For those who haven’t read it yet, I’d recommend this enjoyable, short and entertaining little book, which makes us reflect on the sustainability of our economic system: The Time Seller, by Fernando Trias De Bes.
It’s a 47-minute video, and I think that with those first 22 or 24 minutes, plus reading the book, we could spark a very interesting debate. Perhaps many of you are already familiar with it, or have seen other videos and animations on similar topics that have taken the internet by storm in recent months. Although the second half of this one veers into «conspiracy theories» that I do not share at all, I think watching it will be interesting for those who haven’t seen it yet. It is important to bear in mind that both the book and the video were conceived before the current credit crisis. To be precise, the book was written over three years ago and this video is dated February 2007.
In contrast to the video, I’ll quote just a couple of sentences from the book:
“When Rosa Regás won the Planeta Prize, I was driving my car and heard the award ceremony live on the radio. Rosa Regás said: ”Thank you for this prize. ‘With this money, I’ll be able to buy something that isn’t for sale: time.’ After hearing that sentence, I began to imagine what would happen if, in a society like the Western one, time could be bought. The result is this book.” Fernando Trias de Bes.
Xavier Sala-i-Martín, for which, as you know, I have a particular fondness, had this to say about this novel:
“It is an extraordinary example of what happens to an economy when the free operation of the mechanisms that balance markets is not ensured, an example of the disaster that looms when prices are not allowed to move freely, when people are forced to pay for things that should be free, or when unnecessary taxes are imposed on society.”
One of the first questions I’d like to raise – of the many that may arise – is this: to what extent are we purging these excesses through the current credit crisis? I’d like to compare your views and your outlook on the current and future situation. I hope that both the reading such as the video if this is of interest to you, and above all I hope we can discuss them in your comments. There is no doubt that this is the most significant issue in today’s financial world. After all, it is the markets that will depend on how this situation develops, and not the other way round.
As has rightly been said Fernan2 in a recent comment on Search, compare, and if you find something better… move elsewhere: «The truth is, to write something like that and not have anyone jump down your throat it speaks volumes about the calibre of your audience 😉«I fully agree.