I am in one of those weird moments of amazement, because I realize that this magazine of ours is older than the vast majority of people I know or even the last period of independence of my country. As you can see, we have incorporated previous Rostra Economicas in this issues cover. While downloading all of them I flipped through some issues and even though my understanding of the Dutch language is very far from good I could still understand what some articles were about. It is quite extraordinary to look at all of those stories written by the youth of their time in a period of 60 years. This magazine has seen crises and booms, the rise and fall of neoliberalism and the invention of the internet; the birth of the European Union and the death of the Soviet Union and so many more events, people and ideas, which have shaped the world we live in today. Thus we though it would be appropriate to dedicate this issue to nostalgia. We want to remember the things that happened in Rostras’ lifetime and see how they relate and effect the present.
I often wonder if it is possible for us to learn from the mistakes, naivety and misunderstandings of past generations. It seems as if we are running into the same problems, but wrapped in different paper. We’ve had market bubbles since the tulip crash; reasonless wars, since the dawn of civilization; countless unrecognized, yet, in retrospect, obvious threats and many missed opportunities to grow kindness, knowledge and solidarity. We recognize those mistakes, but only when they come in the exact same coat. Why is it so difficult to realize that there is no market that will grow forever or that no war is ever truly won? New technologies and developments bring us new challenges, yet I believe that, if we reduce our problems to their core we shall find that they have always been there in a slightly different shape or form. But that’s just my opinion. They say that the only constant in life is change. Perhaps, but as a future economist, I think we should look back in time to find patterns of change and push ourselves closer to equilibrium.
Alas the end is near… not Rostras’, of course, but mine as editor-in-chief as well as the magazines in this particular form. Yes, during the summer a new online version of Rostra is being developed and you should see it in the fall. I will not hide that I am skeptical of the disappearance of a printed faculty magazine as I am of print media in general, but this change gives opportunity for improvement, which I’m sure will be fully exploited. It has been a very revealing experience contributing to Rostra in this capacity and I have learnt a great deal. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the five issues of this academic year and found them stimulating. It has been a pleasure to write for Rostra this year and I hope to have the pleasure of reading it for many many more years to come.