MERCANTILISM AND PHYSIOCRACY

By: Felipe Argote

THE MERCANTILISTS

Economic relations between countries is a zero sum game. This means that someone loses what someone wins. This is the central concept that defines the mercantilist. The term is not from themselves or even about an economic think. Rather it is later coined by his detractors. The mercantilist are convinced that to make more powerful a nation should put tariffs on imported products and ensure the maximum export. Also felt that the strength of the emerging nation states was given by the volume of gold that they could accumulate. Not all current mercantilist, despite having a very backbone of thought, started from the same premises. So we know the French mercantilism Jean Baptiste Colbert summed up in gold accumulation, domestic market protection and export subsidies, then there is the known as the Spanish mercantilism Bullionism concept that focuses only on the accumulation of wealth in precious metals, and English mercantilism focused on foreign trade as a source of wealth of a country. In all cases it is not a stream of economic thought but a list of measures centered in government protectionism.

THE PHYSIOCRATS

From the Physiocrats many took some of their original ideas to further process their own theories. Of course it is harder to develop a hypothesis when there is nothing written. Rather than establish a model the Physiocrats are sure that there is a divine natural order and that the way of men to try to understand, not change it. This current arises from 1756 describes the certainty of a rule of nature against the interventionist mercantilism. Specifically attributed to Vincent de Gournay's is the phrase: "laissez-faire, laissez passer”. Let it be, let it pass. However they are Riquetti Victor, Marquis de Mirabeau and Jean Froncois Quesnay especially the founders recognized this trend. The term physiocracy means rule of nature. This is the concept later taken by liberal currents and specifically Adam Smith's invisible hand.

Quesnay was a doctor by profession and became the court appointed physician at the age of 58. Following the 63 meets with Mirabeau and of this meeting emerged the first school of economic thought.

Physiocracy represented the interests of farmers. They believe that all the wealth was produced by the land since the product was superior to the components. According to them the industrial class, craft, and trade was sterile because their final product of its components differed only in human labor. This will take the historicist in its labor value theory that later developed both Smith and Ricardo and later Carl Marx.

However, his concept of economic freedom is not consistent with their political ideology because instead supported the authoritarian power.

Le tableau économique de Francois Quesnay develops his view of how the rent moves. In short believes that society is divided into three classes: agriculture, one that creates wealth, sterile, composed of craftsmen and merchants, and landowners. If the agricultural class produces 5,000 million francs of this 2,000 million paid to the owners of the land and spent 1,000 francs to buy what produce industrial and artisans such as clothing, tools and more. Then the owners of its 2,000 spent income received by 1,000 on land given to them products and a thousand craftsmen in which farmers obtained while the craftsmen spent 1,000 of their income on agricultural products and 1,000 it paid to owners. If landlords spend more than necessary for products of the craftsmen, can exist then a contraction in the economy.

PHILOSOPHY ON THE INMORTALITY OF THE CRAB

By: Felipe Argote

Again the increasingly small circle of leaders of political parties and the electoral tribunal, along with a handful of representatives of social organizations have met to discuss reforms to the electoral system in Panama. I must say that as usual they are still missing, probably on purpose, in a sterile discussion, divorced from the interests of the general population. I heard the president of the election board authority say very enthusiastic that the meetings were discussing the philosophy of what a political party. The discussion was deep and rich, said the magistrate. This showed how mature is the Panamanian society, politically speaking, he argued. It is probable that he was so deep that the discussion would have to apply for a backhoe to dig a minimum of practical outcomes, on such waste of neurons. And would as would say the brilliant Argentine cartoonist named Joaquín Salvador Lavado, better known as Quino: We as a society are mature, politically speaking ... for be eaten by whom... politically speaking.

I must stress that the method of choice is the genesis of the problem that elected politicians do not represent the best of society. I heard the chairman of the House of Assembly, referring to the scandal of the Social Investment Fund (FIS), now half-drowned amid the carnival party, that if they wanted to go to the province of Herrera and ask about the bags of food delivered by him with the budget for the FIS. That each and every one of the bags was delivered, therefore nobody could, accuse him of corruption. Is tuff to realize not only the level of cynicism, but of the very low scale of values of the most important politicians in Panama. According to the deputy, a billionaire shareholder of the largest manufacturer of liquor in our country, it is absolutely legitimate for him to take my money and all those who pay taxes to spend on food bags for delivery with his name and be benefit from the sympathy of voters in his electoral circuit. That what would be wrong is to keep the money and not deliver the food bag. Also a deputy of the party now in opposition indignantly asserts that the entire budget of the FIS that appears in his name was given in t-shirts, balls and all kinds of sporting goods, because he is a great supporter of sport in San Miguelito. Of course he is a great supporter of sport, with our money. Now we understand why after promising the end of the FIS in the election campaign, the new president say the good news he will better not close it, he will better restructure it because it benefits the neediest compatriots. Let’s get to continue the piñata!

While not specifically provided unambiguously that it is forbidden to politicians to directly or indirectly give money or any kind of perks, backed from the national treasury during any season, or not even their own assets until six months before the election period including the party primary. While these measures are not taken in the electoral reforms we will have candidates with the same profile as the current ones.

Some unsuspecting people ask why there is such a low level of participation of women as candidates of parties or their boards who cannot match the current trend that most professions are graduating more women than men. The answer is obvious: it is because decent people, including of course most women do not want to get involved in politics, because it discredits. Very few politicians, if any, have survived being personal vilification.

Then the reform commission, instead of philosophizing about what are the political parties and the immortality of the crab, the electoral reform commission should discuss urgently how noticeable change the rules of the electoral code, and in this way modify the profile of candidates and candidates. It's the only way to prevent in the short or medium term most of the citizen end up disenchanted altogether and simply not participate even with the right to vote. It is of course the only reason for the dismal of our political leaders, nor is the only reform needed, but you have to start there, because in the sense that things are going we will continue to suffer from the inability of Panamanian politicians.

MAYAIMI

By: Felipe Argote

Although most of the inhabitants of what is now known as Miami were the Tequesta Indians, the name of this city owes to the Indians called Mayaimi which were located around Lake Okeechobee, formerly Mayaimi and the river Mayaimi that means clear water in the indigenous language. Then came Ponce de Leon, seeking the fountain of youth. According to the version of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda a wrecked Spanish as a child in Florida who was raised by the Indians for 15 years, as was later published in the "History of Spain in the New World" by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, published in 1575, Juan Ponce de Leon was seeking the fountain of youth in these parts for many years.

Ponce De Leon had led the colonization of Puerto Rico. It was there where he heard stories that the Indians of a region at the north often went to a fountain where an old man after diving could regain his youth, getting a wife and rise new children. Ponce De Leon came to Florida in 1513, but never located neither he nor any other Spanish of many who sought it, the magic fountain of youth.

This area was never established by the Spanish because after multiple military campaigns to settle the Indians they could not break them but they were capable of exterminate them. Incidentally the Spanish managed to install a Christian mission in the eighteenth century, in the area of Tagestas run by the Jesuits, from where they were trying to convince mayamienses prisioners, after a series of torture by soldiers, that there was a God better than theirs, full of goodness and wisdom, and that if they do what their torturers wanted, they were to achieving happiness… after death. Finally the Spanish abandoned not only Miami but all of Florida to Cuba taking as slaves the last survivors of the extermination. Not only because of the forced labor used by the colonizers, but because of the young men separated from women as well, preventing their reproduction. The current indigenous Florida Seminoles are not native to these areas, arrived later from Georgia, fleeing in terror of the nascent American nation army that chased them as buffalos to send them, according to the plan, as to all Indians of the country to the territory of Oklahoma.

The turning point occurs in Miami in 1891 when Julia Tuttle purchased 640 acres at the mouth of the river Mayaimi, now known as Miami River. Then he convinced Henry Flagler, the billionaire owner of the Florida East Coast Railroad train to carry the rail line to Miami to build a luxury hotel. So they built the Hotel Ponce de Leon of 500 rooms which was an immediate success, supported by the legend of the fountain of youth. That was the beginning of the great growth of tourism in this city. In 1890 there were 851 inhabitants in the area. Today there are 5 ½ million people.

Today Miami is the fourth most populous city in the United States. 81% of its population is Hispanic, 22% is black and 12% are White. It is the city with the highest immigration in North America since 60% of the population born outside the United States. 34% born in Cuba, Nicaragua 6%, 5% in Haiti, 3% is Honduran, 2% is Dominican and another 2% is Colombian. In Miami, 67% of people recognize Spanish as their first language as against just 25% who said that his first language is English. This great migration has resulted in the emergence of neighborhoods named after cities in Latin America and elsewhere. Although the best known are Little Havana and Little Haiti, there are also Little Bogota, Little Caracas, Little Managua, Little Moscow, and Little San Juan.

Obviously, the more immigration is the Cuban, as during the 60s came and stayed to live in Miami half million Cubans. Then came the great immigration of so-called Marielitos in 1980 where arrived on the beaches of Miami a total of 100,000 Cubans.

Despite being the third richest American city and the apparent rapid growth of business and tourism Miami is now the third U.S. city with the highest poverty rate with 27% of its population, surpassed only by Detroit in Michigan and El Paso Texas.

The city was devastated by Hurricane Cleo in 1964 and then has been hard hit by Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Andrew in 1992 and Katrina and Wilma in 2005. Along with Nassau, Bahamas, and Havana is one of the cities most likely to be devastated by a hurricane in the future. We hope it never happens. The city of Miami was awarded as the cleanest city in America by Forbes Magazine due to its air quality, their ample green spaces, its recycling program and its clean streets and water for human consumption.

BRETTON WOODS

1944: THE NEW WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER

By: Felipe Argote

In July 1944 Colonel of Staff Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and a broad group of conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by planting a bomb in a briefcase placed under the table of the meeting hall of one of Hitler's bunker near of Rastenburg, in the east of what was at that point East Prussia, now located in Poland. Moments after Colonel von Stauffenberg left the room; someone tripped over the bag and moved out of the way behind a pillar. This saved the life of the Fuhrer (leader). Although killed several members of his staff and many others were injured, Adolf Hitler left the room slightly injured with some shrapnel in the leg only.

A month earlier, on 6 June 1944 was developed the so-called D-Day It was a massive landing of allied troops on the beaches of Normandy. They landed on that day and thereafter, three million soldiers from the U.S., Canada, England, France, Poland and Spanish Republicans. At the same time the Red Army was advancing in the east and had recovered part of Poland.

While that was happening in Europe in Hampshire, USA, among a group of gentle mountains called with names of presidents, where stands the colossal Mount Washington, in a fairly complex called George Washington in Bretton Woods, representatives of 44 countries met in the so-called Monetary and Financial Conference of the United Nations. The aim was to establish a new world economic order that would emerge at the end of World War II.

At this conference arose basically two positions: the United Kingdom led by the prestigious Sir John Maynard Keynes who presented the proposal to create the International Clearing Union, an international compensation fund where the surplus countries would transfer this money to the deficit, and the Bancor, an international currency backed by strong currencies and fixed exchange rate. Then there was Harry D White for the United States of America who presented the proposal to create the outline of the gold dollar standard to a fixed fee of $35 per ounce of gold from which to set the terms for monetary exchange with other countries. Harry White was the principal negotiator of the U.S. delegation, behind which was Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau.

There was finishing the Second World War, the U.S. had tamed a vast fortune selling weapons and lending money to its allies, to the point that he kept in his coffers especially in Fort Knox for 80% of all gold in the world. Also, they produced two-thirds of the world's oil and half the coal. The specific weight of the US was used by the Americans by adopting its proposal the gold dollar standard and then the creation of the so called International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, later called the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the voting weight for the parts of the 8.800 million that was to launch the capital of these banks. So the United States accounted for 31%, to 14.89% Britain, the Soviet Union 13.6%, China 6.3% and France 5.1%. The rest would be contributed by other countries.

With the great weight percentage controlled by the United States they define the location of both banking institutions in their country and imposing its administrative leadership. Japan, Germany and Italy of course did not participate because they represented the axis that was at that moment cornered by the army of the allies. But even it took more than a year and two atomic bombs to end the war.

Also emerging from this meeting in Bretton Woods agreement called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade for its initials in English GATT (General Agreement on Tariff and Trade) which was the genesis of what ultimately culminated in 1995 with the creation of the World trade.

At the end of the conference, the Soviet Union did not ratify the agreements. China during the conference was represented by the Kuomintang government, but with the defeat of the Nationalists by Mao Zedong in the civil war, China People's expressed indifference to the Bretton Woods agreements.

PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT

BUILT BY ALIENS?

By Felipe Argote

The human species is worthy of analysis. People are willing to believe without objection, following the writings of Genesis, that after a universal flood, the survivors gathered at a place called Babel, decided to build a tower to reach heaven, and God in order to avoid interfering in his home, confused their languages generating different languages. On the other hand it is difficult for people to accept that human civilization was able to do so impressive monuments like the pyramids of Egypt. The Tower of Babel in Babylon according to ancient texts “Esagil” as preserved in the Louvre museum, prove that the tower had a height of ninety feet.

So hard to believe that the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids that many say were built by extraterrestrials alliens. That's why 85 percent of the population is religious, because it is easier to accept that something is the result of divine or magic instead of stand to analyze the complex processes that lead to a logical outcome.

As in ancient Greece was just beginning the foundation of city of Troy destroyed many years after by Achaeans of Agamemnon and his armies in 1200 BC, in Egypt, however, had already built the three great pyramids of Egypt including the Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx. After years of archaeological studies already are said with certainty that these colossal monuments erected at a time when the rest of the planet was back thousands of years, were not the product of divine creation or by alien. They were the result of a civilization that gradually matured engineering needed to construct these pyramids. The higher the pyramid of Cheops measures 136 meters today. The logistics of moving, lifting stones and all that is now known not only show that the builders were human but at the time of its opening were far more spectacular than now.

Of the seven wonders of the world listed in a poem Antipastro of Sidon in 125 B.C. only the pyramids remain, as neither the Colossus of Rhodes or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, or the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, nor the mausoleum of Halicaranso have survived the weather, or the stupidity of human wars.

The Cheops pyramid, called the Great Pyramid was built by Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops around XXVI century B.C. He had an original height of 146.61 meters, something like a fifty-floors building. Originally it was covered by blocks of polished white limestone and topped by a gold tip. You should only imagine how awesome would this monumental building of white stone bright with the desert sun and even more with gold in its tip. Fascinating. All the limestone cladding was many years later dismantled block by block for construction. Particularly devastating were the Ottoman invaders who took the limestone to build the mosque of Hassan.

Then there is the pyramid of Chephren, built in the same period as that of Cheops and the Great Sphinx then that is believed to represent the face of the pharaoh Chephren with lion body. It conceptualizes that the destruction of his nose was the result of the government of the Mamelukes, a Turkish slave order that seize not only Egypt but who defeated the French king Louis IX in the seventh crusade. We know that theft of the false beard of the Great Sphinx of Pharaoh is owed for sure to the English invaders. This is because it is exhibited in the Museum of London. Originally the statue was colorful.

The construction of the pyramids did not happen by spontaneous generation. This is demonstrated by the large number of failed pyramids scattered throughout Egypt, until the construction of the Step Pyramid, according to Manetho, an Egyptian who wrote in Greek in the third century BC responsible for the stratification of Egyptian history into dynasties, states that this first pyramid was built by Imhotep, the first architect in history. He was responsible for the first prototype of the pyramid to build the tomb for Pharaoh Zoser in 1250 BC.

We see that not only the Egyptian structures were human but the effort was not started in the field of architecture but of the economy. Centuries of economic development based first on understanding the benefit of sediment of Nile growth, serving to establish the periods of planting and harvesting. Then they build the canals of the Nile. Abundant production is what makes efforts to move towards a superior organization and accumulation of food allowed to devote part of society to build monuments. Also do not forget the embalming of mummies still preserved nowadays, another geniality of Egyptian civilization. Similarly the thousands of statues and other monuments they build. There are therefore no aliens anywhere in the process.