The Stages of Economy!

by Maya Eralieva

When this interactive FORUM blog re-activated, I was thrilled to write something. Despite my humble experience of putting things together in an article, I decided to write a short message which makes me upset.

In Kyrgyz Republic, unfortunately, everything from family to happiness comes with a price tag. The elected President, surprisingly, says that government is a bad manager. Thus, as far his wisdom concerned he motivates everything should be handed over to the private sector. The question remains, then why the government should continue? Government officials are keen to privatize all strategic state-owned entities in line with capitalistic model of economy (while neighboring Kazakhstan is under the process of nationalizing all major sectors).

Unfortunately, I must say that market guided civilization developed in West, has brought our world society to dead end. Due to the profit motive structure of the world economy, out green planet has increasingly becoming brown planet devoid of natural surroundings. Because of unrestrained unmindful exploitation of earth resources, we are facing new challenges of survival like the impact of climate change.

The reforms and restructuring pushed by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) through our government have no social and ethical values. These reforms lead to an impoverishment of the majority of the population and enrichment of minority, that trampling on moral ideals - duty, validity, truth, sincerity, patriotism, national pride, honesty and so on.

Moreover, absolutism of the market and its identification with capitalism of industrial type brought to crisis too. The market and capitalism is not the same. It was perfectly explained by the popular historian Fernan Brodel. While Europe and the US are promoting the concept of mixed economy or so-called ‘market socialism’, Kyrgyz Republic is promoting the concept of ‘market capitalism’. Here is the difference!

It is beyond our imagination to expect that an economic miracle will be happening from this market capitalism in our country. I wonder if it would happen in this Millennium! We must not be carrying memory lapses. History speaks in volume and loud and clear! The Western countries colonized the third world and exploit as well as extract the resources from the colonies to maintain their capitalism. Thanks to the Invisible Hand! Notwithstanding W. W Rustow’s 1960 famous theory “The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto”, this exploitation is still continuing through new formats-neo-colonialism!