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
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?
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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