On opportunity cost

By Ayman Okeil

Without introduction, I can say that our lives are summed up in what is known as the “opportunity cost,” which is an economic concept that represents the value of the things that we may own in exchange for the things that we can give up, leave behind, or lose. Or in another sense, the “opportunity cost” which is the benefits or interests that a person or organization can or is likely to obtain in exchange for the benefits and interests lost when one alternative is preferred over the other.

From my point of view, the opportunity cost applies to everything around us today, yesterday, and tomorrow, and it cannot be limited to individuals or companies only, but even to countries and civil society organizations.

At the level of countries, especially developing countries, they must measure the cost of alternative opportunities when making decisions that could lead to tension in their relationship with major countries. Here I do not mean that these countries surrender to political and economic dependency, but I mean to measure the risks with caution in order to avoid any negative consequences for their people. I always wondered, did the late President Saddam Hussein estimate the opportunity cost when he made his decision to invade Kuwait, driven by the trap that the Americans set for him? In fact, I doubt it.

Developing countries are not the only ones required to measure the cost. I believe that Ukraine did not properly estimate the opportunity cost when it chose to side with Western countries and rush towards demonizing Russia. The result was a brutal war that is still ongoing, in addition to Russia’s annexation of four regions in eastern Ukraine: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson. Returning to history, I did not imagine that Hitler estimated the opportunity cost when he intended to invade the Soviet Union, which resulted in his defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad.

At the civil society level, I witnessed organizations that did not change their approach to human rights work to satisfy donor agencies or countries, and these organizations did not change their approach to work to be consistent with the agenda of donors who give generously to issues such as supporting the rights of the LGBT community. Even during times when some organizations I know faced severe shortages in financial resources, they remained committed to estimating and measuring opportunity costs.

I can assure you, based on experience, that human rights work in itself and focusing on human rights issues has become a very difficult choice in light of the lack of respect for these rights in the world from countries that claim to protect human rights in the world while they kill people in full view of the world.

Finally, at the individual level, it can be said that the opportunity cost is the compass that determines the path for each of us, but that depends on the extent of your awareness of the decisions you make and the cost of making them or abandoning them. A person may decide to marry and build a family, but this decision results in the end of his life. He is single and has to bear the responsibility of a family. Is he ready for that? Other people may choose to smoke cigarettes excessively, but as a result he will suffer known health and financial damage. A person may choose to work in a profession or job other than what he studied; this will be in exchange for giving up some of his dreams.

In the end, everything has a cost, and the opportunity cost is the choice that is followed by compromise, sacrifice, and the loss of something else. We must all bear responsibility for this choice and its consequences.