Echoes of empires

I am reminded of an old Mel Gibson film “Apocalypto”. It represented a great ancient society brought down by the avarice and savagery of its ruling class. That was an excellent reminder of what happens when authority and a corruptible human being are allowed to run wild and unregulated! Those who have watched it would feel that they are looking at a reflection of our society in a different costume setting.

Pakistan can benefit a lot from the history of old empires such as the Aztecs, Incas, and British, whose ebb and flow provide significant insights into the sociological, political, and institutional development of their eras. In this piece we will draw parallels between these empires and their extractive institutions to understand the difficulties and opportunities that are shaping Pakistan’s future.

Extractive institutions are structures that steal power and resources from the vast majority of population and concentrate them to a privileged few. These beneficiaries have all they need and much more on top of that and they have an unsatiated desire to stay on top, but they lack the knowledge and motivation to help the rest of the population.

Although they are innovative in all manners extravagant where their dogs are treated in spas and horses fed with dry fruits but their flight of thinking stops there.

Thus leaving no room for innovation and making national development unsustainable. The book “Why Nations Fail,” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, is quite famous and oft-quoted to explain the nature and effects of extractive institutions.

The writers have recently won Nobel prize, so the book has gained further traction. Although a different critique on the proposition of good institutions is a matter of discussion for some other day, here we will use the understanding of extractive institutions from this book.

The Aztec empire provides a fascinating example of an exploitative machine at action. The ruling elite, which included the emperor and a number of nobles, tightened their grip on power, capitalizing on their apex predator status. They were lavishly wealthy and the only ones who benefited from the economy beyond a bare subsistence. Everyone else was destitute.

The population was so impoverished that many appeared to be on the verge of starvation. Nonetheless, for a while, it appeared like everything was going well for the individuals at the top.

Similarly, the British Empire’s institutions cast a pale shadow. They extracted from the colonies and grabbed their wealth and in their wake created a group of elite that enjoyed excessive levels of luxury and power.

Before leaving the British established a bureaucratic and political eco-system driven by the local elite, who worked on their behalf. Once the British Raj came to an end we were left with an elite that monopolized riches and an oppressed underclass that barely made ends meet.

Today, against the backdrop of past empires, Pakistan grapples with the legacy of extractive institutions that drain the population’s resources and energies while undermining the mechanism of democracy, economic development, and social cohesion.

For decades, a lethal political mix of favouritism, corruption, and rent-seeking has entrenched elite interests, stifled enterprise, and spread poverty and inequality like a virus.

The consolidation of power in the hands of political dynasties and economic oligarchs has destroyed voters’ little trust in governmental institutions. With the almost ridiculous pretext of “transparency,” public institutions have been transformed into venues for the powerful and well-connected to loot in the name of the public good.

According to some academics, bad governance leads to lower revenue output. This creates quasi-states that become de facto extractors. Feudal overlords and mafias are (becoming) quasi-states; these quasi-states establish “no-go areas” for the government; they oppose the state’s writ, resulting in the formation of an informal economy.

The elite perpetuate all of this out of a desire to maintain political, economic, and social power. Our situation today is comparable to a game that many of us might have played called Jenga. In this game, each player keeps on removing blocks from a standing stack till the time it collapses. The stack appears stable—except that with all these blocks removed, it’s just begging to collapse.

However, though the situation is quite challenging but not all is lost, and we can find opportunities for significant transformation.

Pakistan’s vibrant civil society, teeming with young people and its still-developing democratic institutions provide several opportunities for collective action and good institutional change. If we can address the core causes of behaviours that drain resources from the population—most notably corruption, nepotism, and a grossly inadequate rule of law—we will have a better chance of promoting and protecting the conditions that allow the population’s creative potential to flourish.

While moving forward, Pakistan must confront its old, extractive history while also accepting the requirement of marching towards the more fair and inclusive future promised to its population. To do this, the Pakistani government will need to govern effectively and sincerely.

The mechanisms of governance must not only secure the elite’s favourable access to opportunities, but transform into “participatory governance” that broadly fits within the concept of “social justice” in the resource-distribution business. This is a business that requires real transparency and far greater accountability and a way of governance where the elite are not allowed to use “participation” as a euphemism for “extraction.”

Furthermore, Pakistan can draw on historical examples, such as the Inca Empire’s resilience, to foster a decentralized form of governance that empowers local communities, promote a variety of identities, and employ indigenous knowledge to achieve culturally attuned, sustainable development.

By prioritizing the diverse needs and dreams of its people, Pakistan can chart a course for a future reminiscent of the great American civil rights advocate Juanita Hall and the famous American experiment: a future in which a diverse group of people creates a healthy democracy that provides social and economic justice to all.

Acemoglu defines good institutions by three features. First, they vigorously enforce property rights. That applies not only to the governing class, but to a substantial segment of society.

The second trait is restricting the acts of powerful groups in society, whether political, economic, or otherwise. Good institutions keep elites and powerful groups from stealing money or engaging in other illegal activities. Finally, good institutions offer some form of equal opportunity.

To summarize, history has spoken: if authority is uncontrolled and institutions are designed to extract rather than serve, society will disintegrate and become disorderly. It is up to us to rise from the ashes. We must diversify the power structure; we must invest in serving the society from which we derive our resources and mandate; we must incorporate the principles of transparency, accessibility, and accountability into our institutions; and we must take seriously the now-largely theoretical task of ensuring that everyone’s rights and needs are met.

Look at Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto if you have to; the lesson is there.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024