World Community Should Converge On Protecting The Weak And Vulnerable – OpEd
The legendary outlaw and folk hero, Robin Hood of England was looting the rich and distributing the wealth among the poor people. He was doing a noble job in a wrong way when there was no governance mechanism to safeguard the poor people’s life and property from the rich and the powerful tyrants.
Today the political leaders of many countries have become Reverse Robin Hoods. They extract money from the common citizens in various ways and give it to the rich and the powerful people. The general public pays taxes for walking, banking, playing, eating and for all kinds of services. The list of taxes on goods and services increases every year. Today, the common man across the world has become helpless and miserable. The Reverse Robin Hoods not only destroy all means of sustainable economic activities but they ruin the moral, physical, intellectual and spiritual capacity of their citizens. So many countries have lost their core strength to become self-sufficient.
The Reverse Robin Hoods do everything to maximize profit for their global trader bosses. Since the majority of the trader-investors are from foreign countries, they have nothing to do with the national interest except profit. The Reverse Robin Hoods allow the over exploitation of ground water, surface water, mineral resources and biodiversity at the cost of many sustainable economic activities; they do it to maximize the profit of their bosses. The economic problems precipitate into a crisis when the Reverse Robin Hoods use the countries’ revenue to waive huge bank loans taken by the big traders through fraudulent means. Loans are settled under various relief packages which cause huge loss to the banking sector. In fact, the Reverse Robin Hoods use credit institutions for political benefits; they hardly bother whether the borrowers are genuine; whether the loans are effectively used. If the credit institutions incur losses, the Reverse Robin Hoods ask those credit institutions to collect various service charges from the customers in order to make up the losses. The customers who deposit their hard earned money and help banks grow, ultimately become losers. Besides, the Public Sector Banks which are the foundation of inclusive growth incur huge losses. It often happens in developing countries which need both big and small public sector banks to cater to the needs of poor people.
Many countries under Reverse Robin Hoods plunge into deep crises. High inflation erodes people’s surplus income. The basic necessities of life like pure food, fresh air, clean water, quality education, health care facility and quality jobs delude the majority of people. Corruption, mismanagement and poor governance follow. Unemployment rates increases phenomenally. People migrate to other countries for jobs; they also migrate to cities within their own countries in search of livelihood. In order to keep the people’s discontentment at bay, the Reverse Robin Hoods give freebies to people. In fact, freebies have become jokes and it hardly improves the quality of life. The freebies create huge idle energy which becomes a permanent burden on the states’ exchequers.
Over the years, the economies of many countries have collapsed under the rules of the Reverse Robin Hoods who do not allow really able and efficient leaders to rise. They do not allow healthy democracy to take root as the lurking fear of losing power lets them cling to populism, vote bank politics, religious fanaticism and racism etc. The Reverse Robin Hoods create an illusion of development in order to remain in power; they tell people that their misery will ultimately bring them prosperity. Many of the Reverse Robin Hoods feign patriotism and in reality they scuttle the patriotic voices in their own countries. In the process, they establish dictatorship on the ruins of their own countries.
The Reverse Robin Hoods spend the revenue on unsustainable mega infrastructure projects; they demolish the existing infrastructures to build new projects without any strong reason. In the process they increase the debt burden on the country phenomenally. Debt burden always makes a country dependent on the lending nations; it is near to losing independence.
In the recent past, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh witnessed violent mass protests which had changed the regimes. Now, the Iran government is facing rebellion. It has ruthlessly killed more than 3000 citizens and fueled the protest to spread across Iran. Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia and Philippines have also witnessed mass protest for regime change. In the last five years, the mass protests against the Reverse Robin Hoods have swept across many countries in the world. The citizens in Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Bulgaria, Serbia, Morocco, Kenya and Madagascar and in Timor Leste have witnessed mass protests against inequality, corruption, poor governance and development illusion.
The Reverse Robin Hoods in Sri Lanka created a strong illusion of development by building many unnecessary mega infrastructure projects. The illusion was dissolved to reveal the harsh reality. Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves shrunk by 99%, food inflation rose to 57% and Sri Lanka’s per person debt burden rose to 3,726 USD. As of late 2024, Sri Lanka’s total public debt was approximately $106.17 billion USD. The economies of Nepal, Bangladesh, Latin American countries and some European nations have suffered heavy losses due to the activities of the Reverse Robin Hoods. The economic crisis is silently brewing in many countries across the world due to unsustainable growth vision, populism and unnecessary public expenditures.
The world needs free and transparent trade. Every country needs a healthy business environment, investment and technology for economic growth along with human development, preservation of culture, bio-diversity, social life and environment which provide resilience to long term economic growth. Only economic growth adds poison to the human mind. The human being needs an integrated growth; the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual growth in a human being are required to build a happy, strong and prosperous country.
The point is whether the public protests or the Gen Z type unrest will bring quality leaders in those countries. What Sri Lanka has done after its economic collapse is only patch work; the crisis may erupt again when the effect of the international aid is over. The situation in Bangladesh has become worse as the present government failed to give credible governance; violence against the enterprising Hindu minority has cast a shadow over the country’s future. A nation can flourish with diversity of culture which creates demand for various products and services. The present Bangladeshi leaders have shown little resolve to understand this universal truth. Low wage, environmental degradation, massive migration of Bangladeshis to neighboring countries for livelihood, huge debt burden, poverty, hunger and malnutrition etc can only be addressed by truly capable leaders. Nature has given enough resources to Bangladesh which can be managed to achieve inclusive growth. The Gen Z type protest and regime change can bring good if the new leaders are different from the old one and capable of giving good governance. The long term solution for nation building lies in building the core strength of the country.
A country’s core strength comes from its citizens’ physical, intellectual and moral growth. Every country should be militarily strong to defend its people, land and culture. In the Indian mythology, the demon King, Ravana never showed mercy to states where people were good, peace loving and with godly qualities. Those good human qualities are meaningless for the demons who can only understand the language of power and ferocity. It is very essential for the world community to create the right environment for grooming good leaders. Besides, the political, social, cultural and religious leaders world over should focus on building human resources who can stand up against any foreign aggression on peace loving nations. A positive change in human behavior and approach will build good leadership, good institutions, society and nations. Ultimately the world will become a beautiful place to live.
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