Writings by
Political Economist
Ben Vosloo

Welcome to Ben Vosloo Scribbles. As an experienced writer and publisher in Wollongong, Ben is passionate about politics, economics, small business and South African studies. Learn more about Vosloo's scribbles below.
About the Author
  • Afrikaans
  • Motivated Writer

    The motivation to write about the key issues facing contemporary society was stimulated by the intellectual turmoil generated by the Global Financial Crisis that manifested itself by the end of the first decade of the 21st millennium. Opinion leaders throughout the world started to ask questions about the underlying causes of the economic crisis. What went wrong in the advanced economies? Was it caused by a generic failure of existing development models or failures of specific models such as the “Anglo-American” world of finance or the European “welfare state” model? 
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      What can be done to fix the deeply flawed world of finance? Have the schemers and fraudsters been exposed and brought to book? If not, why not? Who is to regulate the regulators? What needs to be done to avoid chronic budget deficits, reduce mountains of public debt and stimulate real job-creating economic growth? Which parts of the economic dilemma are structural in nature and which parts are only cyclical and therefore less serious? Why are economists not ad idem on what needs to be done? What are the prerequisites for a stable and prosperous society? 


      How can the rise of big government and overgrown public bureaucracy be curtailed? How should sound economic growth policies and strategies be selected? Which development model is preferable: the Anglo-Saxon Free Market, the Continental Welfare State or the East Asian Capitalist Intervention? What is the role of religion in today’s world? These are questions ordinary taxpaying citizens have to face. Understanding as much as possible of the world in which we live is, after all, an important obligation resting on all thoughtful citizens.  

    Important Topics

    The issues involved in understanding the world in which we live involve many intellectual disciplines: politics, economics, philosophy, psychology, sociology and history.

    Using Data for Discussion

    Living in the modern world also requires access and ability to analyse quantitative data describing the actual state of affairs as objectively as possible.

    Different Perspectives

    Figures don’t lie, but we know that men figure. We also know that much of the available information is selected from a particular vantage point. 

    Analysing Issues

    That means that the time-tested business rule of “caveat emptor” also applies a fortiori to any analysis of social, economic and political issues.

    Exploring Ideas and Speaking Out

    As interested citizens, we need to know how to protect ourselves and others against exploiters and “snake oil” salesmen. We need to know what went wrong in the opaque world of finance, who is to blame for the crisis, who were the people at the heart of the crisis and what action has been taken (if any) to avoid the same malpractices. Some fraudsters continue to masquerade under the guise of journalists, investors, academics and political leaders. 

    Understanding Reality

    A common-sensical understanding of the shifting realities in our ever-changing world is a prerequisite to adaptive survival. In the real world, our ability to arrive at rational decisions is severely hamstrung by the limitations of our knowledge and information, by our emotional preferences and priorities, our human inadequacies and inhibitions and by the uncertain and unanticipated consequences of our actions. At best we can only be as “intendedly rational” as allowed by available information, knowledge, insight and understanding.

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