Culture of defeat

This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed "A detailed anatomy of FBR" carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writers seem to have done their job in a highly professional manner because they happen to be one of the top tax experts in the country. As usual, in the first part of their article they have introduced FBR to newspaper readers in a scholarly manner. They have argued, among other things, that "[T]he tapping of the actual tax potential, bridging the tax gap and countering tax evasion is only possible if FBR's workforce reflects the highest standards of human capital development, effective operational tools, critical skills, determined and visionary officers, robust e-procedures, state-of-the-art tax training institutions, merit-based appointments, and strict rules for the officers while moving along the seniority pyramid towards senior scales. Indeed of all these, the human capital factor is the most critical one, but highly ignored and neglected in FBR." Unfortunately, however, the writers seem to have lost sight of the bigger picture that reflects a culture of defeat in all spheres of governance. The present economic crisis that the PML-N government has bequeathed to the PTI government is a strong case in point. That country's progress has been hamstrung by this culture of defeat is a fact. FBR is one of so many areas that need massive revamp in order to eliminate the existing culture of defeat.