If only some people are beneficiaries from their ties with the ruling party in grabbing lucrative contracts and thereby gain wealth through corrupt practices at the expense of oppressing others, will such a country ever reach high-income status? Through the process, a few will get rich through extraction, placing their names in the list of millionaires and billionaires. For sure, such extraction process shows some visible signs of development like infrastructure or hollow companies. Unfortunately, such a process destroys the core strength of wealth creation of a country, leading to its destruction. Why should it be like that? If this process helps accumulation of capital in the hands of a few and the rest of the population are forced to work like slaves both at home and abroad, will not extraction lead to disciplined low-cost labour economy in creating a few oligarchies? As a result, per capita average income will rise-giving the impression of graduating to higher income level.
In getting rich through the agenda of weakening the people with the oppressive state machinery has become like winning lottery for a few. Hence, within a short period of time, a few of them from those unfortunate poor countries succeed to list their names as millionaires and billionaires. However, do those newly rich people invest their capital in those poor countries? Mostly, no. Because those poor countries cannot offer the lifestyle, they can enjoy somewhere else with the massive pot of ill-gotten money. Hence, they transfer wealth to buy expensive homes, hotels, and other real estate in rich countries. Their family members start enjoying extravaganza like driving costly cars. Invariably, they take citizenship of foreign countries and leave behind the plundered countries, like miscreants do after extracting valuable organs from human bodies. Unfortunately, many of those poor countries offer dual citizenship, which maintains the corridor of continued extraction and wealth transfer. Ironically, to escape from this form of exploitation, many of those countries fought against the colonies and sought independence.
Before proceeding further let's look into the likely future of those millionaires and billionaires born through plundering of poor countries. To them and their children, it's like winning lottery. Hence, invariably they get used to high spending which are beyond their means of earning. As they cannot keep extracting wealth through unfairness after migrating to rich countries, their wealth starts depleting. Besides, through the process of spending ill-gotten wealth, they also start developing some self- destructing habits. In the end, they will likely face the fate of most of the lottery winners-"70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years of winning." Besides, along with bankruptcy, they will also likely develop the liability of addictions, self-disrespect, ill health, broken family, and many other curses.
Let's make the assumption that they do not transfer their wealth and invest in plundered countries. Through plundering what is the competence they have acquired to generate profitable revenue out of the invested capital? Is it likely that they will pursue the means of bribing for cheating in paying taxes, duties and utility bills, invoicing, getting loans from banks, securing preferential treatment from the government, and pursuing many other unfair means? As a result, will not the society suffer further due to the investment of the plundered wealth?
Unfortunately, through prolonged unjust practices, people start getting accustomed to the "new normal" along with age. But what about the students? As humans, are they not supposed to raise questions about discrimination and unfairness? Once they do, what happens if we suppress them by applying force? Is it not likely they will revolt and throw things around? To counter it, if we press further, will it not lead to mass demonstrations, destruction, and insecurity? Consequentially, society runs the risk of nurturing demotivated youths, leading to further erosion of economic well-being. Well, they will be weakened in resisting the unfairness. They may likely start becoming actors of unleashing unfairness. Along the way, if the next generation's majority is compelled to grow up as demotivated extortion agents, how will you reach a high-income country? In the worst case, to contain such disturbing population within specific boundary, neighbours may start pursuing the agenda of creating buffer zone along the borders. As such likelihood runs the risk of turning a country into concentration camp and losing the independence. It may not take more than a few decades to reach that state, but it may take centuries to return from this grave consequence. It will be complete stupidity of not drawing the lesson from sufferings of Palestinian people, and what the former colonies had to sacrifice to free themselves from the claws of foreign forces.
Before concluding, let's look into basics of reaching high-income country and the relevance to fairness, security and trust. Of course, elevated express way, metro rail, tunnels, subways, satellites, nuclear power plants, bullet trains, iconic airports, and fibre optics connectivity are visible signs of populous high-income countries like Japan. But did those high-income countries build them through borrowing from foreign sources, giving contracts to foreign firms, and patronising corruption in procurement? By building them, how you are going to create economic value to repay loans and create surplus is the main development challenge. By fostering unfairness, insecurity, and trust, will we empower citizens to build wealth? Firing bullet from helicopters and killing little kids in their parents' laps, what message do we deliver?
A country creates wealth by trading natural resource deposits, and accumulating and commercialising labour, knowledge and ideas. Unless all the doors of wealth extraction through unfair means are closed, and next generation gets the confidence in fairness, security and trust, wealth creation through knowledge and idea accumulation will never happen. Consequently, all the visible progresses will be turned into liability, creating a crippled country. Hence, its' high-time to understand that fairness in conducting government's affairs for building trust and security in the minds of its citizens, notably among students, is far more critical than pursuing any other development agenda. If not, the country as a whole will keep suffering grave consequences--turning the aspiration of reaching high-income status into illusion.
M. Rokonuzzaman, Ph.D is academic and researcher on technology, society and policy. Zaman.rokon.bd@gmail.com