"People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something. You must present something of equal value in order to gain something. That is the principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy"
For those that do not know where these words come from, it is one of the defining concepts in the anime/manga; Full Metal Alchemist. The story is about two young alchemists that seek to find the philosophers stone, an item that allows them to bypass this rule, and therefore allow them to restore lost bodyparts.
However, this post isn't about the anime, it mainly deals with the theory of Equivalent Exchange. Strangely, it is recognized by most modern schools of thought- like economics, which deals with 'Opportunity Cost', or even to religious ideals, like the Buddhist notion of 'Karma'. This is also present in common thought/ average superstitions, with the statement 'What goes around, comes around'
It's quite strange if one thinks about it though, our world is corrupt- and there are always people that are either born with silver spoons in their mouths, or acquire something purely through dumb luck. But then again, our world mostly adheres to this rule, whether you realize it or not. Every time you win, say, in a game of poker, there has to be someone that loses. This isn't equivalent exchange, but then again, he paid the price in order to have the chance to acquire something. That in turn adheres to the rule of equivalent exchange, even if the object that the loser acquired isn't tangible.
More examples of this, could be in war, where resources must be expended, in order to obtain advantages over an opponent, or in modern consumerism, where time must be forfeited, in order to obtain money. The most chilling example of this could be seen in our concepts of Capitalism, and our current financial crisis.
For instance, the entire sub prime mortgage crisis was based upon home buyers pursuing the American Dream. Unfortunately, they were unable to finance their homes, and promptly were kicked out by the banks that financed their loans. The second major problem was that, in America, the banks take responsibility for these debts incurred, and as a result, we have our global financial crisis. It's not as simple as that, but that's generally the gist of it.
Equivalent exchange here? Yes, I'd say so, the banks sacrificed stability in order to increase profits, and the individual sacrificed stability to obtain a better house.
However, there are clear exceptions to this rule as well, such as the victims of Natural Disasters, and problems that have been caused by humanity, such as terrorist attacks, etc.
These victims of such actions may not survive, even if all the necessary steps had been taken in order to avoid death. Here is where the rule of equivalent exchange doesn't apply, but in most cases, it certainly does.
To end this random, marginally pointless blog, I'll be looking into my life to see if my problems have been caused by equivalent exchange, and maybe I might learn something.
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