poor farmers and price..

Well this morning, digging up to one of my favorite blog, founding interesting article,Oke then, some questions revealed, whether rising price of rice would hurt the farmers or not?, well that's an old story i have had in the past, and really, till now, i'm still wondering why would that (ever) happened anyway.
The Quarrel between works of economist in development economics, in a certain manner would however change a cross time. My guess is the man, from whom kompas has quoted his words in this article is an old fashioned (-outdated-) one -if I say he to be an economist though.
What he’s arguing is a nowadays still being such a controversy among development economics, is it rising price of rice would make farmers better off?, or weather farmers will increase their production as a result of price effect?, would the income-marshallian effect would eliminate slutsky substitution effect ? Well I would say, that depends, depend on where do you look, what do you seek, and when.
You see, that’s the problem being Political economist, you’ll never be, or consider to be neutral, though I should say Economics were never been neutral anyway, but policy must be neutral, neutral with what you keep in your tiny head, cause your head could not keep up with all complexity in this growing market economies. Neither if you are market fundamentalist, nor I should say Structuralist.
That’s why I’m completely disagree with people consider themselves as an economist, development economist, talking to the news, about policy, without solid facts, they are nothing but politician need some vote for another election campaign success.What these guys were telling the news is that Farmers are often abused by the global market, and therefore we need to accelerate their income by keep the price (of rise) rising, well guys reveillez-vous … have you heard anything with such a complex problem with agricultural households? There is a problem called Separable problem, agricultural household is facing two intertwined problem in the same time, therefore their profit maximizing condition were constrained in a non-recursive way, and instead simultaneity occurred.
Even when price is rising up to the sky, farmers will surprisingly might reduce their production, and therefore cause a higher gap of income, cause the price effect is not only the rice, it multiplies a lot, through the other consumption goods rising as well.
So when will farmers will have a greater profit, and becoming rich?, frankly I don’t really know, what the answer for this, anyone has a clue? I’ve been thinking about this since I was studying Introduction to Development Economics, well I suppose that farmers will get better off by increasing their production, not by raising their price, because their welfare is endogen to the price.
Nevertheless some research as Benjamin(1992), Pitt and Rozenweig(1987) has proven that there is no such things like separability condition in Indonesia, well I think they have overrated our country, first of all, their research is only conducted in Java region, could not aggregate their result though, What happen if this separable thing were concentrated in some areas without adequate source of water, with pathetic quality of soil? What if Jakarta is so polluted, then what happened in Jakarta, would be totally different with what happened in Papua for instance. Secondly, their stories were way out of our time, it’s been almost 20 years now, and were facing a lot of up and downs in our economy. Thirdly, these researches were concentrated in labor market imperfect market, in a general term. Off course there should be another way in having another conclusion totally way around.
Another thing to look more precise is that often, the cause of separable is complex, it might comes from any different kind of market imperfection, and even the source might come from one market that is totally perfect ,why? Well because this one single market that is ironically perfect has caused some other market imperfect.-this is inspired by some of easterly critics of multi tasking of MDG-
Looking to the facts on the field, people has a large constrained of collateral, thus access in credit, Farmers have a large barriers of trade because no easy access to the market, then the transport cost is high, people in the mountains were so isolated that their cultivated their land on and on without sufficient fertilizers, there is too many imperfection against the farmers, and I agree that these guys need help. But saying that rising prices of basic needs is a fair deal for consequences of oil price shock, is confusing and misleading.
Instead of using our budget for subsidizing rice, we should increase the ability of trade and access on information, by giving them decent infrastructure, friendly bureaucracy, cutting some hands in the bureaucracy in export and import for example, do you know that rice produced in Thailand is far more “pulen” and More tasty, and it smell so good, that people would prefer buying it than other cheap rice. Here, thousand miles from Thailand, we eat Thailand product, and we pay in euro, and no indo-rice product made it to come here. Anyway how many Indonesian people, having opportunity to go abroad, who consume Indonesian rice, if they already had a chance to have Thailand rice? not many I guess, with a small disparity of price I’d prefer to let go my nationalism in rice, though.
You may argue that they are dumping their products, I would say, if they do that, why don’t we do the same thing? We import rice from Thailand, which is relatively cheaper, and then we export, say to France, all of our commodity, or may be even exported it to Thailand, in the end, the price would converge, and the only thing that that we could use in comparing the two is their quality, that is our base line, and In the end, no one will buy our rice, since we’re consuming the same Thailand rice.
So the bottom line is, the problem is not what Thailand has did with their price, but also why they could make such quality well known to the world. Another example is another close neighbor of ours, Vietnam, they Exported many kinds of things, small agricultural things, like chilies, spinach, etc, noodles, fisheries, fast food-kind of things, that were really fancy in this country. As a result, their price goes up, with a single addition in their package, a usual package of frozen “tongkol” mixed up with ingredients, will change to a well prepared Vietnam gourmand, with a little help of Microwaves, and so is fast food, we could get a tasty Chinese foods by buying all the ingredients available here.
A strange thing here is Indofood, and KOKITA stuff were easily found here, but no Indonesian imported it, it licensed to some Indian company, in contrast, Chinese supermarket “tang frere” were amazingly famous, and we can find all asian taste ingredients there, even Indonesian’s sambel oelek, what I’m going to say about this is that,global market were not so racial to the agricultural goods, the thing is you to improve your quality, your package, your additional values, and yet the most important increase your market potential. That’s where Chinese success came from, they have already ruled the world, even before Chinese open up their market. That’s why we always find Chinese restaurant every where, Chinese banks in every corners of the street of Paris.
What's I’m saying is, if you want your farmers to be rich, stop them of being a farmer and a farmer only, and becoming a farmer and entrepreneur at once, farmers in Indonesia were so characterized with lack of education, and information, they lack of source of money, but they need education and information the most,that is the information to reveal what is the real meaning of globalization, what is to have freedom to choose. And how they could sell their product, off course we have no means to give such policy like the common agricultural policy in Europe, and certainly we could not let the farmers hurt by the prices.
But still do not give up hope, we could make it, as long we stop complaining, and stop listening to politician, pretending as an economist.
5:28 AM | Labels: poverty | 4 Comments
sans domicile fixe..

Twenty or thirty years ago, anyone visiting the Soviet Union or China would have been taken aback by the dirt cheap prices of things. A monthly rental was about ten over dollars then; a suit at just a few bucks; a cattie of pork at a few dimes; and a movie ticket at merely a few cents.
Fabulous! Things were so cheap and you thought it was almost paradise.But,even as things were affordable, they were not necessarily available.
While rental was dirt cheap, you might have to wait for well over a decade before you could get someone to rent his apartment to you. If you were looking for a wedding suit, you might need to make an order before you even decided to look for a girlfriend. A movie ticket at only a few cents? But where to get it anyway, if you were not someone in the politics?
If you were dead hungry, perhaps you would think you shouldn't have been standing in the queue! But no. You still had to. In Beijing or Moscow, long queue s were omnipresent year round. Everyone was waiting to get nothing more than just a loaf of baguette or a few grams of pork.
Ordinary people spent most of their time waiting to get something. No more time for work or study and no time to run the machines. The society remained stagnant.
What use was it if things were cheap but unavailable?And now, while waiting for CROUS calling up my name for an apartment in what so called city of lights PARIS, sitting here wondering why,a boursier gouvernement français (as I have considered my self) is more likely probably called SDF ( sans domicile fixed) the picture of Pekinese and Muscovites lining up for baguettes or pork comes into my mind.
Between the two, we see resembling situations, similar problems, and identical mistakes.Under the planned economic system of a socialist regime, the government subsidises by digging deep into the state coffers to bring down the prices of goods. Although prices are lower now, production is stalled. In the end, the government's burden gets heavier and the country loses its economic dynamism, while people in the street are suffering from a chronic dearth of daily commodities.
The French government has spent a fortune to subsidize apartments prices, resulting in significantly low prices of renting an apartment for foreign students, . This has made these –what so called- residence CROUS is always (play!?!) hard to get. A bigger problem is that, it is way cheaper than other apartment in the city, students pay only 190 euros for their rooms, while others have to pay more than 450 euros. Thanks to CAF and other kinds of subsidies of personal apartment. This extremely noble act of French government has camouflaged the real price of apartment, thus the real cost of studying in France, as a result this gives rise to two problems. Firstly, the subsidy on apartment for student is too high; secondly, the gap between the prices of apartment for students and Paris citoyens uses is too wide, resulting in the flow of rich parisien blinded with jealousy towards students allocated apartments via all kinds of channels. In this case may be via Sarcozy Big ass
while greedy French home owners, were forced to use agencies to sell and lend their petites chambres in high prices, students, lacking of governmental support, and consequently ignorance of French government were forced to live on the streets. Once I had thought that French would be a excellent example of a great symbol of socialism that really works, then I came to the very same conclusion that : “If the government continues to subsidize, more and more cheap apartment will end up in the hand of pure franco-parisien or in the hand of rich and powerful, while students, especially who came from developing countries like Indonesia can only stay in the queue in utter frustration, or stare at the "sold out" signs in desperation, exceptionally, perhaps students of North Korea and India might have some privilege more, considering they still have their nukes..
What is the use of cheap rooms if it is not readily available? The only way to address the problem is to narrow the subsidy gap, or even do away with the subsidy entirely so people pay the same price for Apartment. Certainly our bourse must have some “in sense” than “non- sense” number, at least 1200 euros will do, a cheap ones, compares to your expenses to go to your pharmacies for having serious head-ache, thanks to unwanted students form Indonesia running around to your office, and make you lie to them each time they come.
The government can always think of some other ways to lighten the burden of students in studying and, for instance through cash transfer program, job fulfillment, or even by allowing them to charge higher fees in baby sitting, to offset their higher operation costs.
Subsidy policies which are economically inefficient are what socialist regimes used to have. These countries have learned from their past mistakes and begun to discard such irrelevant policies to embrace market economy.Today, in the malls of Beijing and Moscow, we won't get to see long queues of people jostling for daily commodities. Instead, in the well-stocked supermarkets there, goods are always in demand, although they are no longer cheap.
It is better to be affordable and available, than affordable but unavailable.
4:10 PM | Labels: Market | 14 Comments
here we go again
in few days, i'm gonna be somewhere else in this world, trying desperately to stick with my own beliefs, principals,and off course norms, thus adaptation gonna be the hard ones,
but as people often say, " no pain no gain"...
wish me luck..and happy birthday mother..
hope i will never give up hope..
and keep on commiting to become what i'm dreaming to be...
like you used to be...
alhamdullilahi rabbil alamiin...
Dengan nama Allah yang maha penyayang dan maha pengasih...
5:29 AM | | 1 Comments
Dear Mr/Mrs Anonymous,,,
Ada satu comment yang dilancarkan Mr/Mrs Anonymous dalam tulisan tentang bali bomber beberapa waktu lalu, kritik yang bagus, argumen bahwa tak sepantasnya orang orang menilai orang lain dari prespektif pandangan masing masing...well saya sangat setuju, itulah kenapa ilmu sosial sendiri dibangun dan terus membangun (artinya tak ada yang tetap, eksak, selalu berkembang, well. that's what makes it so interesting)..Ilmu ekonomi seperti halnya ilmu lainnya melihat segala hal dari point of view yang berbeda, sebagai orang ketiga, netral dan inheren dengan asumsi asumsi.. jadi point saya, tulisan ini menilai dengan sudut pandang yang netral, belum tentu benar, but I have my own judgements which is based on empirical studies and theories.. secara ilmiah, ilmu sosial terdiri dari pertama, observasi. Kedua, menambahkan fakta fakta empirik, dan kemudian mengambil kesimpulan sesuai dengan kaidah teoritis yang ada.
so, sah sah saja orang melakukan analisa ilmiah, tokh saya tidak menerangkan hal gaib pada orang yang tak percaya hal gaib, tapi menganalisa kondisi yang ada dari prespektif yang berbeda, plus just trying to be rational and to rationalize this irrational world
7:16 PM | | 4 Comments
Kepercayaan
Ah apa artinya sih kepercayaan..sampai sampai indikator makroekonomi harus masuk juga tingkat kepercayaan investor, yang dicerminkan oleh rating bonds, atau kepercayaan rakyat dengan ekspektasi inflasi yang berlebihan ( lho katanya BI cukup credible, dan pengamat pasar sangat percaya ama tindakan BI dalam meredam inflasi?, confusing)
Kepercayaan presiden terhadap kabinet pembantunya juga jadi isu penting baru baru ini, seberapa besar sih indkator kepercayaan presiden terhadap pembantunya, hingga hanya menyelenggarakan reshuffle terbatas. Kenapa Mentri yang tidak disukai publik malah masih dipercaya oleh presiden..kenapa kepercayaan presiden dan rakyat berbeda?
lebih jauh lagi kenapa kepercayaan antar individu berbeda? mengapa di desa desa sekarang dana pinjaman dari negara donor semakin tak effektif? kenapa dana BLT tidak bisa turun 100% ke masyarakat ? kenapa setelah dana bos digulirkan, murid SD Negeri masih harus bayar 200rb per semester? apa masyarakat desa yang katanya masih lugu itu masih bisa dipercaya? apakah pendidik tanpa tanda jasa sekarang tinggal nama bagusnya saja?
pertanyaan yang lebih penting, apakah memang kita layak saling percaya? atau kah kita selalu harus saling curiga?
waspada, dan bergaerak maju, itu filosofi perang, dalam pasar yang kompetitif kita wajib menjalankan kode etik perang...tapi tetap saja masih saja ada unsur saling percaya, bagi jurnalis dan juru tulis, serta juru obat, mereka sajalah yang bisa dipercaya
kenapa? karena mereka tak ada conflict of interest? dunia belantara ekonomi ini memang ada yang namanya penyeimbang market failure, macam juru obat, dia membantu yang harus dibantu, karena kawan sekitar terlalu sibuk menyelamatkan nyawa.
pemerintah lah namanya..tapi benarkah ia benar benar free of conflict of interest?
Diskusi dengan kawan kemarin, dimana politik kini telah memberangus economic thought,
sekarang pantaskah kita masih percaya pada Pemerintah?
Mahadaya pasar !!!
(to be continued...)
5:32 PM | | 0 Comments
Bombers, what the heck they were really doing?
interesting question she had made, why those people did this terrible things?
I had took some time before, wondering what really makes those guys committed those bombings, eventually I came up with some ideas, logical things I suppose. What stimulates them using bombs? hurting others??
On her blogs, she criticize her friend's thinking about the motive of those bombers, cause she thinks, this is really irrational, hurting our indonesian fellows, just to tell something to Americans
well I kinda agree with
"He *Dr. Azahari of course, not my friend* had to do all of those bombing things because he had no other better choice. It's a kind of publication, campaign or whatever it is (I should say this is a protest, if it could said so) to message people in the world that the world isn't fair"
this had made the relative price of doing a relatively more peacefull ways of protest is higher than just spending couple of millions rupiah( and of course some un known people's lifes) for a deadly bomb, The terror and fear have cost a lot for westerners, specially for their utilities of leisure and safetyness, a great loss for a country like US. the cost is downsloping, and the benefit (for those stupid crooks) arises.
that 's also the reason why anarchy is almost related to relatively more repressive, highly bureaucratic and highly corrupted countries than a more democratic countries. That's why London only had it once, compared to five bombs in Indonesia in the past 5 years. The house of representative and bureaucrats there relatively gives more respect on people thoughts. the case in france, the people there were treated like "dogs"(quoting some media), the only choice and obviously relatively cheap (at least in bars they could have some meal, which unlikely affordable when they are still a free -second rate french man) for them is to rage the cities in france, in order to show the country, "hey!!, we are living creatures here, human beings".
The main difference between dogs and humans is we could burn your fancy cars and make your classy stores turn in to ashes.
So why bother bombing us?
the answer of your questions is then again a matter of cost and benefit, it would be easier to hurt people away from they homeland, and the benefit is now those country must spend more money to the third world countries to fight terrorism just to make sure their citizens are protected the way they usually get in their home. what's in it for the terrorist, well, those super power countries now must act as the world's police, and these should weaken their home land defence ( at least tom clancy's book said so, forgive me for being his fans, though)
people who tied large scale bombs to their own body, shows they don't have any more interesting choice in their lives. I'm almost certain that if they have some choices, and the freedom to obtain it, they will choose to live.
its only a matter of price relativity, and how people make their choices, how they respond to incentives. in opposite to ur thinking, this bastards really act as economic agents, at least their action could be explained in economic ways.
these irrational people really act in a rational ways, the only thing that we can do to stop them is to make it(bombings) more costly, than speaking outspokenly in the crowds, but clearly not giving them more incentives to blast their own body by capturing Imam's and Ulama (moslem scholars)
9:17 PM | Labels: Market, terrorism | 3 Comments
Mahadaya pasar..
Salah satu senior yang telah sukses di Amerika
Saya rasa ini sangat terkait dengan kejelimetan perdebatan ekonom selama ini, apakah ada satu sistem ekonomi yang benar benar paling benar dan applicable buat seluruh bangsa dan negara. sayangnya sering kali penelitian ini terjebak dengan kemewahan ekonometrika, yang menyimpan keraguan kausalitas atau hanya korelasi semata
yang menarik adalah kesimpulan akhir yang ditarik penulis,
"On the other hand, we can also see that it is not one's religiosity that provides salvation. It is one's ethics, as well as the ability to adjust with institutional challenges, that changes one's fate".
menurut saya sistem ekonomi pasar bukanlah suatu hal yang tabu, bahkan menurut saya di dunia ini hanya ada dua titik ekstrim sistem ekonomi, yaitu ekonomi terkontrol (marxian) dan ekonomi berdasar mekanisme pasar. Sistem ekonomi yang dikembangkan oleh keynesian merupakan metamorfosis dari sistem ekonomi pasar yang banci (meminjam kata kata Mas Arianto Patunru,PhD) .
ekonomi islam, menurut kaum muslimin adalah yang paling tepat dan benar, sama halnya dengan kaum neo klasik memuja setiap kata dari capitalism and freedom-nya Friedman. atau pemuja general theory-nya keynes. Menilik dari sistem analisis yang melihat trend dari time series yang dilakukan oleh Robert Barro maupun Timur Kuran, agaknya ada indikator lain yang tak masuk ke dalam model. dimana tiap tiap sistem ekonomi yang sukses miliki maupun pernah ia miliki. Menariknya tiap tiap mahzab pernah mengalami masa keemasannya masing masing, dalam periode waktu yang tak dapat dipandang sebelah mata.
Islam misalnya pernah mencapai masa keemasan di masa khalifah Umar bin abdul aziz, hingga dari daerah khurasan hingga jazirah afrika kala itu tak ditemui satupun kaum dhuafa, hingga baitul maal pun penuh dengan kepeng zakat dan gandum (dikutip dari khutbah tarawih, Masjid Muhamadiyah Al-Falah Benhil,Ramadhan 1426 H)
Ethics, that's the key word for success, furthermore the thing that wholeheartedly believed by the majority of the people within the country.
Baik keynesian Libertarian, dan ekonomi islam hanyalah interpretasi sepihak dari tiap tiap kaum, yang saling berselisih dan beradu argumen kekurangan dan kelebihan masing masing. Diskusi yang (katanya) produktif ini berjalan hingga ratusan tahun, dan menjalar antar lintas generasi.
Menurut saya Ekonomi adalah ilmu murni yang jauh dari sentimen kedaerahan atau bahkan sedikit moralitas bawaan dari komunitas masing masing. Seperti halnya Fisika, Kimia, dan Matematika, tak seharusnya ada yang namanya Kimia islam, atau Fisika klasik, atau Austrian mathematics, atau gaya gravitasi Komunis. Ilmu ini berlaku universal, dan telah selesai diperdebatkan bahkan sebelum Manusia pertama, Kakek Buyut kita Adam landing di bumi.
Saya lebih senang menyebutnya taken for granted, atau mungkin sunatullah, simply hanya Supply and demand oriented, perbedaan harga relatif, insentif yang rasional, implicit cost dan lainnya.
Forum yang mengagungkan islam di kampus pernah mencetak leaflet yang menyatakan islam bukan ekonomi pasar tanpa bunga, atau ekonomi sosialis yang bertuhan (kira kira seperti itulah), hal ini mungkin yang saya sebut keberpihakan sepihak, keinginan untuk berbeda demi mengedepankan kebenaran yang dianut tiap kaum.
Akan tetapi dari beberapa buku ekonomi islam yang saya baca, dominasi supply and demand dalam ekonomi islam sangatlah kentara, demikian pula model model makroekonomi keynes selalu menjunjung tinggi agregat demand ini sangat penuh dengan interaksi pasar.
Lalu apa yang membedakan antara tiap tiap mahzab tersebut, hingga mereka begitu ngotonya dan masih mampu terus mendefinisikan dirinya masing masing sebagai mahzab yang terdiferensiasi secara jelas dari mahzab yang lain? dan yang paling substansial tiap tiapnya punya pengalaman keberhasilan secara empiris yang mengesankan.
Menurut Friedman, Suatu teori benar asalkan tidak ada bukti empiris yang menunjukkan bahwa teori itu gagal dan salah, karena menurutnya sebaik baik model adalah model yang tidak ideal tapi akurat memprediksi kenyataan. Kefanatikan nya pada hasil empirik ini yang sangat mengesankan. Melihat dari seluruh mahzab yang disebut diatas, masing masing pernah jaya dan pernah pula gagal tak berdaya, ini menunjukkan kita tak bisa mengambil kesimpulan apakah mahzab tersebut salah, atau benar, unconclucion
Jadi manakah yang benar???
Jawab yang bisa saya dapat adalah ada satu indikator yang mendorong, dan menjadi suluh dan menjadi pedoman tiap tiap individu untuk berperilaku. Kefanatikan tiap mahzab menuntut kekonsistenan penganutnya untuk melanggengkan eksistensinya yang eventually membentuk suatu pola sistemik dari pelaku ekonomi dalam jaman nya masing masing. hal ini terkait erat dengan seperti yang disebut oleh senior kita di atas, ethics. Moral sentiments (favourite word, when I was in the Economic system class).
Pertama,Adagium holistik yang dianut oleh sebagian besar masyarakat, dianut secara fanatik, dan yang terpenting adalah secara sukarela (tak perlu coercion power) telah menghasilkan sistem ekonomi yang teratur dan stabil. Yang kedua adalah kemampuan adaptasi terhadap perubahan institusional, disini masyarakat dituntut untuk dinamis dan berubah, aktif partisipatif, masyarakat memiliki kemampuan dan potensi untuk terus mengembangkan dirinya, Menjadi yang terbaik dan menang.
Protestan Ethics, mendorong masyarakatnya untuk berbuat, dan bergerak sehingga berhasil di dunia, kepercayaanya terhadap nasib buruk di akhirat karena kelalaian di dunia, dimana surga dan neraka tergantung pada pencapaian nya di dunia menjadi suluh yang sangat efektif hingga setiap jiwa berusaha yang terbaik.
Masyarakat Yahudi, yang percaya mereka adalah yang terpilih sebagai "anak tuhan", sangat mumpuni dalam berdagang, Kebanyakan diantara mereka kini menjadi langganan headline di majalah "forbes".
Di zaman Rasulullah, Islam berkembang dengan pesatnya, mendorong manusia berperilaku holistik, kaya raya seperti Abdurahman bin Auf, Ustman bin Affan, tapi dermawan seperti Nabi Idris. Dalam perilaku dan mind set masyarakat seperti itu mana mungkin tersisa kaum dhuafa?. Tiap tiap orang kaya terobsesi dengan "penyakit" filantropis, setiap Kaum dhuafa akan berusaha untuk keluar dari kubangan kemiskinan, karena adanya hadist nabi yang menyatakan "Kemiskinan dekat dengan kekafiran", belum lagi sindiran halus seperti "tangan diatas lebih baik daripada tangan dibawah". Saya percaya tidak semua orang di jaman keemasan islam adalah orang kaya(sering kali yang paling fakir adalah pejabat tinggi setempat), tapi tak satupun merasa dirinya tak berpunya, dan mampu membayar zakat.
Sinisme terhadap Ajaran Adam Smith yang menyarankan ke mahadayaan pasar, juga sering kali menggeser berita ke-filantropisan bapak Ekonomi modern ini, ini menunjukkan keidentikan masing masing mahzab, dan betapa dekatnya konsep ekonomi adam smith dengan konsep ekonomi islam, perbedaan terbesar justru ada pada konsep general theory nya keynes, Suku bunga, yang sering kali menyerempet konsep usuary.
sayangnya cap neo liberal, neo kapitalis sering kali dianalogikan dengan pro barat, dan kebijakan strukturalis yang notabene sangat keynesian dianggap sebagai budaya timur yang lebih bermoral. Pasar sering dianggap sebagai monster cacat(tidak sempurna) yang bisa memangsa siapa saja, tanpa pandang bulu.
Konsep menarik dari Friedman, bahwa pasar adalah mekanisme paling adil dan paling demokratis, pada tiap gandum yang terjual di pasar, tidak pernah ada sentimen siapakah yang menumbuknya hingga bisa sampai dimakan, tidak perduli apakah dia muslim, Kristen, yahudi, Kaum pagan atau komunis sekalipun. Tidak ada pengaruhnya apakah ia saudara teroris, bekas tapol PKI, Muslim berjenggot, ataukah pendukung HAMAS. Hanya satu saja yang berpengaruh dan berlaku universal, harga relatif !!, Di kala masa paranoia sekarang ini siapa yang mampu menjadi demikian demokratis seperti Mekanisme Pasar??.
pasar mungkin saja bisa memangsa siapa saja, tapi tidak mungkin ia telantarkan jiwa dinamis dan produktif, hanya yang lamban dan terus menerus lemah (bukan saja lemah, tapi pasrah) saja yang menanggung resiko tergusur.
pasar adalah dimana pagar otonomi individu tak terlanggar, tapi ia juga memberi ruang bagi pemilik rumah untuk berbagi dengan tetangga sekitarnya. Satu saja, tak ada yang namanya pemaksaan.
Mengapa? karena sukarela saja yang akan bertahan, perbedaan harga relatif saja yang bisa membuat individu menetapkan pilihan secara rasional tanpa merasa menyesal. Jika saja harga relatif secara moneter mungkin dianggap tidak manusiawi, bagaimanakah dengan harga relatif yang memasukkan keinginan untuk berbuat baik, yang merupakan salah satu bagian dari utilitas manusia?
Terlepas dari berbagai nama seperti sistem Keynesian, Libertarian, maupun Ekonomi islam, sebenarnya inti penentu dari keberhasilan adalah sunatullah dalam supply and demand karena pasar berjalan dengan baik yang didukung oleh perilaku holistik secara sukarela para individu di dalamnya. Bukan nama sistem ekonomi yang berperan, tapi perilaku masyarakat yang inheren dalam pemberdayaan pasar. Keberhasilan yang pernah dicapai oleh Keynesian atau kaum klasik saya kira tidak terlepas dari keadaan seperti yang ditimbulkan oleh mahzab islam, dan Webber’s ethics
itulah jawaban yang bisa saya tarik.
Mahadaya pasar !!!!!
8:09 PM | Labels: Market | 1 Comments
"the last of the red footed punans"
Tulisan ini hanya spontanitas belaka setelah saya membaca ulasan kompas hari Sabtu 9 Juli 2005,Ulasan mengenai dayak di harian ini sungguh sangat menyenangkan untuk dibaca, ditelaah, dan direnungi. Ekspedisi ke teritorial dayak sungguh membuka mata saya betapa banyak hal dan khazanah budaya negeri ini yang belum terjamah oleh pengetahuan saya yang pandir ini.
terima kasih banyak kompas, yang telah bercerita banyak tentang dunia, dunia yang lepas dari kengerian bom london, hingga ketidakadilan Amerika yang lebih mementingkan perekonomiannnya yang boros minyak daripada pemanasan global. Saya ucapkan selamat pada anggota ekspedisi, yang telah menjalani pengalaman yang tidak pernah dialami oleh sebagian besar kaum urban jakarta, yang menghabiskan harinya untuk segenggam uang, kolesterol, dan bualan acara televisi. Saya adalah salah satu orang yang merasa iri akan anda semua. Terima kasih
1:22 AM | | 1 Comments
Perubahan untuk hidup, atau hidup untuk berubah…
Adam smith (the great philosopher kata Pak Edi),mendoktrin kita selama kuliah bahwa setiap individu apabila melakukan yang terbaik bagi dirinya sendiri, in the end akan membuat welfare meningkat bagi seluruh masyarakat. Invisible hand akan selalu Menendang semua pekerja yang terlalu lamban, dan memaksa orang produktif, Memaksa kapitalis membayar pekerja yang produktif lebih mahal daripada yang malas. Membunuh para monopolis ( yang membuat harga terlalu mahal). Membuat orang selalu bisa memaksimalkan utilitas yang ada. Kemampuan individu untuk terus memperbaiki diri demi utilitas tertinggi adalah basic dari pemikiran ini.
Sen, pemenang nobel dari
Apakah pencabutan subsidi salah?
Lihat saja anak anak FE di depok yang bawa BMW yang borosnya minta ampun, bisa abis 50.000 sendiri ke depok, yang artinya kurang lebih 1,5 juta.per bulan makan BBM bersubsidi (gue yakin mereka mikir dua kali nanti kalo udah kerja sebagai lulusan FEUI dengan gaji standar, huh!!!!). Kontribusi apa mereka ke negara ini dengan makan 1,5 juta dana subsidi tiap bulan ? apa ruginya sih naek kereta?
Apakah bener ilmu ekonomi telah mati?,Apa yang salah?
Kalau tidak, lalu kenapa pengalaman empiris negara barat yang sukses tidak jalan juga di tempat kita? Sistem apa yang benar?, Apakah ekonomi pancasila Sri edi swasono yang didengungkan?, Dari awal gue selalu mikir ini siapa yang salah pemerintah kah? Atau rent-seekingers? Atau masyarakatnya??
Kenapa –kalo melihat kasus temen gue di atas- dia dengan mudahnya menyalahkan pemerintah (walau tanpa pengetahuan yang cukup), IMF, world bank, dll. Kenapa kita selalu menyalahkan sesuatu yang tidak sesuai dengan keinginan kita? Semua orang pengin kaya, tapi gak semua bisa kaya bukan? Harus usaha !!!!!. Apakah dengan sistem yang lebih religius kita akan langsung berubah? Apakah dengan sistem yang pancasilais kita akan lebih baik??
permasalahan mobilitas sosial yang mandek memang menjadi masalah yang inheren dalam negara berkembang yang cenderung laten, dari sini lah segala permasalahan harus dilihat dan dihujjahkan. Dalam berbagai seri keluhan yang diceritakan secara gamblang dan empirik oleh ko mpas, permasalahan utama adalah ketergantungan yang tak terhindarkan pada fosil berumur ribuan tahun tersebut, seakan akan ke-inelastis-an BBM sudah mendekati garis lurus.
dikisahkan misalnya seorang pemilik katering yang mengeluhkan ketidakmampuannya menahan biaya yang merangkak naik, karena BBM naik, Seorang dayak juga dikisahkan semakin sulit mendapat minyak murah karena ongkos "taxi mahakam" tak lagi ramah di kantong.Belum lagi keluhan mahalnya makanan warteg buat mahasiswa.
11:34 PM | Labels: BBM, Market | 0 Comments
Kekeliruan kebenaran, Kejernihan kesalahan
Ntah berapa lama manusia menghuni dunia
memenuhi otak mungil ku dengan ocehan gila
Manusia..ntah berapa juta kali berbuat salah
mengulanginya lagi, menyesali, dan mengulangi lagi.
tanpa sekali pun menyesali kebodohan pengulangan yang berulang
sejarah yang berulang, kalimat kebanggaan..
tanpa sadar ketololan yang tercermin
saking seringnya berbuat salah
semua kekeliruan menjadi benar
yang keruh terasa nikmat, oleh karenanya dianggap bening
yang jernih terasa hambar, anggap sajalah racun
si raja midas kini telah terbangun
tuhan baru dunia, karena cacat yang terendam duka
konon di awal dunia
manusia selalu saja bisa mengunjungi nirwana
mendapat apa yang ia minta
si buruk rupa dapatkan cinta
si fakir menjadi kikir
si hina menjadi digdaya
karena nirwana di atas kepala mereka
si fakir midas, penuh dengan cinta
pada nirwana dimintanya kepeng dan emas
Raja nirwana sangatlah blas dan kasih
"sentuhlah dunia ubahlah jadi intan permata"
sabda raja di raja...
Midas yang kaya cinta kini digdaya
emas dan kepeng kini terserak tak berdaya
miliknya saja
tapi cintanya kini hanyalah selembar kepeng dan permata
tinggalah midas menyesali dirinya.
tapi kawannya sesama manusia
cinta kepeng sepenuh jiwa
kepada midas ia menghamba dan meminta
lupa ia pada nirwana
diraupnya intan permata
dipalingkanya dari cinta nirwana
hingga suatu masa
aku melihat diriku hina
lupa pada asal dan jiwa
3:34 AM | | 0 Comments
