I thought I’d write a quick post, mainly just to keep the site fresh because of my lack of time to post recently. Also, if I’m honest, I’ve had a bit of a lapse in terms of my ability to keep up with events. This is due in large part because of being very busy with my real job and my start-up travel company. But it’s also because of the fact that it can be mentally and intellectually draining to keep on top of developments as they happen.

Apart from the obvious fact that has been stated many times before - that once an economic force is put into motion is generally tends to continue - there are various intricacies of recent developments that I have failed to follow in depth. Something else that I realised over the last few weeks is how little I have gone elsewhere to see who else is writing on this subject. A particularly well-thought through post which basically chimes with my reading of the situation can be found here. Its clarity on the degree to which conventional economics renders us completely screwed is impressive, but it would be nice if it made some suggestions as to some vague alternatives.

I don’t know whether the name ‘CynicusEconomicus’ relates to the fact that the author of the blog is cynical as hell, but recently I have been considering my own fluctuations between cynicism and idealism. Interestingly, I think being cynical and brooding about the numerous dark clouds on the horizon illuminates various trends in the world to the point where it becomes clear what to do next. And there the idealism comes in: is it even possible to change the inevitabilites we see around us?

The answer is that we may as well give it a bash. Lots of people would refer to people like me (commercially astute young professionals who see the economy as the sub-set of the environment rather than something that exists in a separate realm of logic) as ‘ethical’ for attempting to address climate change and localise economies in the name of well-being. In that sense I suppose I’m relatively idealistic (I think a way better world is possible) and I would feel far more unhappy (not that I am ecstatic all of the time) if I was only focusing on the negative trends that can be observed all around us. Investing in an explosion of green jobs to decarbonise our economy would make a lot of people feel a lot happier, and it would be a stunning journey to embark on.

Then comes the question of what to spend my time doing: analysing and wallowing in the shitness of the current situation, or trying to build the constructive mindsets and radically different institutions capable of delivering the alternative vision? There’s only so many hours in the day, and I can see why individuals such as Mr Cynicus Economicus are more than capable of spending all of their time documenting the downfall of our existing financial institutions, and discerning how the ‘real economy’ will follow (something very hard to predict, hence the need to spend the time sorting out the messiness).

Pragmatism and my rather erratic nature dictates that I’ll probably continue with my combination of cynicism of idealism, whilst attempting to keep up with the hectic cycle of events in that strange place called ‘the global economic system’. One thing that I have realised is that the more people understand the need to take some level of personal responsibility for imagining a new world, the better, and those who understand the macro-economic trends will hopefully begin to feel less cynical as a result…