Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Eng. Saleem Al Batayneh
In periods of economic recovery, society becomes more open and lively. But in times of recession and social instability, it grows more tense and aggressive. This reality underscores the fallacy of absolute economic freedom.It is time to redefine and reassert the state’s economic role as an integral part of correcting and redesigning development models. A fundamental change in the economic model is needed – one that divides roles and restores balances to curb the reign of capital and the comprador oligarchies that thrive on crises and economic distress.
The state must transition from a guardian to a sponsor, serving as a balancing tool and safety valve for managing and directing the wheels of the economy. This cannot be achieved without breaking from the past, when the state nearly completely abdicated its traditional economic and social responsibilities.
The state bears the greatest role in confronting every economic crisis. Stability cannot be restored without sound economic policies. It is unreasonable for the state to take a neutral stance, leaving the rope to a vast segment of “vampires” – companies and banks relying on the prescriptions of institutions like the IMF and World Bank. A free market does not guarantee efficiency or optimal results without tight control mechanisms.
After World War II, the United States adopted Keynesian theories to correct structural distortions and imbalances, intervening to prevent companies and banks from harming, controlling, and dominating the economy, with the aim of preventing monopoly and protecting competition. Jordan must follow a similar path.
The functioning of Jordan’s economy has become increasingly difficult to digest and complicated. Even a recent credit rating upgrade by Moody’s will have little tangible impact on citizens’ lives, as it primarily serves to protect creditors’ interests and encourage the government to borrow more.
Jordan has transformed into a guardian state devoid of its social aspects, with its tasks limited to security, defense, judiciary, collection, and imposing fees to protect the comprador classes and oligarchies. Discussions of economic reforms and growth rates have become hollow, as the mechanism of denial persists, and there are many taboos around examining the economic policies and agreements that were previously signed.
Economic and social stability support political stability, which is based on economic decisions and balanced financial and monetary policies. Reform of any kind requires political boldness. Unfortunately, economic reform experts in Jordan are blind to the magnitude of the coming problem and the gravity of the economic situation, which is the most difficult in decades.
The majority of successive Jordanian governments have jumped the wall, their economic thinking has calcified, and they have lacked a future outlook for generations to come. They have deliberately kept Jordan mired in a swamp of debt and inflationary depression. It is time to break this cycle and restore the state’s role in leading and directing the economy.
Eng. Al Batayneh was a member of the Jordanian Parliament.
