Consequences

Action=reaction, simple equation really, Newton’s second law (I think). Doesn’t just apply to physical objects either. Take the latest development in the Zimbabwean saga, for example, the government issued a directive last week that all prices of all goods and services should be slashed by 50%. Nice concept, one small problem, shop owners just can’t seem to get their heads round the idea of cutting prices when most input costs are still the same (no-one cut salaries or rent). The consequence is that a number of shelves are now empty as the suppliers are failing to deliver. Action=reaction. Whether there is a further reaction by ‘Joe Public’ and in what form or direction it will take remains to be seen. For now people are content to raid the shelves, occasionally in riotous fashion, of supermarkets complying with the order. Interesting times.

The principle though is sound, for every action there is a consequence, some obviously greater than others. For anyone familiar with the butterfly effect though, even the accumulation of multiple small wing beats can add up to a thunderstorm of devastating magnitude. Of course, the same storm can be deadly to the butterfly that started it.