Let me give you the one two on what this is going to be about. we are openly going to discuss politics, sports, drugs and everything under the Gods sun. Here we will be able to talk about everything without bashing the shit out of each other so LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!
Ali,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, this is a brilliant effort. I think you hit the nail with your 'Change Within' slogan. There needs to be less of finger-pointing and more of self-correction and a sense of responsibility before you can change a culture rife with corruption. Let me try to rant a bit about what I think of the situation in Pakistan. I'm definitely going to be wrong about a few things as I don't know the ground situation over there. Only the people can tell what's really happening.
Pakistan is still an agrarian society, painfully trying to inch its way towards industrialization. How do you get from an agrarian feudal society in which the political classes are the same as the landed and industrial classes to an industrialized one based on democratic principles of popular sovereignty and accountability to the public?
1) Land Reform. India (and every other industrialized country for that matter) has made some progress in that respect. Of course, things aren't perfect across the border, but at least they made the effort. It'd be instructive to see why the Indian movement for land reform wasn't successful at the national level. It was only implemented in a few provinces where peasants had a political say. Another successful model is that of French revolution, which basically altered the political makeup of France for centuries to come. But will the landed classes agree to give up their privilege? No way, until the younger generation has a change of heart. Which basically brings us back to your point of 'change within'.
2) Stop getting the patronizing foreign aid. Pakistan is the only nuclear power which is neither industrialized nor on a clear path towards it. It is fundamentally using its status as a nuclear power along with its strategic location to get foreign funding. In other words, it has become a client state of the US. Of course, as you point out, if you have an effective and transparent taxation bureaucracy in Pakistan, you won't need foreign loans to the extent you do now. But who sets the policy of accepting foreign aid? Again, it's the political classes because they are the one who distribute the money through channels in which they are invested. So the money ultimately ends up in their pockets and empowers them further to manipulate the political culture. More money means more influence and power over public opinion. [Correct me if I'm wrong on this.].
3) The reason you don't have a transparent bureaucracy is a national culture where corruption is accepted and even encouraged. I'm not singling out Pakistan here. There's corruption everywhere in the world. The US financial crisis shows that some of the most corrupt individuals can get away with people's money if they wield enough influence over the Congress. But an economy the size of US can get away with this corruption in the upper echelons of government. Part of the reason US can ignore corruption at the top level is that the US public follows the law and pays the taxes. The investors trust the US because they trust the effectiveness of US taxation system. They know that despite all the corruption in the banking system, the government can always raise money by raising taxes (and sometimes by just printing money). An unindustrialized country like Pakistan cannot afford to be lax about taxes. Printing more Ruppee won't work because nobody wants to buy the ruppee. Very high taxation of the landed and industrial classes is the only way forward. But again, who sets the policy? The political classes. And why would they set a policy that directly harms their interests?
ReplyDelete4) Across the spectrum change. A large chunk of the poor and the middle classes can't pay their taxes because they hardly make enough money to survive. Energy and food prices are set by policies that don't favor the lower and the middle classes. But the problem of corruption runs deep. Unfortunately, the middle and the poor classes also show the same potential for corruption that the landed classes do. So the change within, across the broad social spectrum, is definitely what's needed. It has to be a moral change based on simple principles that a) you pay your taxes, b) you don't accept bribes c) you don't steal property and money from the weak and the poor. It also has to be a cultural change where people respect the law and publicly challenge anyone who is engaging in illegal financial transactions. You have to make it culturally unacceptable to tolerate cronyism, nepotism, getting kickbacks, proposing bribes, etc. That actually may involve punishing those who steal most of the money, starting from the very top. There are many interesting ways for the civil society to show contempt to those individuals who are publicly known to have engaged in financial fraud and corruption. Political satire is one way, and that's already popular in public. Music is another way to deride corruption. But these methods won't work. History shows that powerful classes cannot be shamed into giving up their privilege. This has been tried in England, France, and many other places without making much change in the system.
ReplyDeleteAgain, it all goes back to public accountability and respect for law. How do you create a culture of respect for law across all social classes? By implementing the law. But you can't if the landed, political and industrial classes run the show. We know that the judiciary system can be manipulated. The resistance by the strong legal civil society in Pakistan is great, but the PPP government has shown that all you have to do it to let the dust settle and then you're back in the business. So yes revolution is the only answer. But how do you get public support for revolution? You convince them that it's worth the effort. Your emotional appeal should be to their sense of dignity and honor, something that particularly resonates with the Pakistanis. You have to gain their genuine trust by selling them a good political narrative which will give them the motivation to mobilize. The Long March a couple of years ago was a brilliant example of what mobilization can achieve. No one can ignore ten million people on the street. If you can successfully sell your story and people trust you, you can mobilize them. Those who are desperate and who repeatedly face injustice will follow without a doubt. You just have to give them hope and make them fearless. I think you'd also need some technical expertise in info science to successfully mobilize.
Ok, enough ranting from me and now back to the real world. As for squash, I have to say that I'm fine with things for now. The Khans terrorized the squash world literally for decades...:-) Let the goras pull up their pants in the squash court for now...:-)
I have to say that your observation was quite accurate and at the same time very sensible. But the unfortunate thing is there is no clarity in the thought process of my countrymen. First of all the REVOLUTION needs to come in the way we think. We need to change how we accept corruption and how we say 'thats how things work in Pakistan' on every small matter. On top of that we talk about democracy and land reforms but these changes wont work till the public is educated enough. If the masses are not able to make a sound decisions cause they cant even tell whats 2+2 how can they judge who is the best person to vote for or how the land reforms will work for us. Best example is the Kerry-Lugar bill and Kala Bagh Dam. The public didnt even know what these things stood for but they just went against it because some petty politicians sitting in the opposition opposed it. Why do you think the militants are blowing up schools? Thats because education gives people common sense. Even in Islam the religion of the country empasises on education and honesty but our public is only bent on blowing up cd shops. These mullahs talk about the fear of God and then they molest small children in the madarsahs and use Islam to gain support of the public in order to please their personal interests.
ReplyDeleteWe need an educated progressive country. no wonder I believie n centre-left politics