The Tortoise and the Hare: The story retold
Realizing and
understanding the advantages of one’s strengths is the key to success
The Tortoise and the Hare story is retold referring to developing
countries as the Tortoise who applies novel strategies to win the race
At a recent conference held in Bangkok, on how Thailand can meet
global challenges in progressing its economy, a speaker referred to the
story we all learnt as kids of the tortoise and the hare and the race
they took on to reach the goal post. Adopted from Aesop’s fables, it was
one of the first to be learnt by all children, as a lesson for life. It
established the virtue of being steady and solid on one’s progress. The
hare was portrayed as being hasty, unsteady and complacent, in spite of
its ability to run faster than the tortoise.
Innovation and courage
The position the speaker took is that the story and the virtues it
presented were no longer valid in today’s world. “Not only will today’s
hare never take a nap, but
it
will dig holes along the way to trap the tortoise. The only way a
tortoise today, can win that race would be, if he was innovative and
bold to climb a hill and roll down towards the goal post” he said. The
obvious reference was of the need emerging countries had to be
innovative and different.
“Realizing and understanding the advantages of one’s strengths” was
the key. The tortoise had to realize that it had a hard shell that can
withstand the impact of the fall and take advantage of it to win the
race in a novel way. “But what is most important was to have the courage
to jump, even when the outcome was not clearly known” he added.
Reconciliation needs
This indeed is an interesting way to strategize the skills and drive
needed to get ahead in today’s world. And more interesting is the
backdrop in which these remarks were made.
Thailand is a country that was shaken up by recent events where
hearts and minds need to be reconciled, much like we have in Sri Lanka
in the aftermath of our over 25 years of the terrorist saga.
This has happened in spite of that country having achieved
unprecedented economic growth in the past few decades, sitting right at
the epicentre of a growth region, among the Mekong dragons. Yet, there
is unease and concerns about disparities in income distribution, access
to resources and opportunities. Centralization of power with the rich
elite and marginalisation of the poor is also cited as a possible cause
for the unrest, while others venture to call it pure political
game-play.
Sufficiency Economy
Right now, things have returned to normal, and attempts are made to
bring the rival groups together, it is stated. Another speaker referring
to the socio-economic environment commented on the economic philosophy
and model, The King of Thailand proposed some time ago for the country
of the ‘Sufficiency Economy’. Based on principles of the Buddhist way of
living, The King recommended that the Thai nation seeks to adopt a way
of life, where the motive for gaining economic prosperity would not be
satisfaction of greed. The King advocated “taking the middle path in
life as the optimal route for personal conduct at all levels:
individuals, families and communities.
It counsels moderation, self-reliance, honesty and integrity, while
exercising knowledge with prudence”.
Following the principles of ‘Sufficiency Economy’ posits that “an
individual should be able to lead a reasonably comfortable life without
excess or overindulgence in luxury. That is, if extravagance brings
happiness it is permissible only as long as it is within the means of
the individual” he said.
His Majesty stated in a Royal Speech on December 4, 1998, “If one is
moderate in one’s desires, one will have less craving. If one has less
craving, one will take less advantage of others. If all nations hold
this concept of moderation, without being extreme or insatiable in one’s
desire, the world will be a happier place”. The speaker at the
conference referred to “influences that have made Thailand’s efforts at
adopting this philosophy bear lesser fruit than they should have”
pointing to influence of the dominant western economic, social and
business culture.
Moderation and resilience
Several Thai scholars and economists have attempted to present the
‘Sufficiency Economy’ model to fit the currently dominant global
economic and social environment. In a paper developed on this aspect
Medhi Krongkaew, Professor of Economics at the National Institute of
Development Administration (NIDA) in Thailand states that “while
certainly complementary to the nation’s Buddhist heritage, ‘Sufficiency
Economy’ espouses a secular philosophy. It does not reject either
economic theory or economic progress. Neither does it denounce
globalization, as some have tried to interpret. Instead, the middle path
in the king’s philosophy speaks of a lifestyle governed by moderation
and resilience”.
He further adds that “it is possible to see ‘Sufficiency Economy’ as
consisting of two frameworks. One is the inevitability of facing the
globalised world in which economic efficiency and competition are the
rules of the game; the other is the need for economic security and the
capacity to protect oneself from external shock and instability.
Thinking within the first framework-the basic tenet of mainstream
economics-we must realise the opportunity costs involved in every
decision we make. We gain from specialization and division of labour
because the opportunity costs of doing everything by ourselves is much
higher.
The laws of comparative advantage and gains from trade are at work in
today’s world. But it would be foolish to pursue all-out specialization
without basic security, especially in food, shelter, and clothing. This
is where the framework of the ‘Sufficiency Economy’ comes in.
This concerns the basic capacity of the people of a country to look
after themselves. The optimization principle applies when we seek to
answer the question: How much of our time and energy should be devoted
to the first and second frameworks, respectively? In other words, how
much resources should be allocated to producing for trade based on
comparative advantage principle, and how much for basic security? The
best mix between the two allocations would represent the optimal state
of affairs, both in mainstream and Sufficiency Economics”.
Whole new game
The tortoise in this model as in the story retold, will seek to win
not necessarily by trying to outdo the hare at its own game, but by
reinventing the game in total. It will not be a game of winner takes
all. It will be a game of moderation, self-sufficiency, efficiency and
of self-fulfillment through caring for others as much as the caring that
goes for one-self. A model that Sri Lanka, as much as Thailand can
benefit from and move on to being winning tortoises with all of its
shell well intact and protected. |