I awoke early on Saturday morning, feeling as excited as I used to feel when I was young and waking up at 4am on Christmas Morning, for today was Market Day. To everyone who came it would surely be something of a special occasion. There would be flags and decorations, and the market would be quite substantial since roads had been opened up, villagers enticed to come down from the hills, and it had been hinted that everyone would get some kind of a prize.
It was 5am by the time I had showered and dressed. Instead of my usual constitutional in the Palace Grounds, I walked around town. It was still relatively quiet, but already the CM had laid on street cleaning brushing up on the big cleanup of the previous Wednesday. Flags were being put up, and the corner tea shop was just opening. I could feel an air of festivity coming on and Im sure it wasnt just me!
I went back to the Palace and sat in the gardens for a while before returning home for breakfast. When I went out again at 7.30 the Main Street was alive with activity. The buses were already coming in from the villages, even our two big buses were full, crammed with people inside, the roofs with packages, baskets and livestock.
I wandered about, watching fascinated as people set up stalls, greeting one another, exchanging gossip. Then I repaired to the peace of the Palace Grounds. I had the gardens to myself everyone was in town! I sat for almost an hour, just enjoying life!
At 10am according to plan, the Band and Palace Guard paraded along the Main Street, myself following with Mister B, Mr Gupta, and several minor functionaries from the Palace carrying boxes containing my secret weapon: small packages of our money, 25 notes to a package.
Reaching the Market Square at the end of the Main Street, I stepped up onto a small platform and with a very short speech formally declared the Market open. As the Guard marched back, the time had come for me to embark on my somewhat unorthodox exercise. Much to everyone's surprise and delight, I toured the whole market area followed by my small entourage, talking briefly with each trader, congratulating them on their presence and their produce, then handing each stallholder a packet of 25 notes as trading seed-money.
You will no doubt think me either insane or irresponsible, Mr Harvey, but people today regard money solely as wealth, to be accumulated, savoured, even gloated over. But real wealth begins with human talent, minds which can invent, hands which can create. That is potential wealth. Then we put those talents to use in creating products and offering services. Those products and services, the results of our work and talents, they are real wealth which we then need to trade with others. And a credit or monetary facility is the spark, the fire which makes it all happen.
In developed economies there is money a-plenty. But what happens when there is not? Have you ever played the game of Monopoly, Mr Harvey? The game of becoming wealthy through buying and selling property? To begin with, everyone gets a property to start, and this is vital an opening sum of money. Why? Quite simply, because without the basic 'float' of money, no trading of property or anything else could take place. No money, no trade. That's how I saw it anyway, and it seemed to work!
Having mingled and watched for a while I returned satisfied, taking refuge once again in the Palace Gardens make that Government House Gardens! where I would sit for some considerable time, engrossed in economics, reviewing everything I had learned during sessions in the Attic Club.
I really felt that with the newly established Market currently in progress, and plenty of produce from the villages now the roads were opened, we had the beginnings of an economy. The following week would see the formation of a Business Development Agency, starting with projects requiring minimal investment, then moving on to longer-term investments.
Our main objective in our economic policy was universal prosperity. Prosperity in turn is the result of productivity. As one American businessman defined it: productivity is working smarter, not harder. We become prosperous by learning to create better products and services tomorrow, for less cost than we did yesterday. That is how we become prosperous.
But it is not just a matter of business efficiency. It is absolutely useless having half the people working productively while the other half sit around in idleness. So our objective is: everybody working, everybody working productively.
And finally, as I believe we have already discussed, a fair days pay for a fair days work.
Full employment is important to a countrys prosperity. It is also important socially. I think I can safely say without fear of contradiction or exaggeration, that we are at peace in our society not only because we teach peace, mutual respect and tolerance, but also because everyone in our country is part of society. We have no outcasts as other countries do.
You know, Mr Harvey, we delude ourselves in so many ways. We think we are free agents but in a complex society we are no such thing. We depend on roads and transport, on electricity, on products and services provided by others. We depend on the commercial enterprise in which we work, which in turn depends on others. A factory produces goods, another enterprise transports them, wholesalers pass them on to retailers. The whole complex system is a web of mutual interdependence. And as such it requires supervision if it is to function to everyones satisfaction. The flow of money and credit, quality standards, working conditions, all these things must be fine-tuned if they are to function correctly. If they are not, then people will be excluded, shut out. And if they complain, if they demonstrate, or in extremis if they riot, then governance is to blame for its own incompetence.
Harsh words I know. And why not? I have harsh words indeed for governments which ruin lives through their own incompetence.
Of course, many try to conceal the unemployment rate in their own country by sheltering behind Economics and its Great Gurus who swear that a certain amount of unemployment is inevitable, even essential, if inflation is to be kept under control. But that is a myth, Mr Harvey.
Let me tell you of an amusing incident that happened to me quite recently actually.
There was a Bankers Conference in Biarritz. Not a major affair. Probably nothing more than senior bankers taking a pleasant week off at their customers expense. Our government received an invitation. It seems they have a few paid places for poor countries like ours scholarships you might call them so that we can sit at the feet of great masters, gathering a few crumbs of wisdom. No one was particularly keen to go, but it was a pity to waste a free trip! I was out of government by then and was offered the ticket. So off I went.
I recall a gathering at one of the receptions where bankers chat informally and drink free cocktails. I was standing close to a small group of delegates and one asked me where I was from, not recognizing me as part of the select International Bankers Circle of course. When I told them, I could sense at once that air of pity which the wealthy feel for their lesser brethren. They had been talking about inflation, and one of them I excused his rudeness as he had clearly availed himself excessively of the free liquor asked me So what was your inflation rate this week?
The others did look rather embarrassed, but I was not put off. Inflation is illegal in our country, I replied.
They were not sure whether to laugh or pity me. One Banker muttered quietly So etwas möchten wir in der Schweiz tun in a strong Zurich accent, which roughly translated means We should do that in Switzerland. The gentlemen were silent. Then one of their younger members decided to pop the obvious question. How can you make it illegal? You control inflation through the money supply, but only indirectly. How can you make it illegal? It just happens.
No Sir, I replied, it doesnt just happen. People make it happen. Individual people. Inflation is an increase in the price of a product or service without a corresponding increase in its quality or quantity, and that is illegal.
How do you enforce it?
We inspect business accounts each year, just as you do. But instead of looking at their profits so that government can take a cut, we check that the company is not cheating its customers. That, in our view, is part of governments job.
Do you know Mr Harvey, I really thought they were taking me seriously! Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on my part. But if they really were taking me seriously, Im sure it would be quite painful for them! Anyway, I remained silent. I had no reason to pursue the conversation.
Then another one spoke. He too was young. English. Quite a serious chap. He asked But what about wages? How do you control wage pressure?
It was a genuine question seriously put to me. But I think the gentlemans colleagues were rather pleased. I suppose they thought theyd caught me out. Anyway, I explained how we view and handle things. Certainly, inflation can also be caused by an increase in remuneration at any level without a corresponding increase in the quantity or quality of work performed. That too is illegal.
And how on earth do you enforce that?
We use a system which defines and measures the basic elements of a job, training, experience, responsibility, concentration and so on. It is very accurate and precise, and indeed, well-known and used extensively in your country... in the larger business enterprises. That in turn defines the remuneration.
Another pause. Then the young Englishman continued. I must say, that sounds remarkably sophisticated for such a...
Small and insignificant country? I said, offering him a suggested completion. The poor man was quite embarrassed. But seeing me smiling I was not in the slightest bit troubled he said Well, I wouldnt put it quite like that but, yes. Anyway, the main thing is, does it work?
In response to your first point, regarding its sophistication, Im afraid we can claim no credit for it. The evaluation system was set up for us, and is regularly monitored, by a leading British company specializing in Job Evaluation, a science which has been successfully put to use within major companies and government agencies for half a century plus. In fact there are several competing systems actively in use around the world. All we have done is to apply one single system uniformly throughout the country. And in answer to your other question, yes it works.
No disputes?
Not really. People are satisfied that it works. Occasional discussions tend to focus on issues of principle. People understand they cant ask for more without giving more.
I really thought I had them there, Mr Harvey. For a moment at least! Anyway, it would give them something to think about. I let them reflect for a few moments then came in for the final blow, the coup de grace, as my friend the French Ambassador would put it.
While many countries not only tolerate, but actively promote inflation, we consider it vital to eliminate inflation, for two very important reasons. First, when a nations money is subject to inflation, it fails to fulfill one of its core functions to act as a store of value. Money which continuously loses its value cannot be an effective store of value, any more than a bucket with a hole in it can provide an effective store of water. And because your money is useless as a savings medium, people turn to the nearest practical alternative: property. Which rather explains why buying a house in your country now requires a lifetime's mortgage.
The second reason is that with stable money and no danger of inflation, we can expand our economy to full capacity and full employment. In other economies, as I understand it, when expansion gets close to full employment, inflation takes hold and it is necessary to halt expansion by causing a degree of recession and unemployment. We have no unemployment. Indeed it is our view, supported by proven experience in Japan back in the late 1980s I believe, that a slight shortage of labour helps to maximize productivity by avoiding over-manning.
Sensing their barely concealed amazement I covered my own embarrassment by excusing myself and moving away to a far corner of the room. I did not meet any of them again.
Anyway to summarize, I believe that unemployment for any length of time and with a clear prospect of its continuing represents a failure of governance. While we clearly do not excuse public violence, our greater concern is that we should not excuse government incompetence which can so often be the cause.
And that brings us back to our Business Development Agency which helps people formalize their plans, checks their financial requirements and projections, then sees them through startup. Many plans and ideas, from the most simple to the most complex have subsequently come to fruition in that way. And yes, we do have full employment! So my dreams on that Market Saturday were not pie-in-the-sky! Indeed, I truly felt, as I sat in the Gardens, that this simple market event marked an excellent finale to my first fortnight, my first two full weeks in office.
The news that evening did full justice to the event. The half-hour broadcast began with scenes of preparation, cleaning, sweeping, putting up flags. Then buses arriving, people unloading themselves and their packages, setting up stalls, and general trading activity. There were individual stories of people coming down from previously blocked villages... all in all, a really jolly scene! The President was caught just for a few seconds negotiating a large falafel sandwich on the go. That really pleased me, despite the slight inelegance involved in the exercise. It meant that I was now accepted as what I truly wanted to be, just one of the chaps.
Next day, Sunday, I again looked back on the great Market event with some pride as the beginnings of a real and viable economy. After breakfast I dressed for hiking and announced that I would not be back for lunch. This time I really was going to take that long walk in the hills which I had so often promised myself.
But as I left our house, guess who appeared from the Tutors house a few doors away... it was Rollo and Krista. You may remember Mr Harvey, that as a result of Kristas promise to her parents that she and Rollo would not sleep under the same roof until they were married, Krista was staying with my Tutor and his wife.
Hey Jay! Rollo called out. Were going up to the Villa to start work. Were really excited about it and want to get it livable as soon as we can. Come on up!
So we all piled into Tulus truck, squeezed up together on the front bench seat, the back of the truck already loaded with various garden tools, some large ornamental pots for the terrace and a basket with food and wine for lunch. It wasnt exactly what I had planned, but when we eventually returned home at around seven that evening, there was no doubt in anyones mind that a thoroughly good time was had by all.
On Monday morning Mother came out with one of her (only occasional!) surprise remarks. I had mentioned that I had very little on my agenda, to which she responded Well, why not take a day off, go to a quiet beach somewhere, take that hike in the hills youre always promising yourself... the one that never happens?
I second that Father replied with enthusiasm bordering on an order!
So off I went, pausing only to tell Obid if anybody wants me, Im not there. I was quite confident now, that I had a team who could be fully relied on, and Obid, as usual, showed every sign of having fully seized my drift.
I felt that a motor car with a little more style might provide a pleasant change, and I had gathered that the ex-president had been something of a collector. I checked with Tulu, who, looking appropriately conspiratorial, led me through a small door at the back of his workshop into a large garage, well lit from a skylight, to reveal a collection of vintage motorcars which quite took my breath away! I was taken on a brief tour, and was proudly assured that every vehicle was in tip-top condition and ready to roll, as indeed the ex-President had required. I narrowed my choice down to two models, that in itself being a most difficult choice since both were equally fascinating.
The first was a Russian black GAZ Chaika M-13 saloon from the Soviet era, complete with curtains! Tulu had informed me, among other details about which he was extraordinarily well informed, that Chaika means seagull in Russian. This car was substantially inspired by the American Packard, with a big-displacement V8 engine, and central camshaft. I knew that the Chaika-13 was often used by the KGB, and this tied-in with Tulus story of its origin on the Island.
Apparently there was a time when Russia had considered that the Island Government was getting too friendly with the USA, and believing (very perceptively!) that all dictator-presidents of small countries like large motor cars, they offered a choice of several models. The KGB association appealed to a president who at that time in his career was as interested in developing a secret police as he was in large motor cars.
My alternative was a 1936 Hispano Suiza J-12 which, as I again learned from Tulu, the president had purchased at enormous expense to his tiny nation through the offices of the French Ambassador.
Much as the idea appealed to me of impersonating a soviet-era KGB agent riding around in curtained luxury, I felt it didn't quite reflect the presidential image I had worked hard to create. And anyway, I really couldnt resist the Hispano. This J12, also known as the T68, was one of the truly elite vehicles produced by the prestigious Hispano-Suiza Company. The chassis alone cost upwards of $10,000, a small fortune in those days and more than most complete vehicles. The engines were similar to those found in fighter planes and powerful enough to carry these large and stately vehicles at a respectable speed.
The bodies were outfitted by some of the greatest coachbuilders of the era. My 6.5-liter version had a one-piece aluminum cylinder block and an overhead camshaft. It was to prove its potential on numerous mountain roads, climbing the steeper gradients slowly but with ease and confidence. What an experience that was! Indeed, I confess it was one of the highpoints, not just of my presidency, but of my life!
Quite a day off!
Sir J fell silent. I sat opposite him, ballpoint poised, and we waited. We completed your first two weeks in office, Sir Joshua, if you recall, I said, naturally expecting to set the ball rolling again.
I am aware of that, young man. And Im afraid I have... both a confession and something of a disappointment for you.
Well wed better hear it. Or rather both.
Did it ever occur to you to wonder, during your interviews with me, how I managed to recall every detail of events which happened... what, ten years ago?
Frankly no. I was engrossed in the story!
Well I suppose that cant be bad. But... here comes the confession. When you first approached me with this project of yours and we agreed for you to take down some of my recollections, I was sure that there was a journal somewhere. So I spent quite a while going all through my papers of the last twenty years. Quite a mountain of it!
Finding what I was looking for was not a problem. I have a wonderfully simple and effective filing system. I just have one box, and I put everything in it, each document on top of the last. So hey presto, everything is automatically filed in chronological order. I knew that anything relating to the revolution would be way back and I could find it easily. The problem was that curiosity forced me to go back page by page through my recent history, articles and papers I had written, conferences I had been invited to, plans for my country which had worked and some that hadn't... Jolly good fun actually!
Anyway, I eventually reached the revolutionary years and there, sure enough, was the Journal I had begun on the very first day of the régime-change. I had set myself the task of sitting down every night, whatever the hour, tired or not, and spending fifteen minutes noting down the events of the day. And that, my dear Mr Harvey, was why I was able to give you so much information, a blow-by-blow account of each day, each minute of those first crucial days the first two weeks which we have just completed, in fact.
Well if thats your confession Sir, it suits me. I surely have no complaints!
Ah but you will have, Mr Harvey, when I tell you that I kept it up for precisely two weeks then... well it rather fell by the wayside. And before you chide me, ask yourself, how many people begin a diary on the First of January and have abandoned it by the Second?
Actually, Sir Joshua, I was more intent on feeling thankful that we had got the first two weeks in such detail, and it seems clear to me that in those first two weeks you set in motion almost all the essentials.
In that, you are entirely correct, Mr Harvey.
Perhaps I might ask, Sir, looking forward, what would you consider the greatest challenge of your country's future? And if I too may be permitted a confession, that is a question with which I frequently challenge politicians whom I interview...
An interesting question, Mr Harvey, and much as I would like to, I will resist the temptation to enquire as to some of the typical replies you have already received, since I am sure they would disappoint me. My own answer is simple: to limit and discipline the growth of government. Basic governance is essential to preserve some semblance of peace, fair play and perhaps even prosperity. But government is power, and even if it does not corrupt, its status cultivates arrogance, and the sensation of regulating the lives of one's fellow citizens is hard to resist.
A tall order, in this modern world. Do you think you will succeed?
Me? It is no longer in my hands. I can only hope that I and my colleagues have planted the seeds of constitutional supremacy and disciplined government, and that with it we have created a pleasant and prosperous society overseen by a government ever subject to the watchful eye of its citizens well aware of their own powers.
You have surely achieved that, Sir, and I say that with the greatest sincerity.
Sir Joshua gave no response.
And there we left it.
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