It’s a complex economic world be appear to live in, but the reality is it’s all very simple at the macroscopic level. Below is a little mini-list of a chain reaction of Actions (or Causes as they are known in Nichiren’s Buddhism) in The West causing Effects in The West – basically, the Chinese have got bog all to do with it!

• Increasing living standards fuel greater aspirations for people in the West
• Aspirations fuels a consumer society
• The West makes more goods for sale
• People buy the goods but need even more money to satisfy rising expectations
• Wages go up
• Companies pay more, go bust or move non-technical manufacturing labour to Far East
• West service economy develops
• More aspirations for more stuff in West
• Even technical jobs exported East
• East now has full employment
• East has more money
• Eastern citizens have increased living standards
• This fuels greater aspirations for more consumer goods
• Even more good manufactured in East
• East needs more fuel to power economy and increased private consumption
• World energy price goes up
• West hits buffers under increased fuel prices

Near future:

• West loses jobs
• West reduces demand for consumer goods
• East loses jobs as reduced Western market for specific consumer goods is followed by a reduced home market
• Energy consumption plateau

Now the future:

• Labour costs in East too expensive
• Labour exported to Africa
• Increasing prosperity in Africa fuels consumer boom
• etc
• etc
• etc

Meanwhile, after each cycle, the world has even less fossil fuel than it started off with. Each cycle will be different to those previous because the energy that sustains the economies is being produced, sold and distributed differently.
But it’s the Actions in the “advanced” West (that drives the rest of the world’s economies) that Cause an Effect in the West. The rest of the world is only mimicking effects that happened in individual mill and mining towns in the UK 250 years ago! It’s just the transport distances are greater now.

Amazing eh?

Related posts:

1. Fuel Tax Rises

   Well said Amanda Lightfoot at Petrol Prices Blog I subscribe to the petrol prices updates with the idea that why...

2. Cycling is popular in Paris

   Introduction This is taken from today’s CTC newsletter. I never thought it’d work! Especially in PARIS…  what do I know?...

3. The World Will Hear From Me Again!

   This is the famous line at the end of every Fu Manchu film (with Christopher Lee). The World Will Hear...