Let’s evolve, shall we?
It is true that the prime minister of Iceland had to resign because of indirect links with offshore companies. It is also true that in Europe and other parts of the world many individuals have suffered dearly due to disclosures made in Panama Papers
Panama Papers is a major deal in our country. People for a time were of the view that this may topple our government. I find this strange because it’s common knowledge that our leaders have amassed wealth in their time in power. I find it strange that people consider Panama Papers newsworthy.
It is true that the prime minister of Iceland had to resign because of indirect links with offshore companies. It is also true that in Europe and other parts of the world many individuals have suffered dearly due to disclosures made in Panama Papers. However would it be fair to compare the dynamics of Pakistan with those of more developed nations? Corruption is not acceptable in those nations and if someone is found indulging in it, they are severallyreprimanded.
We on the other hand are different. Corruption is considered the norm and it is not limited to a specific section of society but exists across the board. Corruption isn’t tabooed here, in fact people are more than happy to associate with government servants driving in cars equivalent to a hundred folds of their monthly salaries. We seek low paying government jobs knowing that the side income will be more than equivalent to any opportunities that may be available in the private sector. In the rare instances that public servants refrain from indulging in corruption their children openly and blatantly criticise their non-indulgence.
It may be convenient to colour the matter of corruption in the context of good and bad. We can say that the west is good and we are bad and therefore we are corrupt. However this is not entirely true, the truth is western society operates under the principles of a social contract.
The social contract in simple words is the state providing basic structures to its citizens, which in effect provide a minimum standard of living. These structures to name a few include security, judiciary, health care, education, road networks and a conducive environment to seek employment and do business in. The citizen on the other hand contributes by obeying the law and paying taxes to finance these state enterprises. As the efficient working of the social contract requires that the citizen plays his part with discipline, corruption is discouraged and condemned as it is unacceptable both legally and socially.
In our country the social contract exists only in name and not in character. As there is no basic infrastructure and the things required to insure a minimal standard of living are not provided the state is failing to fulfill its end of the bargain by not providing the necessary structures. The citizens on the other hand are also failing as they are the very functionaries who are to steer the organs of the state into performing efficiently. The citizen instead is indulging in corrupt practices which beyond helping amass ill-gotten wealth is creating an in efficient state as a by-product.
As the social contract is not being fulfilled an alternate system of governance has come into being as it’s replacement, which is survival of the fittest and for lack of a better phrase the law of the jungle. As the basic structures of the state are not there they have to be bought and paid for. For instance if the state is not providing education and healthcare and for that matter even basic infrastructure like electricity and security the citizen must purchase them from private enterprises. As these basic structures don’t come cheap and certainly not in the income of an honest monthly wage one must indulge in corrupt practices and hence a vicious circle is formed, where the citizen is corrupt for his very survival and the state is corrupt because its operations are being managed by that corrupt citizenry.
This is followed by the concept of safety in numbers, as a man cannot exist as an island a large number of citizens is involved in corruption. The corrupt individual who is insecure due to the ineptness of the state involves a maximum number of friends and family in reaping the benefits of his loot as subconsciously if not consciously he is aware that he will be requiring their support if matters go south. Citizens who benefit from corrupt practices of a state functionary mostly align themselves with each other and in the process a parallel economy is created which does not adhere to the requirements of contribution to the state and legal structure.
The problem with such a system beyond morality is that corruption eventually debilitates the structures that are the very foundations of the state and eventually transforming the state into a failed state.
Hope does exist. The naming and shaming of the corrupt tends to act as a deterrent for others. Structured development, in which economic activity does not allow the flexibility required for corruption, also helps. And a vibrant media in which every action of a citizen can easily be opened to public scrutiny helps, so does an active judiciary.
There is of course hope as the west was not always operating under a social contract and they too evolved and so shall we.
Good
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