We are What We Eat

I've been constantly complaining about food subsidies in Egypt, but only in passing. Do not fear, I will eventually touch the subject.

But before I do, I want to share with you an article I wrote a bit back on subsidies in US and EU.

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One often forgets that repression of economic liberties constitutes a form of state violence. Whatever temporary good it seeks to accomplish, government intervention often tends to disturb the global market, exacerbating inequality and threatening the very survival of countless individuals around the world. Nowhere is this more clearer than in the agricultural policies of the United States and the European Union. The far-reaching ramifications of the west’s agricultural subsidies include not only the possibility of intensifying the current global economic crisis, but also undermining the security of the entire world.

It is important to grasp two very important facts from the Great Depression of the 1930s. First, the Depression did not develop from a vacuum, but as a consequence of the American government’s policy after WWI to increase tariffs, mostly in the agricultural sector. Second, once the depression began, the American government ignited a tariff war with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which by increasing tariffs further destabilized the deteriorating world market and order.[1]

In the current global market, while agricultural tariffs no longer have as great an influence, the same detrimental effects are exerted by agricultural subsidies. The European Union alone spends $50 billion every year supporting domestic production of agricultural goods.[2] As a result, not only are agricultural products from the third world not competitive within the EU but also the third world is forced to purchase subsidized agricultural products from Europe. By unfairly eliminating competing producers of agricultural goods in the third world, the United States and the European Union have effectively reduced the agricultural output of the world. Furthermore, the introduction of bio fuel subsidies exacerbated the diminishing supply of food. As a result, according to UNESCO, wheat prices have gone up 130% since March of 2007.[3] Unable to compete in the food market despite the increase in prices, the purchasing power of many agriculture based nations will plummet as the crisis deepens. In this scenario, the world trade can only diminish with terrible consequences.

Although the crises in the housing and the financial markets overshadow the enormous burden placed on the global market by agricultural subsidies, the rest of the world is not so oblivious to the ongoing crisis. In retaliation to the west’s agricultural subsidies, increasing food prices, and the global economic crisis, 29 countries have curbed their export of food products. This feeble attempt to hoard domestic products has been a consistent response by nations facing economic hardship. During the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, the response from many afflicted nations was to raise their tariffs, especially against highly competitive American produce such as beef.[4] In response, the United States passed anti-dumping laws, causing havoc in Pacific commerce. This time the crisis is global and the global trends that we had seen in the 1930s, following the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, are already evident around the world. India, Russia, Vietnam, and other countries have already raised tariffs, spearheading the cataclysmic economic combustion which may decrease global trade for the first time since 1982.

If one remembers what lay at the end of the Great Depression in the mid and late 1930s, the direness of the current situation does not need to be reiterated. In 2008, Foreign Policy magazine ranked Pakistan the nation most heavily afflicted by the food crisis. With 200 million people losing the ability to purchase basic means for survival, the conditions are ripe for the radicalization of the population. Considering Pakistan’s nuclear capacity, this is no small matter. As the world heads deeper into an economic crisis, tariffs increasing, and the global commerce shrinking, the socio-political conditions can only worsen. Frederic Bastiat said that "If goods do not cross borders, armies will." In other words, tariff wars or subsidy wars can lead to shooting wars.

Recognizing the negative impacts of agricultural subsidies, the European Union seeks to phase out its Common Agricultural Policy which outlines Europe’s policies on food production. However, no global economic reform will be complete without the cooperation of the United States. For the United States, agricultural subsidies account for only a small part of the bigger problem surrounding government intervention. In 2007, government spending accounted for 37% of the entire GDP.[5] The United States must liberalize its market and allow all peoples of the world to have a fair chance to subsist. For this may be the only means to save the world from irrational self destruction.


[1] " The Battle of Smoot-Hawley." The Economist 20 Dec. 2008.

[2] Godoy, Julio. "European Subsidies Feed Food Scarcity." Interpress Service. 25 Apr. 2008.

[3] ibid

[4] "Barriers to Entry." The Economist 20 Dec. 2008.

[5] Ben-Ami, Daniel. "Obama’s Green deal will not save economy." Weblog post. Ferraris for All. 19 Jan. 2009. .

Somali Piracy

One of my articles on Somali piracy was published on Bikya Masr.

Enjoy.

End of the Middle East?

An article from Asia Times Online from May 8, 2007 caught my interest the other day.

Titled "Are the Arabs already extinct?" Asia Times Online columnist Spengler mercilessly divulged a starling state-of-being of the Arabs and all those in the Middle East. The esteemed columnists introduces Adonis, a Syrian poet who laments that "[Arabs] have become extinct ... We have the masses of people, but a people becomes extinct when it no longer has a creative capacity, and the capacity to change its world".

One may shrug off the poet and criticize Spengler for taking a literary comment too far, but the article delves much deeper. For example, the Arab world "translates only a fifth as many books per year as does Greece, with a 30th of the population. Arab writers of global stature are a tiny number, and their importance is disproportionately great." Indeed these figures alone place much doubt upon the capacity of the Arab world to integrate into the vastly diversifying and mobile world around them.

Adonis places some blame upon Islam which "not only suppresses the possibility of poetic expression... but with it the capacity of the individual to have a personality. It is an astonishing, terrifying, and absolute indictment of [Arab] culture." I cannot say whether this perspective from one poet stands true in Syria as well as Morocco, Indonesia, or Senegal, all prominent Muslim societies. To call Islam the root of societal decline is an incredibly dubious claim. However, from what I have seen in Egypt and in the United States, I must agree with certain aspects of Spengler and Adonis' claim on the suppression of expression.

Riding on the Cairo subway one always notices a number of people reading. An Arab society is a literate one regardless of whether or not it is consuming foreign thoughts and expressions. (They may still be functionally illiterate, the inability to read beyond the text in order to interpret and critique for themselves... something many Americans have succumb to) Yet, the vast majority of the people reading on the subway are reading the Koran. A vast jump from the DC metro where vast numbers of people seem to read newspapers or works of fiction. Interpret this as you wish.

Another feature is in the way in which many Muslims in the United States preach "plural monoculturalism", a term I came across in works by Amartya Sen. Many Muslim organizations in the United States (especially student ones) utilize the shield of pluralism against any critiques or criticism against the Arab/Muslim world and religion. They accept the benefits of a plural society but refuse to alter their interactions with other cultures within this plural society. This seems like a bigoted conclusion by someone outside the Muslim community, but this is the predicament of Muslim communities in Europe and the Americas. It is essentially what Sarkozy points out in his (in)famous remark. Plural monoculturalism is divisive and we eventually end up with a society that is exremely suspicious of one another. Domestic terrorism in Britain is an advanced symptom of this issue.

While I am on the issue, I have noticed that Muslim student organizations that have observed often utilize the defense that terrorists and insurgents are not acting in accordance with their faith. I have always felt that this was a double edged argument. It indicates that there is a certain way in which a person of the Muslim faith should act. It does not offer an alternative individual identity other than being Muslim. This would mean that a terrorist who is Muslim can only have a single misguided purpose of purging the world of sinners and apostates. Nationalism, political and economic equity, and dignity cannot be the primary motivating factors. Of course many claim to represent Islam when committing acts of terror, but to extensively classify how a Muslim should act like is a means of devolving into gross puritanicalism before which many American muslims will appear hypocritical.

Back to the Arab world, the issue of uncreative construction is one which branches from society and culture into politics and economics. A more open and discursive society is necessary.

In terms of where Egypt can start... before we even get into fair elections and ridding the country of the dreadfully inefficient subsidies... the government needs to bring down its bloody knuckles upon those that harrass women. When half of one's country is left without proper dignity on the streets, discourse or anything will get nowhere. Only stagnation.

It's really all about the West, isn't it?

Amidst angry calls for their governments to do more about the treatment of Muslims in the West, the Middle Easterners have been remarkably silent on the treatment of Uyghur people in China. If the death of one Egyptian woman in Dresden should provoke such furor, then the deaths of many Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang should have provoked a more violent reaction towards the People's Republic.

If one looks back at all the recent international incidents involving mass demonstrations and public censures in the Middle East they are predominantly, if not solely, targeted towards the "West".

Danish Cartoon Scandal, the El Sherbini murder, Muslim veil issue, etc. The Muslim world seems so focused on the abuses on the Muslim faith and faithfuls, but when the Chinese authorities crack down on the Uyghurs there is little to no reaction from the parts of the world that were burning flags and throwing projectiles at western embassies days before. Why is there such a disproportionate focus on the abstract West?

Professor Sreeram Chaulia concluded in an Asia Times Online article that this phenomenon existed because of:

"complicated construction of enemies by Islamists... when atrocities or slights are seen to be committed against Islam and its adherents in a European or North American country, they confirm the pre-existing prejudices and hatreds nursed by the Muslim street and its instigators in positions of power... China does not fit neatly into the binary jihadist classification of the world into dar-ul-Islam (a land where Islamic laws are followed and the ruler is a Muslim) and dar-ul-Harb (a land ruled by infidels and where Muslims suffer)."

Funny considering that the Mongols and forces from the East did as much to bring ruin to the "golden age" of Islam as did the Ottoman Turks and in due time the French and British.

In short, it seems as though the proclaimed Muslim internationalists are doing a great disservice to their own great cause of Muslim solidarity. In the end it's all about hiding their own socio-economic inadequacies than about God or people. If only hating the west generated more dollars... is that an oxymoron?

Treat others as you want to be treated

Egypt has many intolerable ills, but what I have seen in the last few days have really dealt a blow to my capacity to empathize with Egyptians ever again. It's very tiring constantly attempting to reaffirm the simple notion that not every Egyptian is as rude, crass, and vile as the ones on the streets, those who go out of their way to make the lives of others miserable. This is an exceptionally difficult task when I do not see anybody, not a single person, coming to reprimand the bastards who have inflicted some degradation to some innocent pedestrians. This has been the case with the treatment of foreign travellers, women, and Sudanese.

I have spent some time amongst a group of Sudanese refugees living in Maadi, a neighborhood in southern Cairo. The abuse that they are subjected to on a daily basis is disregarded by the Egyptian society because the abusers and violators of human dignity are Egyptians. I must admit, I could not scarcely believe how barbaric the Egyptians were capable of being.

Walking down the street in their proud company, an Egyptian on a bike rode by giving us the middle finger yelling out "Fu** you!". Further along the street, a group of Egyptian youths yelled out obscene insults in English and Arabic. The projectiles of hatred, sounds and gestures, did not cease and came from all directions. Those who did not yell added to the racist bonfire by staring down the Sudanese with suspicion or remaining silent while their neighbors spat on the idea of humanity.

Upon reaching our destination, a coffee shop, we began reading together some material that I had brought for my friends. The Egyptian employee came to me and explained that he nor his [Egyptian] customers appreciated "them" studying in the shop. As if this was not enough of an insult, the attendant treats the group with sheer contempt and bare minimum service.

In the midst of our discussion a nail dropped down from above. Seeing no construction and only apartment houses above us (we sat outside) I can only assume that someone had deliberately attempted to harm or annoy us. When we told the attendant about the incident, he scarcely gave any attention or thought and took the nail from my friend's hand and threw it behind his shoulders. Such vile contempt, where does it seep from?

Have the Sudanese not suffered enough? And yet it is the Egyptians who accuse the west of mistreating Egyptians, Arabs, and Muslims. I must conclude that Egyptians must believe that they are superior and thus should receive preferential treatment above others. When an Egyptian woman is murdered in Germany this is clearly a precedence for an all out international tribunal, not something that the German courts have the right to deliberate upon. Yes, Europe may have bits and pieces of racism that lead to violence time to time, but never forget that there were many Germans who testified on behalf of Mrs. El Sherbini.

Is equality not a universal concept? Either Egyptians are drowning in some misguided superiority complex or the masses are too thick to recognize the hypocrisy of their actions.

While I am on the point of hypocrisy, a word on the Arab reaction to the French attitude on the veil. If the Egyptians have the right to harass and reprimand women, foreigners or their own, for wearing clothes that they do not deem appropriate for their country, do the French not have the same right to comment and reprimand things that they do not deem appropriate in their society? I have some reservations regarding the full ban of veils in French public schools 5 years ago, but at least the French are taking legislative measures and deliberating upon these issues.

It's so sad to see a society so far behind from being able to integrate into a borderless world. And Egyptians wonder why immigration into Europe or North America is so difficult. tsk tsk, Looking at a mirror is a good thing, one notices dirt on one's nose time to time.

Middle East, Europe, and their mob mentalities

On July 1st, Marwa El Sherbini was murdered in Dresden by a racist. The Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim responses have shown how easily mobs can be incited to march in step to the drums of hate. This in turn will bring equally negative responses from the far right denizens of Europe who are increasingly turning towards nationalism and protectionism. We have all taken a giant leap in the wrong direction.

The seeds of this rift have become more evident earlier this summer when the Dutch, British, and other denizens of the EU opted to elect some members of the far right nationalist parties to represent their states in the European parliament. All this amidst increasing tensions surrounding Sarkozy's statements surrounding the Muslim veil.

Mob mentality does not merely signify the narrowing of one's own identity, but the narrowing of others' identities regardless of the others' desires to prioritize one identity above another. Simply put, it's a form of oppression.

11 days after the tragic death of Mrs. El Sherbini, Shia Muslim Pakistani student activists marched in a protest rally in Karachi, burning German, Israeli and American flags. There could be no better example of an incensed mob attempting to make "Western" nations indistinguishable. (The spectacle of a flag burning deserves more anthropological and philosophical analysis - much like Foucault's analysis of the scaffold)

According to Al-Ahram newspaper Mrs. El Sherbini's brother declared that "The assailant should be sent to Egypt and stand trial in an Egyptian court; otherwise [Marwa El Sherbini]'s blood will have been shed in vain... Diplomatic relations with Germany should be broken off, and the trial should be held in an international court at the very least... The government is not doing anything more than it has to... their reaction is merely proportionate to the size of the incident."

Alright, one may say that this is the voice of a distraught brother in a house full of bereaved, but his outrageous demands are supported by the empathetic Egyptian masses. This is the mob's demand for justice most familiar to them (and why should they expect less in a society where tortures and deaths are so whimsically bestowed by the most generous leader - a comment for later)

This far fetched anti-western rhetoric is aimed at not just the one crazed German man who went berserk, but also at all the Germans who testified on behalf of Mrs. El Sherbini, Bosnian Muslims, and German Muslims of Turkish descent... Who and what is this "West" that the Middle East points to?

El Sherbini family is not the only one using the vague identity to materialize a monster which does not really exist. In the opinions of Khaled Abu Bakr, the lawyer representing the family of Marwa El Sherbini: "Apparently the Western media's (apparently he reads all of them) depiction of Muslims as aggressors and terrorists has so blinded German people that they could not see that this Muslim woman was being attacked,"

Well said, then what about the murder of a 50-year-old German man in Istanbul on the 20th? The Germans accept the fact that a crazed Turk committed a vile act and we do not see German students burning Turkish, Iranian, and Egyptian flags on the streets of Munich calling for the German government to take things out of proportion. The German people have all the rights to be incensed, but they react based on precedents set by the political system within the country. A rational people with a rational political system. Something that will hopefully prevent further victories for the ultra nationalists in the future elections for the EU.

Interestingly enough, I hardly believe every Egyptian fuming over the death of Mrs. El Sherbini cares about her. I think the public is having fun with hate, with the sudden sense of purpose and the opportunity to be publically enraged. This taste for unity and anger may bring much more anti-western rhetoric, but there also will be a time when all the anger and rage of the Egyptian people spill inwords at their own dysfunctional political system.

This whole "murder of an Arab woman by the West" drama shows the public's capacity to overract in a normally complacent nation of Egypt. But when the dust settles, expect nothing less than sheer brutality and pain. Democracy would be something too stable for the unleashed beasts of anarchy.

Ah, what is your cruel, crude, and arbitrary judicial system doing to you now Mr. Mubarak?

Of Garbage and Coppers

It's been quite a while since I wrote a post, my apologies. Usually when people first start a blog they tend to write voraciously then begin to tardy. Egypt is full of social woes to write about, so I will do my utmost to expunge my excess thoughts and rants at a timely manner.

Anyways.

Cairo is less than descent in terms of sanitation. Rarely does one see trash bins on the street and in places where one can marvel at the evanescent sights, the garbage itself collects dust from seasons of discontinued usage. Just the other day I was near Tahrir Square when I saw a car pull up at a curb just to throw out a bag of trash. Sure the street cleaners may sweep away some of the shit, but much remains to form the distinct pavements of underdeveloped nations. Such sturdy roads, Romans be proud.

Another unwelcome and perhaps just as unsightly scene is the excess policemen lounging about the streets of Cairo. A few stand in attention at embassies and a lesser number actually direct traffic. Yet those inadequately attempting to control the irreversible flood of irresponsible and less-than-respectable drivers of Cairo dwindle in number compared to those that sit in the shade and sip tea day-after-day.

Not to be entirely too unfair, the police that I have encountered when needing directions have been more than friendly despite the solid language barrier. At the same time, they contribute to social woes of this country by contributing to sexual harassment and having a hand in prostitution and drug trade. Yet one cannot blame the police for attempting to utilize their position to financially better themselves at the expense of social order; they too have hungry mouths to feed.

So we have two distinct problems: 1. excess trash and 2. lots of under payed police, some behaving criminally.

We have an easy solution. Supplement the wages of the police through fines on littering. And who better to levy the fines than the primary beneficiaries themselves. No, not the denizens of Cairo who will enjoy the clean streets, clearly they do not care about trashing their own country. The police of course will be delighted. They are sure to be highly motivated.

Adam Smith noted that: "Public services are never better performed than when their reward comes only in consequence of their being performed, and is proportioned to the diligence employed in performing them." (The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Chapter 1, Part Two)

Clean streets are essential for a healthier society and drawing out tourists from the five-star hotels into the streets of Cairo. The spread of their lucrative capital among Egyptian enterprises will enrich the masses and hopefully lower the ghastly high prices of luxury restaurants and hotels.

Of course this needs to be complemented by a public incentive to efficiently utilize their resources. This may seem like a jump, but a reduction and eventual suspension of food and oil subsidies must be enacted (I promise you more on this later) to best accommodate for the public good.

Perhaps with a little more police motivation, the traffic can be controlled as well. If trash and traffic is under control in Egypt, recycling is not far in the horizon. Then a more powerful private sector driven by green economy followed by democracy and roads paved with gold... ah I rant