Will the high cost of living take us back to the basics?

A customer shops for maize flour in a supermarket. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

Our traditional societies had a solution for all their problems, medical or social.

Any medical ailment had a treatment. Some people reading this might have benefited from such remedies; a good example is mole dung for treating measles.

Adverts for mganga are very common, they gnaw on our fears and distrust for modern medicine.

I have also noted the rising popularity of alternative medicine, mostly among the elite. Even diet has returned to the roots with ngwaci, nduma and boiled maize finding a home in high-end hotels. On the streets, mukombero is hawked, not Viagra.

Disputes were settled by elders, using their experience. They could be about land, marriage or families.

Elinor Ostrom, a Nobel laureate explains how traditional society solved economic problems like the tragedy of the commons. Why were some forests or spots sacred?

The current high cost of living could force us to return to the basics, including prayers. Have you found yourself going back to traditions to save money? Noted how harambee has returned through WhatsApp?

One of the unintended consequences of the high cost of living is changing our behaviour. Beyond returning to basics, we scapegoat. We fail to take responsibility. We blame others.

Under stress and unable to satisfy our needs we go back to our basic instincts like violence. Noted the rising cases of suicide?

During periods of crisis, our true self emerges. I recall seeing Americans cry during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Under such stressful economic conditions, sociologists, behavioural economists and psychologists - we should add psychiatrists - should be smiling, with a cut for them. They have a free experiment. I hope they did their work during Covid-19.

Writers also flourish during economic crises, chronicling society and its changes. That's what Chinua Achebe or Ngugi wa Thiong'o did during the colonial period and after.

Economists think such periods of flux are best for starting new enterprises, excluding renting bees! Never waste a crisis. Though some firms die, others arise, perpetuating the great cycles of life.

How have you reacted to the high cost of living? Gone back to basics? Got a scapegoat? Got angry with yourself and others? Talk to us...