Albert Einstein said: When the solution is simple, God is answering. First deduction: Solutions exist. We just need to do a little bit of homework with sincerity of purpose. Second deduction: God wishes to provide simple solutions. Third deduction: Divine solutions are usually simple. Fourth deduction: Solutions must be simple for even the most complex of problems. Fifth deduction: Difficult solutions lack divinity. On the other hand, the said quote raises a pertinent question: Why do we prefer to provide complicated solutions to even the simplest of problems? Take the example of fixing petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan. You do not need Milton Friedman or Alfred Marshall to devise a price-fixing system. A knowledge-based study of demand, supply, international trends & drivers, and some simple mathematics could easily solve the problem.
However, no. The aim is to complicate matters. To begin with, how about portraying the price hike as one of the IMF’s demands? Or meeting some fiscal objectives? You know, we didn’t have a choice. What could we do? To make the due and overdue payments, we needed the IMF’s nod and to that end, we were obliged to take some difficult decisions. Of course, we understand the atrociously painful trickledown effects of this hike, and by no means we are oblivious to our people’s difficulties. End of speech. End of discussion. Wait a minute, what about the IMF’s other conditions such as tax collection from all and discontinuing the ever-menacing process of providing subsidies to the chosen ones? The explanation? On collecting taxes from all, we have already taken the necessary steps. FBR reforms are underway. The FBR’s Chairman has been tasked to bring about the necessary changes. On subsidies, a high-level committee has been constituted that will put up its proposals.
The saga continues. Let us now make the issue a bit more complicated by bombarding the people with complex figure-work. The country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 28.3 per cent in July, year-on-year, with prices up 3.5 per cent in July in comparison to the ones in the previous month. In June, the CPI rise was 29.4 per cent, year-on-year, coming off a record 38 per cent in May. Fuel prices have increased sharply in global markets in the last 15 days. Hence, the benchmark Brent crude oil prices climbed to 16 per cent during July. Any idea what exactly it implies? Does the public even care about going through the monthly CPI figures? Benchmark Brent crude oil indices?
Nevertheless, yes. Some lollipops have been saved to sparingly distribute, most probably near or after the general elections. For instance, increasing daily travelling allowances of employees, no loadshedding for a few days or lowering petroleum prices temporarily. Just like boasting about constructing a road as if the expenses were paid from their own pockets, you would see familiar faces on tv screens taking credit for lowering prices. In doing so, they hasten to add a verbal flyer discreetly canvassing for their party. That’s how economics is exploited for political purposes. This trend is not new. However, the audacity with which it has been pursued in recent years is appalling. A few moments later, you could hear fiery speeches in Parliament mainly focusing on the endless benefits of democracy.
By any chance, if anyone asked why the entire nation was made hostage to the IMF, the standard response would be: We did not start it. Ask those who took us to the Fund. In fact, we are the ones who streamlined the process in the larger interest of the country. Now you go to the leaders of the party during whose term the Program was initiated. No need to narrate their response. It is but obvious. The result? In the cyclical rigmarole of the chicken and egg, one would be left perpetually wondering about one’s country’s predicament. Who is responsible for this mess? The ensuing frustration would take a difficult turn after one watched an endless spate of justifications provided on tv screens by noteworthy experts.
That brings us to an informed and educated conclusion. One: The blame game continues. Shirking one’s responsibility while explaining one’s position with oft-repeated justifications. Two: May it be the IMF or a train accident, no one will be ready to take responsibility let alone resign. Three: Jargon such as justice, democracy, fair play, and governance would keep on reverberating aimlessly in the air with no trace of solutions. Four: The insufferably vicious cycle of underdevelopment would continue unabated creating additional issues for the common man.
G. K. Chesterton, a British luminary, is known as one of the most prolific writers of all time. In literary circles, he is believed to have influenced the writings of literary giants such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Solzhenitsyn. Chesterton once observed: It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.
The apathy is not difficult to understand. The problem lies in the ‘ad hoc’ nature of thinking at the highest level. The lack of a visionary approach is the result of a directionless process mostly involving individual aims. It is a fact that those wielding authority not only disown the past but also remain indifferent to the time that succeeds their specific terms. If you want to test the waters, ask any retired high official a simple question: Who is responsible for the miseries we are facing today? You might get a response something on these lines: In our time, everything worked according to well-established principles and, you know, we delivered. The question is: If the tenures of all the politicians, generals, bureaucrats, executives, and judges were ‘flawless’, why does the nation find itself in such an enormous mess? Something is not making sense here.
The redeeming feature? Still there are some people in Pakistan who keep hoping against hope. Somehow, they are convinced that every cloud has a silver lining and tomorrow is another day.
Najm us Saqib
The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com