Economics 101: Study of POW camp economics

[jmbar2]

This article provides a fascinating account of economic markets forming spontaneously in WWII prisoner camps, written by an economist in the camp.

Although a P.O.W. camp provides a living example of a simple economy
which might be used as an alternative to the Robinson Crusoe economy beloved by
the text-books, and its simplicity renders the demonstration of certain economic
hypotheses both amusing and instructive, it is suggested that the principal significance
is sociological.

True, there is interest in observing the growth of economic institutions
and customs in a brand new society, small and simple enough to prevent detail from
obscuring the basic pattern and disequilibrium from obscuring the working of the
system.

But the essential interest lies in the universality and the spontaneity of this
economic life; it came into existence not by conscious imitation but as a response to
the immediate needs and circumstances. Any similarity between prison organization
and outside organization arises from similar stimuli evoking similar responses.

http://icm.clsbe.lisboa.ucp.pt/docentes/url/jcn/ie2/0POWCamp.pdf

For the economics nerds among us.

[OnlinePoker]

1. James Clavell's novel King Rat might be an interesting example of this.

In the camp, the one with the power was the one who could provide and, in this case, it was a corporal who was a nobody before becoming a POW. In the camp, even the officers deferred to him. Once they were freed, he was back to being a nobody corporal.

[jmbar2]

5. Thanks for the recommendation

Another book to add to my wishlist.

[sanatanadharma]

2. Damn, I read something similar decades ago in a college ...

... anthropology of economics class at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, back in the days of "parents, do you know where your kids are?" TV announcements at curfew time.

[cbabe]

3. Not a new, fresh system. Simply re-establising a

system they knew previously.

https://www.goodreads.com › book › show › 6617037-debt

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber

Before there was money, there was debt

Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems—to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There’s not a shred of evidence to support it.

Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.

Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a fascinating chronicle of this little known history—as well as how it has defined human history, and what it means for the credit crisis of the present day and the future of our economy.

(David/Occupy Wall Street)

[jmbar2]

4. Thanks for the recommended read

Adding to my wish list.