Creative minority and progress

In the history of mankind the creative minority played a role of an apex in the enlightenment of the state and society

In the recorded history of mankind the creative minority played a role of an apex in the enlightenment of the state and society. Creative and dedicated minority is even able to renew and recreate the static and frozen human society in the history. Majority always turns its rationality into collectivism which ultimately leads to illusionary beliefs and order of the world. In his book, Guns, Steel and Germs, Jared Diamond asserted that it is the geography that decides the fortune and destiny of the nations. On the other hand, Daron Acemoglu in his book, Why Nations Fail, argues it is not the geography but the institutions which decide the probability of progress in the states. While it is an established fact that it is the creative minority that decides the vibrant future or frozen future of the nations.

Creative minority can have different dimensions ranging from minority of arts and literature to intellectual elites. Creative minority in any state is the building block of the nation. Civilisations grow and die with the emergence of creative and dedicated minority and ultimately death of this creative minority. In his book, A Study of History, Arnold J Toynbee argues that a human society progresses from the primitive setup not because of the environmental or geographical factors but due to the response of the creative minority. If a nation is able to cultivate the creative and dedicated minority, it becomes enlightened in the international order.

Creative minority plays a role when a state or a nation is faced with a challenge. What matters is how they respond to the challenge. Human history is the outcome of this cyclic process in which the creative minority responds to the challenge and paves the way to progress and development. Europe was surfeited in the bloody wars and militias in the form of “Thirty Years’ War” from 1618 to 1648 and then the creative minority of different territories decided to respond to the challenge of wars and codified a treaty, of Westphalia, which ended the violent warfare and demarcated the concept of nation states with the features of sovereignty.

The decolonisation of South Asia and independence of Pakistan and India were led by the creative minority of political leaders in the Subcontinent. Creative political minority of Muslims in United India decided to respond to the challenge of Hindus and British hegemony in the form of new state. In 1947 Pakistan came into being as an independent state. Here we can discuss how the creative minority turned into dominant minority after the creation of the Pakistan and failed to respond to the challenges related to domestic and international policies. The dominant minority stagnated and could not devise a constitution for nine years. Due to the lost ability of the creative minority, the challenges pushed the new state into a vicious cycle of political and social engineering.

At the state level, Malaysia started a robust economic growth due to creative economic minority policies. Mahathir Mohammad, in particular, transformed Malaysia’s economic market within years. If creative minority of any state is dedicated, it creates inclusive state institutions with strong checks and balances which spur unmatchable growth. But if the creative minority descends into corruption and nepotism, it leads the entire nation on to the path of collapse. If political minority in a state is good enough to respond state challenges with creative capacities, it can neutralise every challenge and advance amidst disorder. North Korea’s political creative minority turned into dominant minority and resulting in the state suffering from poverty, unemployment and disorder. On the other hand, the political creative minority in the South Korea is efficient and has the ability to respond to every challenge inclusively. Thus, South Korea is put on the list of Illuminated Nations in 21^st Century. It is the creative minority which decides the future and fortune of a state!

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2022.

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