Balinese, westerners and monkeys: We're all related

Have you ever wondered about the local economy in Kuta Bali? Hundreds of vendors all selling the same stuff, nobody making any money. When somebody tries something different and has success, a dozen other people copy and swamp the market, bringing the price down, and once again no one is making any money.

There are lots of factors going on here, poor education, low standard of living, no capital and a warped economy where strangers loaded with cash appear every week, then leave. Its easy for me to sit here and yak on about the economy and what Balinese should do, but in their position I'd probably do the same, keep trying to jam a square peg through a round hole, just use a bigger mallet.

Westerners also run around in economic circles back home playing the stock market, property and other investments. Some make it, some never figure it out. A recent article on Yahoo talks about deeply rooted reactions to loss and gain, not in humans, but in monkeys. Irrational behavior in the long term can seem entirely rational in the short term when taken in reference to your immediate local environment. Reading this article you can almost substitute 'human' for 'capuchin' and see us reacting in the same way.

I like the sentence that says "They don't understand the long-range implications for themselves, their society or their position. But in the same way, we probably don't either, most of the time."

Understanding our position, whatever it is, is the key for moving forward in any economy.

Tags: Bali Daily