Free enterprise in ideas

Has Pakistan achieved independence and do we still consider ourselves as independent? I am afraid that what we call freedom is still a long way off. It is like I say that we may have graduated from the universities but we have yet to graduate in life. A degree paper in hand is nothing but a piece of paper unless we come up to our own expectations. Which really means that we have to set up ourselves against ourselves; something that sports insist on and that cricketers have it built in themselves. Liberty came to us in a different manner but it is useless to talk and analyse it now. What we need to do is to see what freedom has given us. Has democracy and freedom allowed many crimes to be committed in its name. Democracy and freedom go hand in hand and yet freedom and its twin democracy are not matters of abstract principle of conduct, of private rights rather than of general principles of social responsibilities.
Why look at abstract principles when we can look at the actual cases. Why for instance we do not look at what is going on for the last three months and what happened today. The blind are special people and today they were battered by the Punjab police for asking for their rights and the implementation of rights previously allowed to them. Freedom of ideas is dependent on the governments of the day. Pakistan does not have any institutions worth the name to tackle deteriorating social conditions. That is why the protesters are always looking at two institutions the judiciary and the army to salvage what they can from such situations.
Who will develop these institutions? The rule of law has been with us but we still make a distinction and a stupid one between the powerful and the not so powerful. Can a lawful democratic government in a third world country develop these institutions? The state institutions are run by human capital and yes I argue that this human capital is rotten to the core. So even if rules and procedures are laid down the jaundiced elites will not allow it to take place. The claim on state power is based on equity - the poor and the rich have the same sort of claims on its institutions. The rule of law as such does not come into play automatically. It has to be imposed.
In Pakistan the party in power has the right to live but the party that is in opposition either has to play ball with the authority or face huge obstacles in its working. Our media is trying to play that role and although it is not perfect yet it has played a marvellous role in creating awareness about the rights of the people. So does the party in power has unfettered power? Only for a time for all of us are either biologically or socially dead over a period of time. Is that recognised?
What then are the economic consequences of cronyism of this kind? It is extremely difficult to draw a line between any kind of limits in our Pakistan. The tasks are delicate and a considerable amount of grey matter is required and endless debate to question one's own ability. There are other sobering exercises that have to be practiced. All these are conflicts resolved by the conscience. Psychologists come into play. Conscience is an intangible. Nations that search for truths are the ones that go forward. A nation that silences or intimidates original minds is left only with unoriginal.
But the economic situation is much worse. For that is where we get our bread and butter or at least the majority of the people survive on whatever they can do and perform for a living. In the absence of skills what they can do is to make attempts at cheating the other people of the nation. Where a nation laments daily, where killings are routine and where the victims do not get any justice. The state has dwarfed its own men in order that they may be more docile instruments in its own hands will find that with small men no great things can be achieved.
There is so much artificiality in us that nothing seems to be true to statements. Is there any kind of freedom for freedom is in small concentric circles? Is this society concerned with the teaching of truth? If truth has to be taught then where do we go from here? A society found on strong and stable reason needs this truth to be as widespread in this country as possible. The irony is that the city dude is more corrupt then the rural uneducated. In our part the education system is more or les based on rote learning and the vomiting of that rote learning in examinations. Is that going to develop a virile mind? A mind that is capable of great work. Pakistan's performance has been more or less weak in all areas of our occupations. We do not recognise this for if we did we may be able to make improvements in our standards. Talking of standards do we have any of them in the national sphere?
Our elected representatives have had a serious question mark attached to them. The inevitable will happen if the system is not based on truth and honesty. Vaclav Havel the Czech President speaks of living in truth not with truth. I wonder how many people do that. In fact, one was asking the question that whether it is not better to live in corrupt practices for given the laws of this country and the political elite's corruption seems to be encouraged.
Why abuse freedom? Why abuse the academics and the media that try and bring us the truth as they see it? I am not surprised because the start of the nation was based on corrupt practices and the allotments of Hindu properties by influential Muslims of the new Pakistan.
Where should the correction of free enterprise in ideas start? Why not everywhere for the free enterprise is free of any cost. Academic areas would be the best for starters. But then it is something for the policymakers to address. At the moment they feel that loyalty to political bosses is important. Is it so important to be so loyal that they look like idiots without any mind of their own? Pakistan is a reality and not an abstraction and therefore not think words but think things that can progress this country. Do we understand the consequences or are we being propounded by the information people with theories and lies. This too will pass. Midgets all over.