Daily Times

Dr Adil Najam, who is former vice chancellor of LUMS and currently a dean at the Boston University, has compiled views of intellectuals to compare the world situation before coronavirus (BC) and after coronavirus (AC). There is broad consensus that big changes are inevitable and even the sacred ‘Capitalist Order’ is seriously threatened. The 20th century was dominated by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 that created the mighty United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). China followed in 1949 and then Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a big event. After three major upheavals and two world wars there was brief period of calm and accommodation but it did not last long.

About two years back I had the opportunity to talk to the Russian ambassador at the Golden Rim Economic Forum (GREF) seminar. I asked him about the prevalent economic order in the country; his reply was, ‘We are in transition to capitalism’, which surprised me a bit. China has changed but the central authority and control is in place. Iran seems to be in transition to emerge as a serious player in the region by liberalizing its economy. The GREF is promoting a new economic block consisting of Russia, China, Pakistan Turkey and Iran. In the 20th year of the 21st century the entire humanity is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic which threatens its very existence.

On January 11 this year, Mark Lyall Grant, former high commissioner of the UK to Pakistan, delivered the keynote address at the ThinkFest held at Alhamra, Lahore. He talked about the emerging new world order. While the rise of China as a new world power was acknowledged, he maintained that their centralized non-democratic system was bound to collapse. In other words future belonged to the democratic west and its capitalistic economy. He did talk about the high handedness of the Western powers in dealing with the Muslim countries including the invasion and destruction of Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan.

As students in the sixties and seventies we were influenced by the progressive movements worldwide. The youth played a pivotal role in the ouster of the first dictator followed by the election victory in West Pakistan of a left of center political party headed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB). In the eighties the world started to move away from welfare oriented states. In the UK it was Margaret Thatcher who took on the labour unions and started a programme of massive privatization and deregulation it was called ‘Thatcherism’. In the USA, Ronald Reagan, another right wing politician was elected president. He too was against unionism. When the air traffic controllers went on strike he fired them. He introduced the free market approach together with globalization; it was called ‘Reaganomics’. Together they changed the world economic order neutralizing the 20th century gains of equitable distribution of wealth. As a result the rich got richer at the cost of the underprivileged. Then there was a technological and digital divide. Industrialization took place at the cost of food and agriculture. Both education and health became expensive and out of reach of the masses.

People of the world are now at the mercy of corporate boards who decide on profit driven products

On December 25, 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev not only resigned from his office, he dismantled the Soviet Union while handing over all powers to Boris Yeltsin, the president of the Russian Federation. It was a major retreat for the progressive forces in the world. The famous slogan, ‘East is Red’ was replaced with, ‘Socialism is dead’. China was able to weather the storm, kept its course of liberalization of the economy while strictly watching public interests. While the Red Square in Moscow is no longer the nucleus of the revolution, the ‘Tiananmen Square’ is still alive. In 1992, I met my old comrade friend from Punjab University who was contesting the election for the President of Lahore High Court Bar Association. He was later elevated to the bench, becoming chief justice of the Lahore High Court, finally retiring as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. To my surprise he held onto his socialist views. His words were, ‘as long as there is injustice in the world, socialism will make a comeback’. Impressed by his remarks, I came back and wrote an article titled, ‘Meeting with a Socialist’ which was published as the progressives were fast becoming extinct, it created a ray of hope for change.

The world is bracing for a new order. It is both the best and worst of times. While there has not been such concentration of wealth in centuries, there are no counter movements to challenge the evil status-quo. With globalization, deregulation and free markets the multinational companies (MNC) rule the world governments are now subservient to business interests. National Self Reliance is an alien concept. People of the world are now at the mercy of corporate boards who decide on profit driven products. In the USA, while the government has now decided to fabricate ventilators for the care of coronavirus patients, China has become the major supplier of this much needed commodity by focusing on need driven industries. The centralized economy was able to shut down, treat and feed the population while the people in the capitalist world are buying arms to protect their assets from food related riots. Coronavirus may prove to be the last episode of ‘Capitalism’. The development of technology has to be regulated too, especially telecom which are in common personal use, effects of the developments like 4G and 5G need to be monitored and evaluated. It took the world decades to regulate nuclear proliferation after heavy human toll, lessons must be put to good use.

For those of us who survive this pandemic, there will be life after coronavirus (AC) hopefully very different. May be a new coronavirus calendar BC (before 2020) and AC (after 2020) be introduced – an integrated approach for humanity that would focus on food and health of communities. Education and employment for all will become the norm. Self-reliant communities and model cities may emerge. Arms buildup and standing armies have to be curtailed. I have been informed that there is an institute outside Stockholm in Sweden where this concept is being researched. The proposal is to have one unified armed force under the United Nations with representation from member countries. In case of hostilities amongst nations this force will restore peace and bring the feuding parties to the negotiating table. Too many resources are being wasted on external and internal security by most countries. Welfare states on the pattern of the five Nordic countries will emerge. Roosevelt’s new deal and Marx workers’ paradise may become a reality after all. Fortunately Pakistan has an elected government that has already done homework to create an Islamic welfare state. The prime minister has been personally involved in fighting the pandemic, once we come out of it as a unified nation the crusade should continue for the common good of the of the exploited and impoverished 220 million suffering souls. It may be freedom after a wait of over seven decades.

The writer is ex-chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation Email: fmaliks@hotmail.com