From: G200 <G200@polytec1.polymtl.ca>
Subject: RE: Steaua, Dinamo, Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 17:13:58 GMT

In article <17m06gINN96g@agate.berkeley.edu> 160955r@garnet.berkeley.edu () writes:
>In article <l9sbc4INNau4@pollux.usc.edu> bucur@pollux.usc.edu (alexander bucur) writes:
> >In article <1992Aug28.070938.27241@kth.se> mihai@nada.kth.se (Mihai Dorobantu) writes:
> >I wonder anybody knows about the policies for drafting.  In the old times
> >such drafting policies gave an unfair advantage to Steaua and Dinamo since
> >any 18 year old athlete had to go either in Army, or in the Militia services.
> >The two biggest clubs were sponsored by them (Steaua by the army, Dinamo by
> >Militia), so they could always choose the best athletes.  They gave them
> >special treatment during service in exchange for joining their clubs.
>
>Starting with the 1992-93 League Championship, all premier division clubs have to be professional clubs; this, in turn implies that all players have to be professional footballers. Draft does not play whatsoever of a role anymore.
>
>
> >If the policies have not changed other clubs in the country will never have
> >a chance in competing with Steaua and Dinamo in most of the sports.
>
>Well,guess again! Policies HAVE changed and clubs in the country STILL lack sig
>nificant chances when competing against Steaua and Dinamo.Explanation?Something
>we call in economics "the initial endowment problem"-a fable not only for soc-
>cer clubs and  professional players, but for the whole Romania as well:
>
>        "Robinson Crusoe lived on an island by himself; he had slowly  learned
>how to make best use of the island resources; he knew where to find the sticks
>one needed to poke for turtle eggs; how to make a giant umbrella of goat skin
>to protect himself against the hot, equatorial sun; where only water source on
>the island was  and a score of other things, ( like how to get money from the
>IMF) which, if ignored or unknown would have made anyone's life on that island
>absolutely and irremediably miserable.
>        One day Friday arrives; he's young and strong and hard working; he also
>learns fast; a good man, in other words, as deserving of a good life on this
>Earth ' or, for our particular purposes, on that island  as  anybody else.
>        Robinson Crusoe tells him:
>        "Look son, I am a great proponent of  SLAVERY .It brought so many
>wonderful things to  our world: the pyramids;  the Great Wall, the Taj-Mahal..
>In short,  hard working people like you toiling under the inspiring leadership
>of qualified people like me can achieve anything I can dream of!Besides,the only
>way you can possibly survive on this capricious island of mine is through my
>help and knowledge, which do not come in cheap. In my magnanimity I shall allow
>you to survive as my personal slave . You will be privileged to  do all the
>chores I direct you to do, all the hard,  demeaning work.You may also have to
>cheer gleefully whenever  you'd see me and also  write songs in my honor; and,
>if anyone ever asked you how your life is (although I'm not planning to give
>them many a chance to do so) you'll have to use  one single simple word and
>nothing else : Paradise!"
>        As expected,  presented with such an offensive speech, Friday became
>truly incensed.
>"First of all, he says, vrem sa stim si noi cine a tras in noi! (as if this had
>ANY relevance). Then, he  continues, I do NOT need your filthy help;and if you
>wonder why not ,  better read the brilliant work of great men such as ADAM
>SMITH, DAVID RICCARDO AND ALFRED MARSHALL.  By doing so, you may profitably
>find out  that FREE MARKETS is all what counts;  and when DEMOCRACY kicks
>in and we can VOTE, the sky's the limit!It puzzles me that although you know
>I can benefit of all these you still want me to be your PERSONAL SLAVE! Ha!
>Farewell to you, antiquated relic of  Stalinist times, you ignorant
>neo-Communist, you former nomenklaturist!" Actually Friday said a few other
>things that can not be trusted to the public media...
>        So the infuriated Friday left Robinson on the beach and headed inland
>in search of a new life. Smiling to himself, Robinson lit his pipe (he alone
>knew the tree one could make smoking pipes of)  and  laid on his back  against
>the hot sand." Too bad this kid did stopped reading economic theory - had he
>pursued  this interest of his he may have stumbled into the writings of
>EDGEWORTH"  he said to himself in sotto voce.
>        "That clever Englishman understood it ALL: free markets will allocate
>resources efficiently, as the other three had shown (and especially  Marshall)
>What this means  though is that every factor of production will accrue economic
>returns proportional to its marginal productivity. And I OWN all factors of
>production, pretty much like Steaua and Dinamo OWN best players' contracts,
>best management and best facilities in Romania (I forgot to mention that
>Robinson was an avid soccer fan). Therefore I OWN all returns in this economy.
>Poor kid has no bargaining power whatsoever; the only thing he owns is himself
>and I already made him a very fair offer on that one, which he so foolishly
>rejected! He  fails to understand that given the INITIAL ENDOWMENTS I'd love to
>play COMPETITION and DEMOCRACY with him! (Robinson thought of these two as
>variants of  the game of MONOPOLY). But why waste time and resources, when I
>already have all the chips? Why not ENSLAVE him from the very beginning,
>instead of going through all these complicated motions?"
>        Trying to answer that many arcane questions at one time, Robinson did
>what we all tend to do in such circumstances: fell asleep,  on the peaceful
>beach. God knows how long he would have slept,his consciousness gently
>hibernating in tandem with the breaking ocean waves, had he not heard somebody
>coughing loud, obviously  on purpose.
>        A sultry Friday, all gores and bruises , was looking  at him humbly.
>        "Master, when do I start?"  asked  he, in an exhausted  voice.
>        "On this one" grinned Robinson "we  need to  take a VOTE!"
>
>Cheers!
>
>
>--
>Radu T. Tomescu at UCBerkeley
>Department of Economics
>
>.
>.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian