M. Shamsul Haque
Prof. Noam Chomsky a leading philosopher of MIT has written a long piece on “Privatizing the Planet” (the New Age Monday, April 25). In his paper he traced the issues that has divided the world into rich and poor nations, growing inequality among people within nations, unjust treatment of the immigrants in the rich nations, the anti poor fiscal measures adopted in the USA, UK and other nations by the conservatives in power, alleged failure of multiculturalism in Germany and the Europe the lack of concern by the ruling parties to deal with climate change issues and its impact on the future generations all over the world. He particularly criticized the backlash on teachers and other public sector employees in some states in the United States. “Teachers are a particularly good target as part of the deliberate effort to destroy the public education system from kindergarten through the universities by privatization— again, good for the wealthy, but disaster for the population, as well as the long-term health of the economy, but that is one of the externalities that is put to the side insofar as market principles prevail.” He wrote. Immigrants are also another fine target he wrote indicating the recent anti-immigrant sentiments by the conservatives in the USA and Europe where racism is probably more rampant than the US. Chomsky did also not fail to mention that externality that is dismissed in market systems: the fate of the species. As it was done in the USA during the recent financial crisis he noted the following “Systematic risk in the financial system can be remedied by the tax payer (bailouts), but no one will come to the rescue if the environment is destroyed.” That it must be destroyed is close to an institutional imperative, as business leaders are conducting propaganda, that it is simply a liberal hoax to maximize their short term profits and they have their strong supporters in the newly elected conservative congress. This kind of attitude on the part of the richest and most powerful country in the world poses a great threat to countries such as Bangladesh and Maldives which are identified clearly as potential victims of climate change.
There is also a strong similarity between the $8 trillion housing bubble in USA as noted by Chomsky by the finance industry that had no basis in economic fundamentals that destroyed the economy and the similar bubble in the stock markets in BD that logically crashed wiping out trillions of taka from the small investors by ingenuous scheming apparently under the nose of the government. The foot dragging by the MOF to publish the report of the probe committee constituted by the ministry is a testimony to that fact. The head of the committee Ibrahim Khaled is former student of this scribe and I actually warned him over phone of the risk he was taking in doing some good for the country. I wrote on the same topic earlier and suggested judicial enquiry and prompt actions. Now the GoB is floating a large fund to support the market that again will go to the scam stars in the same way. The phenomenal growth of the finance capital in the hands of a few is pushing prices of land and real estates beyond the capacity of the middle class even. Such high value of land has prompted the powerful sections to grab river banks, forest and farming lands at unprecedented speed during the last two-three years despite some orders from even the highest court of the country. One river and town this writer is familiar with is the river Karotoa that used to flow through the eastern side of Bogra town. There were reports during the first year of the last BNP government that the river would be protected in a planned way to keep water flowing through out the year. Alas there is no water at all now and the river is shrunk to a dry canal only by the grabbers. The district Bogra happens to be an abandoned child in the hands of the AL government as it is known as the vote bank of BNP given that late President Ziaur Rahman was born in a remote corner of that district. The story of the death of rivers surrounding Dhaka city is well known to all despite crores being spent to keep them flowing and navigable.
Where and when will the present trend of the powerful and rich to privatize all assets real and financial will stop is a matter of grave concern for all of us. Without raising voices strongly against the process of grabbing we will accelerate destruction of the very small size of the planet in BD that holds over 150 million people.
The writer is a professor of finance and VC Northern University BD.
