Impian Kesatria

The End of Economic Hit Men?

2009-12-23T09:33:00.006-06:00

I just finished John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I think despite the controversy, the book itself is well written, vividly describing his experience as well as his dilemma. I tried to do as much desktop searches as possible to find supporting facts, which admittedly difficult to be conclusive despite various factual accuracies which he referenced. Many qualified investigative journalists have tried to corroborate his stories and shared their findings on the web so I leave it to the pros to continue doing that. What I'd like to discuss is the ideas he mentioned in the book.

In Confessions, Perkins shared his past life as what he called an 'economic hit man', a highly paid economic consultant out to cheat developing countries billions of dollars and bind them to the United States' agenda. He did this by working with an international engineering firm to generate wildly optimistic forecasts that international banks will use to justify big loans on developing countries. The countries spend the money on power plants, roads, dams, etc. awarding the construction to American firms like Bechtel, Halliburton, etc. The key is that the projects are too ambitious, the loan is too big, that the country will not be able to pay back -- this is when they have to do the United States' bidding, be it building US military base, voting in favor of US in the UN, opening up more of their economies and natural resources to US, etc.

Upon close reading, I understand that one of his focus messages is not on the conspiracy theory in a traditional sense: There were no explicit conspirators, no intense and regular back room conspiring involving all the parties, etc. Conspirations did happen, but more by sub-groups of people sharing a short term agenda instead of "big picture" global domination. He essentially said that the "big conspiration" is actually conspiration of values, worldview. The worldview that says economic growth is everything, that it is the big answer for human prosperity, irrespective of inequality. Since economic growth is everything, then the champion and the drivers of those growth should be greatly rewarded, or even worshipped to some extend. The losers on the other hand, are available for exploitation -- they ought to do the hard labors supporting their masters, the new winners, new landlords. To continue fuel economic growth, domination of resources is critical, which is one of key reasons for economic hit men's existence.

Towards the end of the book he also mentioned how the new generation of economic hit men, the international consultants, while "sheltered" from the explicit explanations on reasons of their existence, they are still bound to the mission of the economic hit men through their high salary, huge bonus, pension plans, insurance, and the cost of their children's education, and so on. All of us, the global people at large, the upper and middle class are also bound by this worldview so long we still spend and consume mindlessly. In short, the earth cannot support United States' level of consumption if aspired by all other countries. They would also have to resort to the US' style of exploitation as told by Perkins in order to achieve their aspiration.

I am fortunate enough to study in one of the US' esteemed universities and learnt up close about the US version of capitalism. At times I can resonate with Perkins' dilemma, having been a consultant myself. Through my education and experience I came to fully appreciate the virtues of capitalism: independence, entrepreneurial spirit, strong work ethic, meritocracy, etc., but they by no means are complete. This book has opened my eyes and balanced my worldview, to make me appreciate better the equal importance of equality, of justice, and of sustainability. I believe economic growth is to be pursued NOT at all cost. It is particularly not sustainable if not accompanied by fairness, justice, environmental consideration, and equal opportunities for all. Growth should also be balanced by values which support sustainability such as moderate consumption, spend and use less, simplicity, environmental awareness, buy environmentally friendly products, and many other virtues. These, my friends, are what we ought to do. As said, the prospect of not doing it is too great: Many countries will be forced to adopt imperialist stance in order to secure those resources.... Bleak future and Earth for our children.

Those messages, in my opinion, are more important than any conspiracy stories told throughout the book. I think those are the messages that Perkins also wants us to hear, and do. Starting with ourselves, and then people around us. In this day and age, we as grass roots, common people, have such big power that had never been seen before to together change our life styles, the course of our lives, and by doing so, the course of the world. I hope that will lead to the end of economic hit men, forever.

Two is better than one...

2008-10-03T10:09:00.003-05:00

Hello! If you notice from now on, Impian Kesatria is being written by two individuals named Yudistira and Drupadi :). A team of people is always better than one individual... We hope to learn, share and contribute more to the wonderful world of ideas, values, and communities, for the betterment of our shared world.

Creating and Consuming

2007-06-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

After watching a TV interview with Jimmy Carter and understanding his illustrious career and impressive productivities (~150 pieces of furnitures, 21 books and counting, presidential career, etc.), I finally realize the differences between Consuming and Creating.

Jim Carter is a creator.

Our God is the Ultimate Creator. He created us to reflect His glory, and to be valuable in this world we have to create. When we read, study, and learn, we consume. I was initially so proud having able to read tough books, complex manuscripts, heavy articles, etc. But in the end if I cannot convert those information into knowledge and create something out of them, I am a mere consumer. To actually add value, we have to create, not stopping at consume.

So read your books, but don't stop there. Observe the world, but don't stop there. Think and reflect, but yet don't stop there. Summarize the ideas, your findings, synthesize them into useful thoughts about current world, and share it to the people around you.

Write. Writing is an act of creating, not consuming.

Speak. Speaking or teaching is creating, not consuming.

Share. Sharing your material, spiritual, and knowledge wealth to others is act of creating, not consuming.

When you are creating, you also take risks compare to simply consuming. But that's fine, because you will then grow to be a better creator, and better person.

Go out. Be a creator. Let us learn together to be creators, to be productive, for our own selves and society.

Movies, films, pilem, etc...

2007-04-25T19:40:00.000-05:00

Since we are talking about movies, what movies do you think reflect the spirit of kesatria (heroic, self-sacrificing, courageous, noble, honorable, a person of integrity)?
I have listed several below that are merely according to my humble opinion. The characters in those movies are by no means perfect people (well, maybe except one movie below according to my personal faith) : they have weaknesses, they made wrong choices (that usually they regret later), made mistakes, etc. But when the time/times come, they do answer the call for action valiantly. That spirit, hopefully, are in each of us.

List of movies that show spirit of kesatria (not in any order):
1. The Insider
2. Braveheart
3. Gladiator
4. Schindler's List
5. The Hiding Place (the story of the Ten Boom family)
6. Cinderella Man
7. A Beautiful Mind
8. We Were Soldiers
9. Gandhi
10. Hero
11. Passion of the Christ
12. Ben-Hur
13. Saving Private Ryan

I am sure there are many more movies out there that qualifies; feel free to complete the list :). Look forward to see/hear some Indonesian movies that qualify also.

Blood Diamond.....

2007-04-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching Blood Diamond, a movie I've been wanting to see since its release. It was a good movie that exposes us to real evil of child soldiers, civil wars, conflict diamonds. It is real evil and we have to help fight whereever we are (when thinking of buying diamonds, for example). It was such a stirring movie with a lot of heroic scenes throughout. Even a lifelong pragmatic "businessman" such as Mr. Archer thought and made a good decision in the end to contribute fighting the evil in Africa.

The director also spoke of an interesting juxtapose in the story between a man looking for a diamond and a man looking for his son..... Which one is more valuable? Solomon definitely has a quality of a kesatria, and Archer's decision towards the end (not sure if he premeditated it) shows that he, too, has it to redeem himself.

Despite the controversy surrounding Hollywood, I like its faith in optimism and good ending. Hollywood movies punishes the bad guys and rewards the good guys. Hollywood also both rewards and punishes bad guys who turn good, providing them with means to redeem themselves as in the case of Mr. Archer. I suspect this somewhat reflects the demand of American audience (and apparently aslo the world audience seieng how successful Hollywood movies are). Perhaps, humanity in this world full of suffering need to believe that things will get better; that things will be fine in the end. Villains will lose, heroes will win, and heroic deeds are celebrated.

PS: After further reflection, I opted to start writing in English. At first I thought writing in Indonesian will enable my writings to be enjoyed by more Indonesians (especially those who cannot read English). However, in balance it is better to write in English to include more people outside just Indonesian circle as well as helping my fellow Indonesian to learn English (despite my not-so-good English :). Well, we learn together.
Please let me know if you like me to write in Indonesians instead.

Tegakkan keadilan: Tunda hukuman mati Tibo cs!

2006-09-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

Memang Indonesia setiap hari mengukir sejarah. Kalau Tibo cs dieksekusi Jumat dini hari, pemerintah Indonesia merelakan dirinya ditunggangi oknum dan mastermind Poso, yang akan diuntungkan dengan kematian mereka. Pemerintah Indonesia juga berarti menutup mata terhadap ketidak adilan yang jelas2 terjadi di dalam proses keadilan Tibo cs. Apakah langkah2 ini adalah langkah2 menuju pemerintahan gaya Orba?

Mari kita solider sebagai rakyat Indonesia yang ikut pilu, sedih, dan bertindak terhadap ketidakadilan ini.

Silakan baca dan sign-up (secepatnya karena faktor waktu): www.justiceforindonesia.org

Salam keadilan!

Shopping Mal dan Kelas Menengah

2006-09-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Kalau nonton film Gladiator, anda pasti ingat dimana pemerintahan kota Roma mengadakan gladiator games terus menerus untuk mengalihkan perhatian, men-distract para warganya dari hal2 yang penting seperti ekonomi, proses politik, moral, dlsb.

Terkadang kalau melihat mal2 yang menjamur di Jakarta dan betapa kegiatan pergi ke mal dan berbelanja menjadi pusat dari energi dan perhatian kelas menengah Jakarta, saya jadi merasa jangan2 ada parallelnya antara kegiatan pemerintah Jakarta dengan apa yang dilakukan pemerintah Roma dahulu kala. Bayangkan, megahnya Senayan City yang dibangung berseberangan dengan Plaza Senayan dan berada di lokasi berdekatan dengan Ex, Sudirman Place, dan Ratu Plaza complex, semuanya termasuk shopping mal2 yang cukup besar! Luar biasa! Kalau dahulu di film Gladiator pemerintah Roma mengadakan gladiator game demi game non stop sampai rakyatnya ketagihan, pemerintah Jakarta membangun mal demi mal sampai Jakarta penuh dengan shopping mal dan penghuninya ketagihan.

Seperti yang kita tahu, kelas menengah adalah suatu lapisan masyarakat yang seringkali menjadi agen pembaharu di masyarakat, dikarenakan kekuatan ekonomi, pendidikan, akses sosial, dan relatif independensinya (dibandingkan kelas bawah yang lemah dan kelas atas yang status quo). Kelas menengah Indonesia sudah sangat sibuk berbelanja di shopping mal yang terus menjamur, makan di resto2 yang tersebar dimana2, dan kalau tidak berbelanja atau makan diluar, mereka kerja keras untuk mendapat upah yang kritikal dalam mendukung gaya hidup tsb.

Begitulah roda kelas menengah Jakarta dan ekonomi konsumerisme yang didukung public policy Jakarta yang pro konsumerisme berlebihan. Semoga saya salah, karena terus terang saya ingin melihat lebih keterlibatan kelas menengah di dalam membawa arus perubahan ke arah yang lebih baik, karena lapisan masyarakat ini adalah lapisan yang potensial dan membawa harapan buat kita semua.

Apa PeranMu?

2006-09-13T17:06:00.000-05:00

Memang jangan kita mengecilkan arti sebuah Peran. Banyak sekali karya2 tulis maupun sinema yang memperlihatkan pentingnya orang untuk menjalankan peran yang ada di depannya demi kebaikan diri sendiri maupun keadaan sosial di sekelilingnya. Ingat tidak film Lord of The Rings dimana masing2 anggota Fellowship menjalankan peran serta tugasnya masing2, dengan puncaknya Aragorn akhirnya menjawab Peran yang sudah disiapkan untuknya sebagai keturunan Raja dan menantang Sauron.

Peran2 yang ada di dalam suatu masyarakat sangat vital membantu jalannya masyarakat tersebut. Misalnya peran politikus, dokter, LSM2, ulama, guru, murid, kaum intelektual, pastor, dlsb. Penting untuk kita memahami peran kita di dalam lingkungan kita dan berusaha sebaik mungkin menjalankan peran tersebut. Tanpa peran yang teratur dengan prioritas yang benar dari setiap pemegang peranan tersebut, masyarakat akan chaotic.

Cobalah kita lihat, banyak masalah di Indonesia disebabkan karena orang2 yang tidak memahami perannya sehingga salah menjalaninya, serakah melangkahi batas perannya, ataupun bermalas2 dalam menjalankan perannya*:
- Politikus menjadi pebisnis
- Tokoh agama menjadi preman
- Pelajar menjadi preman
- Tokoh agama menjadi pebisnis
- Wartawan menjadi pemeras
- Guru menjadi entrepreneur
- ABRI menjadi pebisnis
- Pebisnis menjadi jenderal dengan pasukan/bodyguard
- Wartawan menjadi "pengarang" berita

Ditambah lagi, salah satu imbas korupsi adalah menjungkirbalikkan peran dari yang seharusnya menjadi the exact opposite:
- Polisi menjadi pemeras, pelindung yang salah dan penekan yang benar
- Dokter dan suster menjadi pemeras, memastikan kita tidak mendapat pelayanan kesehatan kecuali berduit

Marilah bersama2 kita tobat dan renungkan, apa peran utama kita masing2 di dalam masyarakat ini, kemudian berusaha menjalankannya sebaik2nya. Kalau sulit, kita perlu berpikir, bagaimana menata masyarakat supaya bisa ada peran yang teratur dengan insentif yang benar.

Apa peranMu?

* Tidak ada salahnya terkadang misalnya guru menjadi entrepreneur, yang menjadi pertanyaan adalah peran mana yang utama sehingga orientasi dan prioritasnya lurus.

Sebuah Kamus Usang dan Langka

2006-06-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

Halo Sobat2,

Saya perhatikan akhir2 ini banyak kata-kata Indonesia berharga yang pudar tergerogoti sikon dan realita sosial budaya. Sayang sekali kalau kata-kata ini hilang, kita harus lestarikan bersama nih, untuk generasi kita dan yang akan datang:

MARI LESTARIKAN PERBENDAHARAAN KATA KITA:
- Empati: empati nyata berbuah aksi, bukan NATO. Jiwa besar berkapasitas merasakan, ikut berbahagia, dan ikut menangisi jiwa lain. Jangan biarkan dunia dan roda cepatnya mengecilkan empatimu. Hiruplah dan bertumbuh.

- Kesatria: jiwa berharga, langka, perlu dilestarikan bahkan diperanakkan lebih banyak (see Impian Kesatria). Kalau masih bingung, kamu perlu baca Mahabharata. Kalau masih bingung juga, silakan tanya saya.

- Komunitas: tempat berkumpul yang jujur, hormat, fun, dan produktif. Beyond superficiality, elitisme, dan egoisme.

- No Pain No Gain: Payah, jaman sekarang orang2 kebanyakan mau jalan pintas saja, to Gain Without Pain, melangkahi karakter dan mengirit keringat. Baik di kuliahan, tempat kerja, building friendship maupun keluarga. Memang kita juga gak mau excessive dan unnecessary pain, tapi marilah jangan takut going through pain as it builds our character!

KATA-KATA YANG TIDAK PERLU ADA DI PERBENDAHARAAN KITA:
- EGP: suatu sikap Emang Gua Pikirin, yang besar kontribusinya terhadap marjinalisasi, SARA, dan keadaan anti-Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Siapa saja bisa ter-jangkiti penyakit ini, bahkan pemuka2 dan pemeluk2 agama. Bisa juga keliatan pas mau bantu korban2 bencana alam, dimana sikap tidak perduli atau hanya perduli kelompok2nya sendiri mencuat.

- Preman berjubah: wah, sebenarnya kata apapun yang ada 'preman'nya sungguh tidak perlu di suatu budaya indah dan ramah seperti Indonesia. Apalagi dipakaikan jubah segala (untuk menutupi sesuatu kali).

- Holier than You: ini penyakit klasik umat beragama, apapun agamanya. Manifestasinya banyak dan mampu bersembunyi di balik sikap2 mulia, donasi, simpati, dlsb.

Impian Kesatria

2006-05-31T17:47:00.000-05:00

Saya bermimpi indah, sangat indah sampai tersenyum sendiri, bangga. Saya bermimpi menjadi Kesatria. Ya, Kesatria yang menguasai tubuh dan jiwa saya. Jiwa Kesatria yang berharga tidak ternilai harganya!

Jiwa yang rela berkorban. Sederhana, rendah hati, tidak menarik perhatian. Kuat tahan cobaan, disiplin menimba ilmu, rajin bekerja dan bertakwa. Kesemuanya untuk menyenangkan Pencipta dan melayani sesama.

Kesatria adalah pelindung yang lemah dan yang terabaikan, penuntut dan penjaga keadilan, pejuang dan pembagi kebaikan. Kesatria pencinta keragaman, penghormat perbedaan, penyayang alam. Kesatria yang konsekuen, pemberani, dan tidak munafik. Jujur dan benci kompromi. Kuat tapi berani kalah. Keras mengejar visi tapi lembut menangisi tragedi.

Kesatria berdarah merah putih. Yang sakti melawan kejahatan tetapi rela mati untuk perdamaian.

Sungguh bangga saya! Tiba-tiba saya tersadar. Mungkin Impian Kesatria tidaklah mustahil. Mungkin saya mampu, mungkin kawan saya pun mampu, bahkan kita semua mampu: Belajar bermimpi untuk menjadi Kesatria. Biarlah orang mengecap dan mengerti, apa arti kata Kesatria. Jangan biarkan maknanya hilang ditelan sejarah. Mari hidupi makna itu lewat hidup kita!

Alangkah dunia yang semakin baik jika penuh dengan jiwa-jiwa Kesatria. Alangkah Indonesia yang semakin baik. Alangkah kayanya Indonesia jika penuh dengan jiwa Kesatria. Tutup matamu dan bayangkan sejenak. Jangan tukar mahalnya jiwa Kesatria dengan apapun jua. Marilah bermimpi, dan tebarlah mimpi itu.

Beranilah bermimpi: Impian Kesatria.