Moai

The more I think of the upcoming infra-structure construction, the more I have a flash-back of the Easter Island.

The story was simple: This lovely place at the south of Pacific used to be occupied by a tribe of hard-working people. The place was fertile and, using the jargon of Adam Smith, the product of the land could sustain a considerable population - probably a few times more than the number of farmer that was needed.

And then the leader of the tribe got a grandiose habit to build gigantic Moai - the construction of which required much labour, chopping down woods or things alike that hurts the environment. When the forest was turned down, drought set in, and there was no material to build boats for fishing (or to fly). It was followed by famine and civil war and all possible tragedies.

Many authorities (for example, Jared Diamond) found it difficult to imagine why the leaders of the Easter Island allowed all these to happen: they should be sufficiently smart to foresee the inevitable disaster. (Even though they were not geologists and did not appreciate the relation between forest and water supply, the effect on fishing was immediately obvious.)

But we are wrong. More likely the leaders did not make such a decision - at least not deliberately. Since a (probably small) portion of the population could work as farmer and produce enough food for the whole tribe, the remaining people needed to find something to do to earn their living. In those days there was nothing called "industry" or "overseas trading".

Yes, it was a problem of unemployment.

And therefore they roared and insisted their leaders to build more Moai.

And the rest is history.

PS. You may ask why didn't those people find something fruitful to do. Well, there is an old saying: If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem comes up needing a nail.