Discipline or anarchy?

On a bright April afternoon in 1975 when the buds were still sprouting and the spring freshness was struggling to hold the summer heat away, a clutch of greenhorn cadets was read out the Vade Mecum of personal conduct by their legendary House Master Mr Saeed Rashid. He made it clear to his young proteges that they were the bright young roses in the making whose fragrance one day would spread far and wide. But before they blossomed into a rose they would have to subject themselves to a branch cutting and grating process, a painful yet highly rewarding undertaking. He told them that discipline was the secret key to unlock the potential of their individual lives as well as collective existence.

As he paced with gravitas and spoke in his measured monotone the words in his contralto voice tugged at the heart strings of youngsters. “Boys remember that the discipline is the hard core of success. Just as a picture is the discipline of lines and colour and the song is the discipline of words and notes, sans which there would be ugliness and cacophony, your lives can only be meaningful if you can learn to live according to rules and laws.” With every passing year the universality of that truth dinned into their young ears was proven true to that young cohort. As we encounter a post truth world nowadays our collective lives are being assailed by the hypnotic flow of algorithm driven narratives and a disrespect for grand narratives.

Frustration and ennui are the outcomes of a ubiquitous exposure to social media where schisms, hatred and deprivations are amplified without the healing touch of sane counsel and an alternative world view. Democracy’s Westminster avatar as embraced by us does not provide the healing touch of tolerance, sacrifice, discipline and deference to rules. Dr Muhathir’s statement about democracy in his September 2022 interview is a must watch for our younger generation as well as policymakers. When asked about the rise of populism in the world as a threat to democracy he remarked, “Democracy is the best system invented by the man but is open to abuses. When the majority is gained through money and other questionable means it would fail to deliver good governance.”

Now failure to gain a majority through moral means and failure to govern in the interest of people is also a reflection of lack of democratic discipline. Can democracy be a panacea to the economic insolvency and human deprivation in the hands of those who compete in elections to gain power and pelf instead of making pro-public laws and governing the public interest? Can someone who comes to public office by winning majority through bribes and unethical practices be realistically expected to work for public weal instead of multiplying own wealth? The answer as per Muhathir is a big no. The country is gasping for breath in straitened economic circumstances while no one realizes that the structural changes required to alter the pro-elite political economy and monopoly driven economic policies can never be initiated in the absence of economic discipline.

The signs of economic indiscipline are everywhere. The informal economy which accounts for almost half of our formal economy is an indicator of that. According to a LUMS study, out of the total taxes collected, 62% are lost to corruption. The action against an eco-system of crime in the shape of border smuggling from Pak-Iran and Pak-Afghanistan border and visa-free cross-border movement is being opposed tooth and nail by the lobbies and stakeholders benefiting directly and indirectly from it despite the best efforts of the government. Powerful trader lobbies defy every attempt at bringing them in tax net while the big land holders defy all attempts to tax the agricultural income. The million-dollar question is: will this system of democracy, where the government is elected through the efforts of traders and big land holders, impose taxes on those that brought them to power?

We do not have a population discipline. If nothing sinks us the runaway population would. According to a research study Pakistan would have the third largest population i.e. 350 million by 2050 including 221 million working age adults. Pakistan’s youth bulge is going to increase to 30% of population between 2020 and 2025. It is worth introspecting: will the country be able to absorb the above numbers in job market? If not, what plans are being made? Similarly, our water and energy discipline as a nation leaves much to be desired. Pakistan created the world’s largest network of piped gas yet failed to develop the indigenous sources of gas supply. Presently the government is purchasing gas at $16/mmbtu and selling to domestic consumers at $4/mmbtu. Is it sustainable? Every populist has sold dreams of millions of jobs and houses to the famished sensibilities of masses but has done little to deliver.

A country enervated for cheap power refuses to make use of the nature’s bounty of cheap hydro power. Kalabagh Dam is the classic case of collective hara-kiri being performed by an undisciplined federation and its federating units that fail to sink their selfish interests in the collective interest of the nation. Every populist political leader has raised slogans of civilian supremacy. Has someone ever cared for civilian salvation too? Promise moon, ratchet up the tensions, play up the youth frustrations, appear to be a promised messiah and celebrate the personality cult has been the credo of populists masquerading as deliverers. Has some populist leader cared to take the unpopular route of disciplining the nation?

Nations like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and South Korea have learnt to be disciplined first and democratic later. We have put the horse before the cart first but have not learnt the basic lesson that an undisciplined nation cannot benefit from democracy. The democratic freedoms without discipline and strict enforcement of laws are a sure recipe of disorder and anarchy. We need a democratic variant that delivers good governance through strict discipline and rule of law.

A rent disbursing pro-elite version of democracy capable only of distributing patronage pills and incapable of delivering social and economic justice through good governance and discipline is a sure recipe of disaster.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2024.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.