Post-Revolution Economic System
To avoid losing direction, following the outbreak of the Egyptian Revolution of January 25, 2011, and in order to change the old regime and bring a new one to life, the youth who revolted, together with the people who embraced them, and the Army who protected them, should create a new mainstream for society; a mainstream conscious of the need to put an end to the old economic system, which was based on organized corruption; and which protected monopoly and covered up for illicit gains. A new system is now required to encourage investment, prioritize productivity and promote private citizens’ profits while ensuring society’s earnings.
While the main goal of the Revolution at present is purely political, namely the transformation from absolute power to democracy, the essential question at the core of the national debate taking place concerning the country’s future should be: What after democracy?
That the center of national debate should be the legitimacy of the economic system is simply because without it being able to allocate resources to the various production and services sectors, the various provinces and the various generations of society, it would be impossible to achieve any of the system’s basic goals, including economic and national security; modernizing Egypt’s industry and economy; generating intensive-production and high-salaried job opportunities; promoting competitiveness; fighting monopoly; ensuring fair distribution of income and wealth; controlling price increases; supporting the weak; and countering foreign economic threats.
The flaws of capitalism led to socialism in the past; meanwhile, the failures of socialism later resulted in free market economy. However, whether before, in the presence of, or after the fading of socialism, it was, theoretically and historically, proven that to achieve social justice and more importantly to guarantee economic efficiency, there should be room left for state intervention.
Granted that no one economic recipe is applicable to all times and places, economic efficiency requires a delicate yet an ever-changing balance between state intervention and market forces; between open door policies and national integrity; and between increasing investments and raising productivity.
The absence of economic efficiency in Egypt has been reflected in recent international competitiveness reports. The figures of the Ministry of Economic Development show a rise in real estate investment in the five-year plan at the expense of industry and agriculture. In addition, according to the quarterly report published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the indicators noted in the World Bank’s annual World Development Report, industrialization in Egypt is declining.
Egypt’s new economic system should have a social dimension through highlighting production-oriented investments. I should also stress here that associating economic efficiency with social justice under globalization and information economy requires us to multiply information products and exports, while maximizing the added value of tourism, services and the diverse sectors of Egypt’s economy. In addition, it is necessary that we increase land productivity and water proceeds in order to achieve food sufficiency.
\Egypt State Information Service.htm
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