Saturday, February 6, 2010
Economics of Terrorism
I found this article quite interesting in that it was a very different view of terrorism than I've seen and it relatesto this class in an interesting way. As you'll read, terrorist groups, in a way, have their own "economy" putting certain restrictions on it's members and providing benefits to its members to stay loyal. They act like a small centrally planned economy that tries to deter its members from the free market system.
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3 comments:
I am surprised to hear this. However it does make sense as most terrorists are brainwashed by their leaders and are promised rewards for them and their family. It would be like a centrally planned economy where the leaders make all the decisions.
It is really not surprising at all, afterall, not all the terrorist groups are filled with religious fanatics ready to blow themselves up for a couple dozen of virgins in heaven. There are still some benefits they'd like to get while still present in "this world" and the leaders of such groups understand the mindset of their people and want to make sure they remain loyal by meeting at least some basic needs.
One major difference between terrorist groups and centrally planned economies (at least under communism) is that the women do not work. In most formerly centrally planned economies working is/was considered a virtue and all members of society were expected to work. Also, there is a difference of choice. While this explains why people would join a terrorist group in these places, in countries with centrally planned economies the people have no option whatsoever of not being a part of a centrally planned country.
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