Saturday 15 June 2013

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Review and Reflections) OR HOW TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX?

What caused the death of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Poverty? Dictatorship? Ignorance towards his people?  What do you think? A little hint: In 1966, one year after Ceaușescu had become the Communist dictator of Romania, he made abortion illegal in order to increase the population.

By Olena Denysyuk

The reform had an effect: within one year of abortion ban, the Romanian birth rate had doubled. The lives of these babies were miserable, being born by poor and young mothers, who would otherwise have chosen abortion. These babies were more likely to become criminals. On Christmas Day of 1989, Ceaușescu learned from his mistakes the hard way. With a bullet to the head. From the people of his nation, tired of living in poverty. People, who probably wouldn’t be born if not for the abortion ban- the ban that gave him a bullet to the head- NOT the poverty, NOT the ignorance. The brutal mistake of 1966, which he was not prepared for.

This is one of Freakonomics’ examples of novel thinking- by looking deeper, finding the root of the cause, rather than focusing on generally accepted truth. This is a case of how to think out of the box.

So what is Feakonomics about?