The Law of Economics Foretold of the Current War on Drugs Related Police Abuses

Remember this?

What will be the consequence of such absolutist political trend? Will state imposed violence be unopposed? Or, like today’s superhero movies, will there be a structural backlash in the form of counterviolence and the degradation of society's moral fiber? Will arbitrary actions through absolutist politics not lead to the corruption or abuse of the system? Will Lord Acton be proven wrong?  Will people unduly or innocently killed because of political whims simply absorb and swallow personal losses?

I wrote this immediately in the aftermath of the elections: Superhero Movies and the Dangers of Extrajudicial Killing as a Local Policy May 23, 2016

The emergence of the Tokhang for ransom cases seems to be validating my postulations. And it has not just been kidnap for ransom, but the murder that ensued from one case brought such police abuses to the surface. And that’s aside from other forms of Tokhang related scams-extortions.

So the war on drugs has spawned a different monster. 

Such looked quite similar to the era of alcohol prohibition or the ‘war on alcohol’ in the US (Volstead Act 1920-1933) which fomented organized crimes. The difference is that in the US, it was (politically protected) gangsters which emerged.

Yet what seemed as a prediction, has really been nothing more than the realization of the unfolding effects of the basic law of economics

As I have been saying,

When the cost of an activity rises, people will do less of the said activity. On the other hand, when the cost of an activity declines, people will do more of the said activity. [Philippine Political Theater: The Deepening State of War: From War on Drugs to Mining to Oligarchy! (8/15/16)]

So when the costs of arbitrary police actions declined, such incentivized police abuses! Hence, the Tokhang for ransom and extortion cases signify the unintended effects of war on drugs that have been grounded on the law of economics.

So again, criminality has only been shifting from drugs to the police.  And this reveals or demonstrates theory and history in action!

Economics is about people. This means the laws of economics don’t just apply to commercial activities. Because people’s actions are interconnected, economics encompasses social and political activities.

Now here’s the emerging dilemma for the war on drugs; if there should be a crackdown on the PNP for its injustices then what will happen?

Let us apply the law of economics again: when the cost of an activity rises, there will be less of the said activity.

Will there emerge internal divisions and frictions within the police institution (as the political costs of Operation Tokhang increases)? Will such spur (materially) lesser intensity to enforce Operation Tokhang? Said differently, will such start leakages in the implementation of the war of drugs? 

And will the new setting bring forth new forms of organized criminality?

Or, will a clampdown on erring policemen constitute nothing more than theatrics?

At the end of the day, politics cannot or will not avoid or elude the law of economics.