The surprising importance of macro economics

 In Pakistan, this year, textbooks will not be printed. Because there is no paper.

In Sri Lanka, there is no fuel, no food, no economy.

In Russia and Ukraine, a war is raging between two Presidents.

These are not political events. These are human events. They are affecting lives as we speak.

Political Science is not taught at school. Children do not learn the power of the vote. They do not learn how to read the manifesto. They also do not learn their political rights as citizens.

When political science is taught, at university level, we start with theories. We start with the nature of power, and we converge at the goodness of democracy. But we do not discuss HOW to make democracy work. We assume that giving people the power to vote will somehow set the nation on a path to progress.

As we know, that is not quite how it works. All these countries are democracies, and their citizens deserve better.

Over the last few months, as news from the neighbouring countries (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan) streamed in, most people spoke about the debt trap. But my mind wandered to macro economics and politics.

These examples should tell us, urgently, the importance of teaching our children – how power works, manipulation using the media, and macroeconomics.

The RBI releases a circular every week telling us about our forex situation. In a war-like situation, with the third world war imminent and the UN watching from the sidelines, it becomes even more important to keep an eye on these indicators. And if things do not look good, to raise an alarm promptly. To seek answers from our elected representatives when these macroeconomic indicators flounder.

When the first port was commissioned in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota (July 2017), the contract was unambiguous – China owned 70% of the port.

Now, let me ask a question – what happens when a sovereign country hands over control of its infrastructure to another sovereign nation?

When should this question have been asked?

Instead, what were the Sri Lankan polls fought on?

If we think we are insulated in our own country, I suggest we wake up and smell the coffee. Throw out the boring political science books and bring in the study of power. Read those books with and to our children. Learn macro economics. Because if there is anything that these events have taught me, it is that macroeconomics is not Mahalanobis. It is food on the plate and books on the table.