Cast Away for These reasons Economic Jihad

Cast Away for These reasons Economic Jihad by Jo M. Sekimonyo

 

To understand what this book is about, you must first understand what the author is about. He is not just another man on a rant, speaking unintelligibly on his soapbox. No. He is a master thinker with much to teach and share to those who will listen. He has his eccentricities such as listening to vinyl records only, and he takes great pleasure in finding troves such as Thelonious Monk albums (a musician whose work I probably enjoy as much as he does). A common theme in this book is poor distribution of wealth and also the folly of economists. Mr. Sekimonyo is something of an exception in his sociopolitical ideals. I am used to someone who speaks of social injustice and economic inequality as being either Marxist, socialist or communist. And there are those, as he rightly states, that pigeonhole him as such and shut him out. That is most definitely their loss: in fact, the author is none of the above, however he does say that capitalism has some serious problems. Indeed, he writes: "...people fail to realize that Capitalism was part of paradigms based on barbaric social norms and practices." Unlike some economists in their ivory towers. Mr. Sekimonyo ventures out into the world. He will ride Greyhound buses over thousands of miles of highway and fly to Africa, where poverty can be observed in its crudest state. Major problems there were corruption and repression. He makes a poignant observation that problems in Africa are found in the Western Hemisphere as well. As an example, he cites when former Gov. of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich was arrested for trying to sell Barak Obama's vacant Senate seat while in public office. I commend the author for bringing this up because as Americans, we are taught that there are certain events that do not take place in our country, but rather in remote, Third World countries. In the coming chapters, the author continues to show us more examples of social inequality and injustice-always preceded by meticulous research and first-hand knowledge, never taking people or events at face value.

 

I picked up this book by chance, and, normally accepting of capitalism and, I admit, ignoring poverty, though it abounds in my adopted country, Chile, I went through three phases: Phase 1: I didn't believe what the author was saying, I wanted to give counterexamples and shut it out. Phase 2: I kept going, compelled by the author's solid style and well-thought-out arguments, I began to see that he had a point. Phase 3: I saw the light. Even though my ideology is different than his, I saw the need to support the poor, to make a difference, in other words, I answered the wake-up call.

 

I can think of myriad reasons for reading this book and a whole spectrum of people who would be interested in it. The first reason that comes to mind is, no pun intended, to open your mind. We are dealing with a person who, though his ideas differ from those of the majority, explains himself well and captures your attention. Another reason would be to get a good grade (in high school or college) in an anthropology, history or sociology class by writing a book report. I'm sure that you would surprise your teacher/professor. Perhaps you are just a freethinker, someone who isn't quite content with the status quo. In that case, this book will give you material for many, many conversations and discussions to come.

 

To buy the book, for only $3.99, please click here.