The Birth of Economics (25/09/08 - 2243 words)

The Birth of Economics (25/09/08 - 2243 words)
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Stonefeather was lagging behind again. Quwik stopped and turned to watch
his friend come up. As Stonefeather approached he said,
‘I don’t think this is a good idea.’
‘Nonsense!’ said the other smaller young man as he climbed a
dune, ‘This is a very good idea!’
Quwik shielded his eyes with the palm of his hand and looked along
the shore line. It was a sunny, but windy day. Up here on the dune
he was buffeted by the strong sea breeze. He laughed as he slid down the
sand into the shelter of between the dunes.
‘What do you see?’ asked Stonefeather.
Quwik regarded his friend’s solid features for a moment then
replied, ‘Nothing, just dunes for miles and miles. I can’t even see
our village any more. We are a good way from home.’
Stonefeather shuddered and hugged himself although it wasn’t cold.
He held his fishing spear in the crook of his elbow.
‘I don’t think this is a good idea’, he repeated eventually, ‘This
isn’t going to be like the caves.’
‘It will be fun! Listen, we walk until it gets dark. Camp. Eat our
fish..’ said Quwik as he held up two large fish he had strung over
his shoulder, ‘Then walk some more and if what they say is true we
will find the village along the shore sometime in the next day.’
‘Yes Quwik’, grunted Stonefeather as they walked on, ‘The village
where the head hunters live.’
Quwik laughed gleefully, ‘Think of it! Heads. It makes me shudder!
How many do you think they will have? So many?’ and he held out
his hands to show all his fingers.
‘I don’t know.’ grumbled his friend.

The next day they found the settlement, just as it had been
described to them by the travelling man that had come to their
village in the spring. Another village, think of that! Quwik and
Stonefeather crouched behind a dune and looked down on the roofs
of the huts.
‘It looks just like our place.’ whispered Stonefeather although
in truth there was no need to. They were far away and the wind
blew away all their words.
‘Yes. But there are no fishing nets hanging to dry, or spears
stuck in the sand. I don’t see any heads either, we will have
to get closer.’
‘No!’ gasped Stonefeather grabbing his arm, ‘We have seen the
village. We can go home now.’
‘We came to see the heads, not the village!’ cried Quwik,
pulling away his arm.
He then scrambled up and over the dune and quickly hid in the
shadow of the next. Stonefeather sighed and crouching low
followed his friend.
‘If they catch us they will kills us!’ hissed Stonefeather
as he came up beside Quick.
‘I know, I know, but I just have to see!’ was the whispered
reply.
‘You are too curious for your own good.’
Quwik said nothing, but continued to edge closer to the head
hunter settlement.

They could clearly see the people coming and going in between
the huts now. They seemed dirtier and hairier than the people
of their own village. Quwik and Stonefeather were fishermen,
like everyone else they knew, and spent a lot of time in the
sea. Quwik couldn’t see what these people did for food, but
the traveller had told them they hunted game in the forest.
As they watched something started to happen. The women
gathered outside the largest of the huts and men started to
walk into the village from another path behind it, going
around the short wooden circumference fence and entering
the dwelling. There was the sounds of chanting, then some
of the men exited the large hut, carrying things that
looked like..
‘Oh!’ gasped Quwik, ‘Look at that!’
Stonefeather groaned and put his hands over his mouth.
Each man was carrying a human head. They began to pile them
up in the centre of the village beside the large hut. The
women began to ululate.
‘Right, I’ve had enough of this.’ said Stonefeather and
turned to go.
‘No wait!’ Quwik whispered as loud as he dared, ‘I want to
see what happens.. oh no!’
He’d just seen a dirty hairy man coming along the dunes
towards them. They made eye contact at the same time. The
man seemed to be startled and angry, a moment later he was
shaking his spear and shouting towards the village.
‘Run!’ was Quwik’s reaction, he was soon running as fast
as he could back along the beach, Stonefeather doing his
best to keep up, their bare feet kicking up the sand as
they went.
‘Look what you did!’ gasped Stonefeather as they ran,
‘Now they want to add us to their collection!’
They ran and ran, and every so often Quwik would look
over his shoulder. It didn’t look good.
‘How many are following us?’ cried Stonefeather, not
wanting to lose any speed in turning his head.
‘All of them!’
They were getting closer now too, some of the men were
obviously lean and fast hunters, used to running down
prey, and were ahead of the main pack.
‘We’ll never make it back! Our village is too far away’,
groaned Quwik, but then he said, ‘Wait! I have an idea!’
‘It was ideas from your head that got us into this mess!’
croaked Stonefeather, he was starting to run out of breath.
‘Just follow me!’

Quwik changed course and ran towards the forest. After a
while they entered its shady pine needle covered environs
and found an animal trail to follow. They ducked under
branches and jumped over streams, the path leading them
up towards the mountains.
Climbing ever higher, the pace was beginning to slow
everyone down.
Stonefeather panted for breath and said,
‘The caves are around here somewhere.’
Quwik was equally exhausted but managed to say, ‘Yes,
and the cave people.’
Stonefeather was confused and replied, ‘The cave people
are just as unfriendly as the head hunters.’
‘Exactly!’

Eventually they reached a cave entrance. Quwik leapt
into the mouth of the opening and made several loud
whooping noises, then dived behind a bush between two
trees. Stonefeather flopped down beside him, and then
burrowing into the undergrowth turned to watch the cave.
‘You are doubling our trouble Quwik!’ he groaned as several
spear carrying cave folk came out of the entrance. They
were covered in white powder markings that made them look
very fearsome. They also wore colourful looking necklaces
and bangles that sparkled in the sunlight.
A few moments later the first of the head hunters arrived,
but stopped running up when they saw the cave dwellers. As
more arrived on both sides, they began to call and shout at
each other, but no one seemed to be willing to step forward
and break the stand off.
Quwik and Stonefeather were somewhere in the middle,
unobserved by both sides.
The cave people shouted in their language and shook their
spears. In turn the head hunters shouted in their guttural
tongue and shook their spears. This carried on for some minutes
until the head hunters, en masse, began to edge down the hillside.
The cave dwellers didn’t seem to want to follow them and just
stood at the cave entrance, standing on tip toe to watch the
head hunters leave.

When all seemed quiet, the cave dwellers retreated back into
the darkness of their home. A time after that Stonefeather
whispered to Quwik,
‘How did you know that would work?’
‘I didn’t!’
‘When we came here last time, there was no one here.’
‘Yes, but we saw signs that they had been. Perhaps they didn’t
notice us because you were too scared to enter the cave and
we went home so soon.’
‘Perhaps... well, let’s go home now ok? I’ve had enough for
today!’

A day later Quwik sat outside his hut in the sand dunes and
watched the fishermen bringing in their nets, then he
watched the women gut and hang the fish to smoke. An idea
began to form in his head.
‘What are you thinking about?’ asked Stonefeather as he sat
down in the sand beside his friend.
‘I’m just thinking. Those cave dwellers were wearing things
around their necks and on their wrists. Golden coloured and
sparkly red and green like nothing I’ve ever seen before.’
‘So?’
‘Well, that’s wealth isn’t it? I mean proper wealth.’
‘Like having a lot of fish?’
‘More than that. I mean, how many fish would you give for
a little red sparkly stone?’
‘Humph!’ grunted Stonefeather, ‘Nothing if I was hungry.’
‘But say you had a hundred fish. How many for a sparkly
stone?’
‘I see what you are saying. Well, maybe ten...’ Stonefeather
replied uncertainly, holding up all his fingers.
‘Exactly!’ exclaimed Quwik.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Instead of going out into the sea all day for the rest of
our lives to catch fish we could.. er.. sell some fish to
the cave dwellers. Maybe we sell them five fish for one
stone.. then .. we sell the stone in our village for ten
fish and..’
‘You have some more fish than you started with. But it seems
like a lot of work for just one hand of fish.’
Quwik scratched his head, ‘But if we do it for lots of stones
and lots of fish.’
‘Yes, but soon everyone here will have all the stones they
want.’
‘Maybe. Maybe. Then we would have to .. er .. I don’t know.’
said Quwik waving his hands, ‘Expand. The more people involved,
the more each individual has to offer all the others. Everyone
has more than they need of one thing and less of what they need
of others.’
Stonefeather considered the idea of opening trade negotiations
with the head hunters then said,
‘You’re crazy.’
‘They may take heads, but they also hunt the jungle. They have
meat, probably lots of it. And there must be other tribes further
up the beach that they raid because they never come here for
their trophies.’
‘Maybe. Probably. You’re still crazy though.’

Quwik may have been crazy, but a year later he was the man
behind the roaring trade his village was making in fish, which
was sold to the cave people in return for their well crafted
jewellery and precious stones.

Ten years later he was the head man of his village which was
the centre of trade up and down the coast for dozens of miles.
Quwik was older now and was what could be considered a wealthy
man.
One day the traveller came once more to their village and Quwik
hailed him as he arrived,
‘You again!’ he called cheerfully, ‘I wondered if you would ever
come again.’
The old man leaned on his staff and said,
‘Yes, I was passing this way. I thought I might go and see the
man I had heard all these stories about. This wealthy man.’
Quwik beamed and held out his hands, ‘Come to my hut and take some
food. In truth I have you to thank for all of my fortune. If you
hadn’t told me of the head hunter village them my youthful curiosity
would never had led me there. I would have never of disturbed
the cave dwellers and I would have never of seen their shiny
stones. I would still be a fisherman I expect!’
As the old man entered Quwik’s large hut, he pulled his long
white beard and replied,
‘There is nothing wrong with being a fisherman young man.’
Quwik laughed and said, ‘You sound like Stonefeather.’
‘He is a wise man then. Tell me, I know you must think a lot of
the future, but do you ever think of the past?’
Quwik shrugged and sat down. One of his young daughters served
them some drinks.
‘I can’t say that I do.’
‘How came your tribe to the place?’
‘Well, the old men of the village tell stories of an exodus. Looking
for new places to live. Crossing the sea...This is a new place. There
were no men here when my tribe arrived. Or so they say.’
‘I’m sure they do. A new place. So few men in the world and so much
land, it is no wonder that so many tribes I meet on my travels think
that they are the only men in existence!’
Quwik smiled and the old man continued,
‘You are changing that though. I am not surprised. Mankind can not
be held back from its destiny, but perhaps it would interest you to
know that our fathers are not the first to walk these shores.’
‘No?’
‘I’ve been deep inland. I have seen things that would make you wonder.
Unnatural things and ancient things. I have talked to men that tell
the strangest of tales.’
‘What do they tell?’
‘One of the things that they say I am here to relate to you. It is
a warning. A long time ago, there were men here and they too made
trade with each other and they grew rich. But one day they grew too
confident and were destroyed utterly by their own hubris. It starts
with a handful of fish for a ruby and ends when nations starve
because the economy grows so top heavy that the whole thing collapses.
We are all that remains of a global society that forgot one of
nature’s fundamental laws.’
Quwik leaned forward, ‘What’s that?’
‘You can’t eat money!’