Addendum: FCCPC and Price Controls- Learn from The French Revolution and How Price Controls Killed 17,000 French People.

This makes up additional points to earlier contribution on the FCCPC ultimatum that trades should cut down prices or face the prospect of jail time or fines.

This will take us to France, and you don't need a visa- Just read.

The setting is the popular French Revolution, and the subject is price controls. But we need to understand the ramification of the French revolution and the grievance and promise of the revolutionaries.

The French Revolution

The French revolution that happened between 1789-1799. The revolution was simply a result of inequality and excruciating taxes facing the commoners in France. The revolutionaries sought to unite the classes under the banner of- Liberte, Equalite and Fraternite- (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity).

France at the time operated a caste system (estates), which was divided into three. We have the Clergy (1st Estate), Nobility (2nd Estate) and Commoners (3rd Estate).

You see the clergy and nobility were exempted from most of these taxes, while the commoners bore the greater part of the burden. Perhaps, the commoners and everyday French people would not have been so angry if their king and nobility did not live an obviously ultra-luxurious life. But if there was anything beyond ultra-luxury, that is what the French nobles and elite lived. See some examples below:

1. The King lived in the Versailles Palace which comprised of 2,000 rooms and featured elaborate gardens, fountains, a private zoo, roman-style baths and even 18th-century elevators.

2. The King ensured most of the nobles lived within his premises in order to prevent any subterfuge. Hence, life in the Palace required constant amusement in order to prevent boredom.

Think of it; the place hosted concerts, multi-course banquets, balls and parades. Plays and theatre also featured in the palace, with a lot of money going into expensive costumes. Gambling was also the order of the day, with the King Louis XVI himself indulging his grand-daughter who lost 600,000 francs in one night. He paid off the debt out of the French treasury, funded by the commoners.

3. The Versailles had a 240-foot long hall under construction under this king, called the Hall of Mirrors. In the midst of massive poverty in France, this hall was being designed to have “Seventeen lofty windows are matched by as many Venetian framed mirrors. It also had marble embellished with bronze-gilt trophies. This is the level of mindless luxury the monarch and his aristocrats enjoyed.

The essence of describing the luxury of the French nobility is to awaken the imagination of the reader about how leaders can often be oppressive and disconnected from the people they lead. Most importantly, it shows how lack of deliberate and scrutinous accountability can lead to profligacy in public finances. But this is not the primary objective of this piece. Please come along to learn the most critical elements of the revolution and how it affected the common man. These elements cover the politics and price controls. Let us start with the politics.

Politics and Identity Politics

The French Revolution was promoted by all sort of people, including some nobles such as Marquis de Lafayatte. It also included Maximilian Robespierre, who was the leader of the radical Jacobins.

In due time, the revolution moved from leadership of Monsieur Lafayette into the hands of Maximilian Robespierre in 1792. Since the latter was a populist leader, he advocated for progressive ideas and encouraged identity politics. Does this sound familiar?

The identity politics promoted by Maximilian Robespierre was of course not based on Yoruba Ronu versus Igbo's. it was based on whether you are a royalist, preferring to have the king in place, or whether you want a republic.

Instead of improving the lives of French people, the revolutionaries made life difficult and could not improve their lives economically. Now, this does not only sound familiar, it looks familiar, and it is not the worst part of the revolution.

In 1793, Maximilian Robespierre and his followers decided that the king had to be killed with a guillotine, that is beheaded. What most people don't know about the French revolution is that 17,000 commoners were killed. Just a few or number of corrupt elites were killed.

Price Controls and Death of Commoners

Why were commoners killed? You must wonder. They were killed because of price controls and accusation's of being counter-revolutionary.

You see, the Jacobins under Maximilian Robespierre did not know how to make the economy work, so they accused the traders and producers of "Price Gouging".

It seems we are in that place in Nigeria, where failure in economic management has led the political elite to improve an anti-producer tirade, which will stave off criticism of the government of the day, and protect them in the event of a revolution or protest.

Conclusion

What we see here is a trick and mind game that is as old as over 235 years. And it can be summarized in two themes:

1. Employ identity politics to keep power or maintain your revolution

2. When the economy falters, and prices go up, divert attention to producers. Accuse them of price gouging.

I believe we see the trick and understand it better now. We must understand that radical revolutions as opposed to incremental revolutions tend to bring about economic turmoil's. And the radicals or the progressives as some of them have rebranded tend not to have the capacity to remedy the situations they despise to much and love to change desperately.

It is in the enlightened self-interest of Nigerian's or citizens of any country facing such peculiar situation to be conscious of the tricks of their political elite.

Once again, let government fix the insecurity in NIgeria and shore up revenues from oil and gas. They should also institute a national emergency plan to increase agricultural production and other abandoned opportunities. This is the solution and not French Revolution propaganda.

Babatope Falade Onikoyi