Though he remains a hero to children worldwide, Babar the Elephant is a terrible economist. Watching an episode of the Nelvana-animated television show documented his monarchy in the Kingdom of the Elephants, it became clear how his fiscal policy is a disaster waiting to happen. Major capital expenditures are required to bring the jungle up to modern standards of civilization and the ongoing war with King Retaxes and the rhinoceroses must be an enormous money pit.
After fleeing to France after watching poachers kill his mother, Babar meets a kindly old lady, who unbeknownst to him is a fervent colonialist. She takes the young elephant shopping for clothes and convinces him of the merits of Western civilization before he returns home. Meanwhile, the previous elephant ruler eats some bad mushrooms and dies so Babar is crowned king.
Aside from the poaching issue, the elephants seemed to be getting along well enough but Babar convinces them to dress like humans and construct buildings like those he saw in Paris. Elephant-sized edifices and bespoke suits must be tremendously expensive and from what author Jean de Brunhoff reveals about their economy, the elephants must have tremendously leveraged themselves. Should a sub-prime mortgage crisis arise, many pachyderms will be left homeless when the banks foreclose.
Babar is a savvy ruler and engages in a costly war with the nearby Rhinoceros kingdom in order to create a few jobs and pass his homeland security legislation. Massive macro-economic spending is used to control the economy of the Kingdom of the Elephants and daily life. The previous “laissez-faire” policy is replaced with a totalitarian regime backed-up by armed guards. These aren’t white or green collar jobs that will create wealth.
It’s probable that a large percentage of G.D.P. is spent on health care. Sure, less elephants are dying of poisonous plants but at what cost? Where is the balance that could be found a generation ago and beyond? In de Brunhoff’s tales, debate is absent and Babar rules with an iron trunk.
Fortunately for Babar, when the system crashes and creditors come calling, the World Bank and I.M.F. won’t hesitate to prop up his regime. Is the average elephant better off due to all of this intervention? Even Adam Smith would have accepted the risks that come from living in the jungle, such as hunters, in order to propagate simple micro-economics among an educated population. Sadly, the average elephant is ignorant, now concerned more with dressing up more nicely compared to their neighbour than natural law and distributive justice.
Where’s a journalist like Tintin or Anderson Cooper to shed light on these problems and keep Babar honest?