Pakistan is beset by the same sort of problems that were encountered by the developed economies just before the Second World War and the doings of the nefarious interest groups. During the course of the 19th and 20th century, serious issues were raised and correction was carried out by the state governments and the peoples of the countries concerned. There was no WB and no IMF and no ADB.
The world was a better place because the instruments of the power structure could be sorted out by the countries themselves. Now the centralist socialist polices which led to the debacle of socialism are coming forth in this country and in other developing countries with the result that social disharmony has increased. The contradiction in pluralistic societies that one sees is that the bureaucracy has become part of the offensive group and takes great pride in assisting such groups and even occasionally sharing the benefits of those groups' nefarious activities. Go around the provinces and you will find that geographical postings to the bureaucracy matter. A Punjabi would like to be in the Punjab, a Sindhi in Sindh and so on. Why so. Well, there are comfort zones when serving in one's own province. Language and serious concerns can be addressed soon. There being no faith in institutions as they do not deliver but prevaricate the issues of natural justice what to talk of other issues. Are you not alienated when you go to a government office? Can you go to a police station and feel that they will do the right thing by you. That you will be heard and there will be an adequate response.
Imagine what the police are doing these days. They are raiding hotels for vice committed by consenting individuals and catching traffic offenders. These are two of the most serious offences in their minds. Inconsequential actions - when the society is crying out for justice and fair play in a substantive way. This is not the function of the police in a pluralistic society. The police have to be engaged in solving serious crimes rather than playing to the gallery. Have they solved any dacoity, any murder case and heinous crime case; very few if at all.
A society that is pluralistic brings its own advantages and disadvantages. Is pluralism terrifying? Pluralism can be of many kinds, some performing well others not performing so well and it might be a good idea to examine the parameters of pluralism. In societies one has to resolve contradictions and paradoxical situations if that society has to go forward. The conflict resolution has to be orderly and fair. In this the role of the WB and IMF is not there. So what is justified and unjustified pluralism and what is sound and what is unsound amongst these two categories.
Sound pluralism is when groups are safeguarding their interests against the power of the state. In this the claims of the mafia are what they are fighting against. A clear case is where the poor stand up (very rarely) as the power of the state is such in developing countries that the reasonableness of the poor group can be drowned in the power of the powerful. The use of unreasonable power is often seen in society and is indicative of the abuse that is hurled on the weak that there seems to be no way out of the systematic conflict creation. Resolving such issues is always beneficial to the powerful. Unhealthy pluralism on the other hand is not defensive but offensive. In this the power of the state is not limited but is used for its own purposes such as the role of the MNCs and the land acquisition act of 1874 not to mention the provincial governments recent actions at grabbing lands for the powerful. The use of this act is discriminatory against the poor. It is a colonial legacy that is allowed to be used against the poor. Its use leaves them in dire states. The state in Pakistan is continuously crossing the limits of reason and favouring the powerful groups. The identification of the groups is not difficult but as yet there is no institution capable of resolving such matters. In election years this conflict increases as interested parties seek to maximise their financial outlay for the impending elections. The cost of the election and the consequent power that they can have encourages them to go in for corrupt practices. The land mafia that has emerged in Pakistan and the corrupt mafia that has managed its affairs in a manner that it has corrupted those we thought were incorruptible. In times of inflation this is all the more difficult. As Keynes rightly puts it 'inflation eats in to the very vitals of a society'. All kinds of power groups established by the colonial system have survived this kind of unhealthy pluralism at the expense of good governance.
The state is all powerful. How powerful it is can be gauged by the fact that the political system despite suffering incarceration and humiliation is still willing to go through the rituals and establish their political base through mean economic policies. Out of power they are like a fish out of water. The result is that particular pressure groups covetously beset the state - the modern suitors of Penelope. The wider the limits of the state's competence and the greater its power, the more interesting it becomes for these power groups and the stronger it becomes as a source and object of desire. Gone are the objectives that the maximisation of this power is for the general good. It is now to minimise the other groups so that the new group that emerges is able to cheat the other groups and as such it is only the displacement of one cheat group by another. This marauding expedition goes on unabated in Pakistan as the other countering institutions are not in position to check and handle the acts of criminal intent. The police certainly cannot. The police moves by and through the power structure that provides insurance and for which we are grateful eternally to Musharraf for doing what the colonialists may have only done partially. The other motive is money and how well can one grease the palm of the local police. To get evidence of what is happening in the rural areas see when and how the FIRs are lodged. These will usually be on a Friday or just before the holidays.
What then is the ideal position? Can we maximise the power of the state and minimise the power of these groups - infidels that they are. Can we stop these groups from competing for the conquest and exploitation of the poor? The alarming power of these nefarious groups if left unchecked could only mean that the difficulties of the state would increase. Modern economics has no answer to such nefarious group's containment. That is where economics breaks down for no relationship is now left which can be managed through reason. The political system has been turned upside down. It is now the days of the Chinese-style economic leadership that seems to hold an answer. But then they are more honest than Caesar's wife. Discipline is an aspect where there is no compromise. Honesty gets you places and dishonesty finds a noose round your neck. The Chinese style discipline is hard to find and harder to put into place. Its leadership is spotless and its leaders do not carry any skeletons in the cupboard. This nefarious pluralism is now seen to be everywhere. There are sophisticated ways of dealing with it. Humans have a habit of doing irregular and even illegal acts to maximise their wealth. The pity of it is that Pakistan's major institutional groups that were supposed to look after the integrity of the state are involved in this lopsided activity.
The entire civil services, the uniform services and any one that has a chance has dug into the assets of this country. The patwari is unmanageable, the policeman is doubly so, the lower functionaries are up to whatever they want, while the state prevaricates and does not do anything to solve these and other issues. Is the government and state unable to do well by the country and its people? No exceptions for only those are not with soiled hands as have not got any opportunity. The entire pile is full of niggers in the woodpile. Pakistan has moved from crises to crises but this seems to be the worst of all crises. It will take the ingenuity of a superhuman kind to stream roll these attitudes and to somehow put the country in equilibrium. There are no saints in the system. Time and space do not allow more to say. Next time - maybe.