Adventure Capitalist

Its the last day of my one week break and I couldnt be more depressed. It has been pretty restful, and i do not look forward to getting up early, given that it is now mandatory to get up at least once a night.

During this break, i've managed to catch up on my gaming, so much so that i eventually grew bored and finally got round to reading on friday. I suspect i've read of Jim Roger's books before, but i cant really remember. Anyhow, this is one is about his second round-the-world trip, this time in a car (with his fiancee-and-then-wife) instead of a motorbike.

Through the book, we get to follow Rogers through many different countries, each in various states of development (or despair). At the same time, Rogers gives his assessment on whether he found the country a good place to invest. Typically, he gives his take on the future of the country - whether the Government is sound, investing in capital, what is their monetary policy like, and how much red tape there is.

Not surprisingly, what stood out for me how important a good government is. You have former freedom fighters turned dictators, corrupt or simply incompetent bureaucrats, and finally in the former Soviet Union, no government at all, where the country is just falling apart. Rogers has little love for politicians, who in his opinion frequently ruin the economy in order to buy votes. These all have a profound impact of people's lives, since the health of the economy directly affects people's livelihoods and wealth. Irresponsible leaders also have no care for the environment, which also impacts jobs and more importantly, health.

Rogers also has a very clear idea of how the economy works, and hence can easily come to a judgement on whether a certain country is a good place to invest. This is something i am lacking knowledge in, even though i am quite sure i studied macroeconomics in JC.

Another interesting point is how Rogers frequently predicts the future of various countries. Many countries today were carved out as a result of war, and many are unstable due to racial/religious tensions. While it may be true that such countries eventually divide themselves into smaller and more homogenous countries, I find it hard to understand how these will benefit the people in the long term, given that such an arrangement will simply make it harder for them to tolerate and understand the different practices of people different from yourselves. Rogers also frequently pushes for the freedom of movement of people, as this encourages competition and innovation. As such, it should actually be better for people to learn how to get along, rather than enclosing ourselves in individual communities.

All in all, a fascinating read. Rogers actually travelled through many war zones, and it definitely takes a great amount of EQ to stay alive in such situations. I am pretty sure i would not survive such a trip. Not only is my EQ low, i suspect having blonde hair and blue eyes and American may have played a part in it as well.

Rogers is actually living in Singapore with his wife and two kids now, as he wants to his daughters to speak Mandarin - one of the most important languages for the future!