A thought just came to me, and it’s the title of this post. MP stands for Member of Parliament, and the terms “Manage Perceptions” and “Move People” came to my mind.

The first rule of economics can be summarized as scarcity and tradeoffs, while the first rule of politics is to ignore the first rule of economics. Economics deals with how best to manage human covetousness because nothing is never enough to satisfy the wants of people. Politics is all about how to sell solutions so the sellers remain in power. Will people who become, or aspire to become, MPs, ever embrace “Moving People” instead of “Managing Perceptions”?

I get bored with most news because they are repetitively depressing. However, I need to glance at the news each day so I keep abreast as to what is happening and how people are allowing themselves to become influenced by the stuff they take in constantly. I thought about disputes over water again this morning. Thoughts about how people across the globe have been managing their water sources floated in front of me. I don’t know the current state of desert reclamation and agriculture in Israel’s Arava Desert, but there will always be challenges in that already challenging venture. Egypt continues to complain about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam but doesn’t seem to be willing to do what the Israelis are doing in Arava. No one seems to be interested in constructing water storage and irrigation facilities like qanats in ancient times. People know that growing more plants will change the local climate for the better but lack the will and commitment to do so. We seem to want “someone else” to solve these problems for us, and that “someone else” is inevitably the Government, “Foreign Direct Investment” or some brilliantly generous philanthropist funding some research program aimed at finding solutions to overblown problems.

Remember how life is designed. The largest creatures on earth are made up of trillions of cells which we can’t see with our eyes. Each cell is extremely capable of functioning and doing what it does on its own. Coordination and collaboration proceed with unbelievable efficiency. Could we learn, or be reminded of, a thing or two from this? Do we wait for ourselves to become thirsty before we dig our wells or storage facilities and manage our water better? Have we been allowing ourselves to be lulled into deadly complacency because we think we’ve automated our “sales pipeline” and have automated in large measure the rest of our operations? The hospitality industry in Singapore, meaning hotels and serviced residences in the main, have been preparing themselves for an uptick in demand when the current pandemic abates still more. How else can they pivot and posture in order to continue being paid for the services they offer when the next “crisis” comes along, whatever form it may take?

Every day I see “news” of people getting “Zoom burnout”. I see news about people dreading to go back to the office. How many of you will join me and say “enough”? Get up and work to restore value back into the economy you happen to be working in. We need to stop “Managing Perceptions” and start to “Move People”, starting with ourselves. That’s not just for people with the Title of MP. It’s for all of us. Victor Davis Hanson, in a talk with former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia John Anderson, talks about how farmers need to have both “brain” and “brawn”. Cognitively Competent and Practically Purposeful. Erudite in thought, diligent and effective in Action.

It’s time to Move, People!

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