Society’s rights and the drugs problem

What have cash and antibiotics to do with harmful drugs?

In 2007/8 the world’s financial system was on the brink of collapse. A decision was made to create money. It didn’t even need to be printed. Central banks could simply say it existed and use it to buy debt and debt equivalent. It was a necessary step in the halting of what could have become global financial chaos. Our finances should never have got into the state where such action was necessary. But they had and the action was justified.

In exactly the same way as antibiotics have been abused by being over-used, so Quantitative Easing (QE) was abused by excessive money creation. And just as antibiotics are becoming less effective so pumping more money into the system is starting to fail to do what was intended. Indeed, it is already creating negative interest – which means “money is not worth paying for”. Savers are about to pay for excessive Quantitative Easing. The lesson is that excess is abusive and will lead to disaster.

Drugs in the Philippines have become a major problem. Drugs always lead to crime of the worst sort – murder, extortion, torture, blackmail. A Governor of a Philippine Province saw the destruction that was being wrought by drugs and decided to end it. His methods were not nice. Many drug pushers were killed. There was widespread unfairness in his rough system of justice. Many outside the Philippines criticised his apparent disregard for human rights.

But the people liked what he had done and made him President because of his promise that he would do the same for the rest of the Philippines. Now he has started the process. It is tough, rough, often unfair. It leads to considerable injustice, I am sure, though I have seen no evidence of that so far. Sensitive and delicate it is not. It seems, however, to be effective because 600,000 drug pushers have handed themselves in rather than face the consequences of what they have been doing. It is a big tally for a newly-elected President.

President Rodrigo Duterte is being widely criticised for his seemingly indiscriminate dealings with criminals whose handling of their clients has been hideously rough. Cries of ‘human rights’ echo round the halls of societies not nearly as badly plagued by drugs as the Philippines. Senior politicians and financiers sound off about cruelty and disregard for rights.

Then they go back to their desks and continue their rape of the prudent who have saved and their destruction of the vulnerable who really need antibiotics which no longer work for them. Society should be law-abiding and peaceful. Money should be of consistent value. Antibiotics should be used sparingly to remain effective. When the situation gets out of control it has to be brought back into line. The process can be rough.

Which would you rather have order or chaos? What price are you willing to pay for order?