Till this moment *

2007-08-17 11:14 p.m.

I think the last entry sorts of sums it up. As it the entries I wished to complete during this summer break. There just one more entry I think, but that can wait. As you know, I put much planning into my entries before I write them. The content may not be that rock-solid, the grammar and spelling isn’t perfect, but yes, planning takes place. Much like what Karl Polanyi remarked, that laissez faire requires conscious planning.

Speaking of Polanyi, I’ve been trying to explain IPE to those that I’ve met back home here. Not the basic idea of IPE which you can pull of anywhere, but well the Dr. Matthew Watson-ian IPE stuff (again the Birmingham politics students would understand perfectly well what I mean). That (the explanation) has been partially successful and of course, brought about some counter arguments and discussion.

One such person I was trying to promote the Watson-ian idea to was Claire, whom I met yesterday evening. It was sort of hastily arranged meeting, pulling her out on a weekday evening. She came a little late, but that was no worries and we proceeded to the Vietnamese restaurant. Oh ok, it was my pick, and I thought it was quick a decent place (food-wise and budget wise). With two bowls of noodles and one side dished ordered, she proceeded to ask how I managed to secure my present internship. So I told her. Well, it’s not so much of a really secret, still I’m not mentioning it here. The discussion got a bit more upbeat as I told her of the other internships choices and my views on IPS (though of course I’m not in IPS at the moment) which she gave a much contrasting view. Ok, perhaps, as Claire said, I’m narrow with my views. Maybe.

Anyway, food came and some how or the other, when I figured out that my choice of noodles wasn’t that great, the topic shifted to Singapore’s economy and growth focus. “Err, so what’s Singapore’s area of focus now arh? Besides the bio-medical stuff…” Claire asked. She got it spot correct, I should think. (Better check with my boss about this). So I gave a short answer and suddenly proceeded to state that Singapore has always had its focus on growth, growth, economic growth, and nothing but growth. I was talking to feverously when Claire remarked in Chinese, “I didn’t tell you this last year?” Side track here. When she called me earlier, she also said something in Chinese that shocked me, not because of the content, but because I’m, well, almost 100% monolingual now. (I’m suppose to be learning German again though). So I was sort of taken aback with the remark and then she queried that it took me one year overseas to realize all this. “No, no,” I said, then proceeded to present Watsonian IPE to her. Firstly, I tried to spell “chrematistics” to her. Well the spelling may have been off, but the explanation came through. Then came the questioning, the first was something like are you sure utility maximization is only seen through mathematical terms? I think I answered that then there was a pause when she proceeded into Adam Smith’s idea—or rather her view of Smith’s “invisible hand”. In a way, it was the right view (to a certain extent) but I gave the “proper” idea of what Smith was trying to say.

My dish was half empty when I confessed that I was pro-Polanyian and remarked about Polanyi’s main ideas. We sort of soon came back to the main thrust that Dr. (now Prof.) Watson made, that there is only so much to self-serving, utility maximizing individuals. Claire said it depends on the meaning of self-serving and that one’s moral character could still be present. She quoted a few authors, who aren’t Political Economists (I think). The issues brought up were well possibly bordering the ideas of sociology. I wasn’t convinced, Claire could see that from my facial expressions. Oh well, it sort of came back to the start when she mentioned that Prof. Watson’s views weren’t unique. Ok, I wondered what Chris Holmes would have thought about that.

Another subject that was brought up was about lawyers and the different incomes and fields of work. I did remark that Americans pay Americans and non-Americans better than other others, but looking back at the way I said it, I hope it wasn’t that insulting. While chewing on salt-less pieces of meat, Claire then asked where exactly I lived in Singapore. For those of you who know me well enough, you would know that finding my house is a nightmare. Anyway, I did tell her and added that because of how obscure the location is, I only held one birthday party at my house. “When was that?” she asked, with her bowl almost finished. “When I was six,” I replied. That is actually not correct, I had two birthday parties at my house—at six and when I turned twelve. Still, Claire appeared sympathetic and thought how awful it was to have only two birthday parties at my house. Maybe, as I mentioned to her, I wasn’t really the party sort. But I did treasure certain celebrations, such as what my block and flat mates did for my 21st birthday. It was at this juncture that she discovered my birth date. Ok, nothing so glamorous. We talk a bit about youth and age and oh yes, we sort of queried each other on future prospects.

The conversation was progressing, but the food wasn’t exactly disappearing. It certainly was the wrong choice of dish for me. Claire noticed the side dish that I ordered was not even touched so she started on it, stating how full she was. At this juncture, I do believe I wanted to tell her more, more about how Birmingham had brought me a new life, a new realm. I wanted to tell her about the the Block 12 dinners , the wonderful discussions from my politics/economics group , how the UNSoc transformed me into a passionate campaigner for causes such as the MDGs and Climate Change and the wonderful Church and Christians I found there.Oh yes and Confluence 2007. I did want to tell her so much but I didn’t. For some unknown reason, I just didn’t. Oh well, Claire, if you are reading this, Birmingham didn’t just change my perspective of the world. It brought me doors of bountiful joy and opportunities. Praise the Lord for that.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t even eight o’clock when we declared dinner over. I suppose there could have been time for a cup of light coffee/tea, but we each had activities to tend too. I paid, and afterwards wondered why it amount to that much. Ah, the wonders of GST. We both walked up to the bus stops above and finally she said her farewell, wishing me all the best in my next year. Then she was off.

Perhaps I lost this round of introducing IPE. Then again, I’ve always enjoyed such discussions, even though all my points didn’t stand. Best of luck for next year and other endeavours Claire.

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