that I care to remember. Thus, the state of infrastructure does not provide a satisfactory explanation.

Being a libertarian, I find it inevitable to eventually resort to a libertarian explanation and I think it explains the phenomenon of poster war better than others do.

The libertarian explanation goes like this. Non-Barisan Nasional parties face restrictions in terms of access to the mainstream media. The restrictions naturally encourage individuals and parties to look for alternative avenues to spread their political messages or to introduce their candidates to voters. Posters and the Internet are two avenues relatively free of restrictions in Malaysia.

In Australia and the US, all parties have considerable access to the mainstream media.

Thus, there is less need for a poster war.

This may be useful in addressing the problem of a poster war. On the whole a poster war can be entertaining, more often than not those who participate in it tend to overdo it.

When you are looking at a road sign for direction and you read “go right for Barisan Nasional or go left of Pakatan Rakyat” instead of KLCC or Bukit Bintang, you know somebody is being overzealous about those posters.

With fewer restrictions to access or even entry into the mainstream media, the problem of too many posters may be solved without resorting to more rules and regulations.

First published in The Malaysian Insider on August 16 2010.