Not subdued by severe curbs, the hunger for freedom and citizen-based democracy worldwide is growing, with apparently no end to the current plight of the frustrated majority in the existing social structure.

In the realm of ideas on how to go about putting things right, updated economic literature spotlights various issues in freedom and democracy, clearly spelt out by great thinkers and statesmen, though now forgotten.

In his latest book, The Road to Freedom — Economics and the Society, Joseph E. Stiglitz asks: “What happens when one person’s freedom comes at the expense of another’s; the freedom of some to harm others, or the freedom of others not to be harmed? What is the meaning of the right to vote for one who is starving? What about the freedom to live up to one’s potential?”

As an advisor to former US president Bill Clinton, Mr Stiglitz recalls that he strongly opposed the deregulation of finance, in part, because he understood that “freeing” the financial sector would make it all the less free in the end. After his exit from the position, the US Congress did not heed his advice. And, he argues, deregulation and liberalisation set the stage for the 2008 financial debacle.

‘If inequality grows too extreme, aggregate demand stagnates and political backlash against the system grows’

“If inequality grows too extreme, aggregate demand stagnates, political backlash against the system grows,” Francis Fukuyama wrote in his book, Liberalism and its Discontents.

Pakistan is not immune to these international trends and neither are many other countries. But to quote Dawn’s editorial piece, ‘Constitutional limits’, “What gives one hope is the fact conversations about protecting the constitutional order are taking place, even in a suffocating atmosphere. Pakistan’s salvation lies in all institutions staying within their legal bounds, and letting civilian set-ups govern with freedom, but only if the democratic process is allowed to continue unhindered can the system correct itself.”

Of course, as these analysts point out, there are still many pieces missing from this puzzle — a transparent electoral process, maturity and tolerance in political parties for each other, to name a few.

Freedoms need to be rethought as economic and societal change

“Democracy requires compromise if it is to remain politically sustainable,” says Mr Stiglitz. Politics is about navigating a world in which there might be large opinionated differences on what should be done collectively. He warns, “lack of compromise leads to instability in politics, policies and programmes with large social and economic consequences.”

Recognising that freedom of speech and expression of religion was not enough, former US President Franklin D Roosevelt added more. People needed freedom from want and freedom from fear which will secure for every nation a healthy and peaceful life for its inhabitants. Freedom from fear has to be ensured by a worldwide reduction of armaments, in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of aggression against another.

Joseph Stiglitz argues that a person facing extremes of want and fear is not free. Neither is someone whose ability to have a full life, using all their capabilities, is impeded because they were born in poverty. As John Stuart Mill said, “Freedoms need to be rethought as economy and society change.”

In the chapter ‘A decentralised economy with a rich ecology of institutions,’ Mr Stiglitz says the United States’ economic system must be decentralised with a multiplicity of economic units — many enterprises and other entities making decisions about what to do and how to do it. The world is too complex to be centrally planned in the way communism called for more than 100 years ago. Mr Fukuyama also holds similar views on decentralisation.

On the benefits of the rich ecology of institutions, Mr Stiglitz observes that having many units generates more learning about their own capabilities, about technology and about what others want. Each unit experiments, with different units having different conceptions about appropriate objectives and how to achieve them.

There is a German saying, “All kinds of little people doing little acts in little ways in little places have changed the world.” Looking at the emerging scenario a few decades ago, a Pakistani social scientist came up with the idea that both the citizens and leaders have to be active participants in building a democratic, egalitarian and progressive society.

Shahid Mahmood, economist and research fellow at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, says, “Our model of economic management does not require brilliant, hardworking, innovative people, transformative ideas, creativity or competition and neither is there an incentive structure — financial or societal — that rewards such traits. This, to a large extent, explains why Pakistan is an economic laggard.”

One also can witness some backlash against public policies in the country as elsewhere. To quote analysts, “Pakistan is seeing some seismic disruptions in its social order. Recent developments in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad depict a society in flux facing severe, intense internal pressures due to tensions between the state and its people. As a result, the country’s challenges, instead of being contained, now seem to be expanding.”

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 5th, 2024