Posted: OCTOBER 14, 2024
My First Blog Post
Hi everyone! This is my first post on my website “Economic Origins,” and I’m really excited to get started with this project. My goal is to create a space where I can share my thoughts on how economic events have shaped history. Let me first get started by telling you a little bit about myself and how this idea originated.
A Little Bit About Me
My story partly explains how this idea came about. I was born in Washington, DC, but I spent a significant portion of my childhood in Turkey. My parents are first-generation immigrants, and my grandparents are German on my mother’s side and Turkish on my father’s side. I had a pretty international upbringing– our dinner conversations were filled with captivating stories about post-World War Germany and part of family’s move from the Balkans and Cyprus to Turkey. My family’s story is one of a melting pot of cultures and histories, filled with many stories of hardships that were shaped by important historical events including wars. Hearing about these stories has sparked my interest in history from an early age. I didn’t just want to learn what happened; I found it even more captivating to understand why these events occurred.
How the blog idea started
The more I started looking into the why, the more it started occurring to me that many of these events had "economic origins". For example, if Germany’s economy hadn’t been devastated after World War I because of the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and if the country hadn’t gone through hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and a collapsing currency, the Nazi Party might never have risen to power. And without that, the world might never have faced the horrors of World War II, and maybe I would have gotten to meet my great uncles who died during the war.
When I was about 10, my family moved back to the United States. Around that time, Turkey was going through some tough economic problems. Inflation was rising uncontrollably, and the Turkish Lira was losing value. I remember experiencing first-hand how this economic turmoil affected people around me — how people were scrambling to protect their family’s wealth and considered leaving the country for a more stable future. It made me wonder: Why do these things happen? Have other countries experienced this in the past? The more I looked into hyperinflation, the more I saw that it was not uncommon at all: Germany experienced it in the 20s, which ended up with World War II breaking out, Venezuela experienced it more recently, which also led to many Venezuelans trying to leave the country. Likewise, Argentina, Greece, and Sudan all experienced similar hardships. These conflicts taught me how countries sometimes seem to fall into the trap of printing money instead of addressing deeper economic problems. Many of the experiences were similar, and lead to economic hardships and an increase in immigration.
Another project that helped me make this connection between economic origins and historical events was my 9th-grade history project. For our history paper, I chose to research the Oil Crises of the 1970s. Once I started researching the events of the 1970s, I learned about many of the conflicts of the Middle East, some of which are still valid today. I learned about how OPEC tried to use oil prices and other nations' dependence on oil as an economic weapon to shape political outcomes. Our dependence on Middle Eastern Oil meant long lines to get gas at home and higher prices. The period following the oil crisis is characterized by stagflation, a period of both inflation and unemployment. The project helped me understand how access to resources like oil is pivotal in shaping politics around the world.
The more I started looking into major historical events, it became clear to me that economics, policy, and history are completely intertwined. You can’t really understand one without the other. What also became apparent is that history really seems to repeat itself. The more recent price hikes in oil due to the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted markets in a way that resembles the Oil Crises of the 70s. Just like the Oil Crises of the 70s, a supply disruption caused by a war contributed to inflation and a global slowdown. Likewise, the hyperinflation in Germany in the 20s resembles the hyperinflation now observed in Turkey. There is also a resemblance between the Great Depression of the 30s, caused by a financial bubble and risky lending, and the 2008 recession, which was also caused by risky mortgage practices.
The more I looked, the more I discovered this pattern – many major historical events had economic origins, and many of these events resembled a modern-day event. This has made me wonder if we can possibly learn more from the past and draw lessons to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
My story partly explains how this idea came about. I was born in Washington, DC, but I spent a significant portion of my childhood in Turkey. My parents are first-generation immigrants, and my grandparents are German on my mother’s side and Turkish on my father’s side. I had a pretty international upbringing– our dinner conversations were filled with captivating stories about post-World War Germany and part of family’s move from the Balkans and Cyprus to Turkey. My family’s story is one of a melting pot of cultures and histories, filled with many stories of hardships that were shaped by important historical events including wars. Hearing about these stories has sparked my interest in history from an early age. I didn’t just want to learn what happened; I found it even more captivating to understand why these events occurred.
How the blog idea started
The more I started looking into the why, the more it started occurring to me that many of these events had "economic origins". For example, if Germany’s economy hadn’t been devastated after World War I because of the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and if the country hadn’t gone through hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and a collapsing currency, the Nazi Party might never have risen to power. And without that, the world might never have faced the horrors of World War II, and maybe I would have gotten to meet my great uncles who died during the war.
When I was about 10, my family moved back to the United States. Around that time, Turkey was going through some tough economic problems. Inflation was rising uncontrollably, and the Turkish Lira was losing value. I remember experiencing first-hand how this economic turmoil affected people around me — how people were scrambling to protect their family’s wealth and considered leaving the country for a more stable future. It made me wonder: Why do these things happen? Have other countries experienced this in the past? The more I looked into hyperinflation, the more I saw that it was not uncommon at all: Germany experienced it in the 20s, which ended up with World War II breaking out, Venezuela experienced it more recently, which also led to many Venezuelans trying to leave the country. Likewise, Argentina, Greece, and Sudan all experienced similar hardships. These conflicts taught me how countries sometimes seem to fall into the trap of printing money instead of addressing deeper economic problems. Many of the experiences were similar, and lead to economic hardships and an increase in immigration.
Another project that helped me make this connection between economic origins and historical events was my 9th-grade history project. For our history paper, I chose to research the Oil Crises of the 1970s. Once I started researching the events of the 1970s, I learned about many of the conflicts of the Middle East, some of which are still valid today. I learned about how OPEC tried to use oil prices and other nations' dependence on oil as an economic weapon to shape political outcomes. Our dependence on Middle Eastern Oil meant long lines to get gas at home and higher prices. The period following the oil crisis is characterized by stagflation, a period of both inflation and unemployment. The project helped me understand how access to resources like oil is pivotal in shaping politics around the world.
The more I started looking into major historical events, it became clear to me that economics, policy, and history are completely intertwined. You can’t really understand one without the other. What also became apparent is that history really seems to repeat itself. The more recent price hikes in oil due to the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted markets in a way that resembles the Oil Crises of the 70s. Just like the Oil Crises of the 70s, a supply disruption caused by a war contributed to inflation and a global slowdown. Likewise, the hyperinflation in Germany in the 20s resembles the hyperinflation now observed in Turkey. There is also a resemblance between the Great Depression of the 30s, caused by a financial bubble and risky lending, and the 2008 recession, which was also caused by risky mortgage practices.
The more I looked, the more I discovered this pattern – many major historical events had economic origins, and many of these events resembled a modern-day event. This has made me wonder if we can possibly learn more from the past and draw lessons to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Join Me on This Journey
This blog will be my exploration ground to look into some current events that remind me of moments in history and uncover the economic roots behind them. I want to see what lessons the past might be able to teach us about the challenges we face today. As I research for my blog posts, I aslo plan on reaching out to experts and interview them. I will also prepare videos about each topic and publish them on my channel on YouTube.
I'm still learning (and working on my video editing skills), and I definitely don't have all the answers. But I think it would be awesome to share what I find and hear your thoughts, too. Feel free to leave comments, share your ideas, or suggest topics you'd like me to explore.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll join me as we explore the economic origins of the events that have shaped our world.
This blog will be my exploration ground to look into some current events that remind me of moments in history and uncover the economic roots behind them. I want to see what lessons the past might be able to teach us about the challenges we face today. As I research for my blog posts, I aslo plan on reaching out to experts and interview them. I will also prepare videos about each topic and publish them on my channel on YouTube.
I'm still learning (and working on my video editing skills), and I definitely don't have all the answers. But I think it would be awesome to share what I find and hear your thoughts, too. Feel free to leave comments, share your ideas, or suggest topics you'd like me to explore.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll join me as we explore the economic origins of the events that have shaped our world.