Cobras Effect

The cobra effect occurs when an adopted strategy or solution to a problem makes the problem
worse due to unseen consequences. The term is used to illustrate the causes of incorrect
stimulus in economy and politics. The expression originates from an incident which took
place when the British ruled India. The British government was disturbed about the number
of poisonous cobra snakes in Delhi. The government, therefore, offered a reward for every
dead cobra. Initially, this was a successful strategy as large numbers of snakes were killed for
the reward. Eventually, however, enterprising people began to breed cobras for the income!
When the government learnt it, the reward program was scrapped. This decision of the
government caused havoc as the cobra breeders set the now-worthless snakes free. As a
result, the wild cobra population increased further.

America’s war on drugs began in 1971, when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public
enemy number one.” He intended to suppress the illegal drug trade, the consequence turned
bitter. It created a permanent underclass consisting of drug criminals – sort of a lobby of
federal offenders; the drug peddler’s voting rights were withdrawn; they were refused
education and employment too. The consequence of this action was that it fueled violence in
Latin America. The crux of the story is bin Laden’s money gave him prominence on the
Afghan scene and he used the Mexican underclass to turn his fighters against the US,
bringing America into the war in the Middle East.