Market Economy In The Gods Must Be Crazy

The Gods Must Be Crazy explores the three types of economies: traditional, command, and market, through the stories of the Bushmen (traditional economy), Sam Boga and his men (command economy), and the lifestyle of the modern part of South Africa (market economy). The theme of scarcity is prevalent throughout the entirety of the film. Scarcity is the state of something being in short supply. Scarcity is first seen when the Coca-Cola bottle is dropped from the airplane into the territory of Xi and the Bushmen living space. Before the Coca-Cola bottle was introduced to the Bushmen, their lives were positive and trouble-free. After the bottle was introduced to their tribe and they discovered how useful it was, feelings of envy and jealousy began to arise. At the end of the film, after Sam Boga and his men have taken the school kids hostage, they come across their first meal after walking five miles. Between Sam Boga, his men, and the school kids, there is clearly not enough food for everyone to get a substantial share. Sam Boga and his men receive enough for themselves to indulge while the children have to determine who should be able to eat. In the market economy of the modern parts of South Africa, it’s rare to find scarce items; however, the film does give examples. The jeep that Steyn and M’pudi are constantly working on never gets fixed because they don’t have enough tools to fix it. M’pudi and Steyn are two intelligent men, but they don’t live in the urban part of South