Well put, unfortunately as soon as this narrative is put forth to people in Pakistan it gets their backs up and we hear rhetoric around patriotism and baseless opinion which is not data driven. However we must keep on calling a spade a spade in the hope that one day the message will get through.
Corruption is one single point - if fixed any nation can grow and earn respect. Pak's problem is compounded with multi tier corruption coupled with unjust justice system multiply everything. They say justice delayed is justice denied! And who are corrupt - the ingredients of the product Pak. This will take a bit more to improve the brand! If corruption is fixed - Rest everything will come naturally.
You missed out the most important problem in my estimation: an overwhelmingly Muslim society. Society which has been closed intellectually for a millennium since Al-Gazali. Muslims can progress when they’re around other cultures which value and inculcate the spirit of intellectual inquiry like Hindu or Judeo-Christian. But kept at a distance (or acceleratingly weaned away from their influence as in the case of Pakistan) their ability to creatively/intellectually contribute to the world is suffocated out. The growth you see in them is either driven by rent seeking or from consumption neither of which is productive or sustainable. This is a feature not a bug of Pakistan or other overwhelmingly Muslim societies. If you've to look for an indicator look for how many books are written, published or read in the country and that'll inform you more of the real story. So comparing to the indicators that others societies do (under the assumption that there's already freedom to think, speak and question) is mistaken.
Being a proud Punjabi I share a deep sense of kinship with Pakistanis when so pointing this out doesn’t make me happy. But this in my analysis is the truth and the fundamental problem.
It's a good effort to look into the current state of affairs, however I find the approach superficial and an in-depth analysis with problem solving approach would be more welcome. Anybody and everybody can point out what is wrong which is not of great value if measures to correct the same are not offered even in conceptual framework if not thought through to end.
Yeah a huge young population that does not have money to spend (because they are not contributing productively to the economy) Average IQ lower than countries like Iraq, and Yemen or at par with Uganda and Nigeria. Malnourishment with little energy left to think and do useful things. A fanatically religious majority (because the people need simple explanations to deal with life's everyday complex challenges, religion provides easy placebo solutions) Pakistan, if it weren't for the 5 rivers (most of which are dry now by the way) and the Himalayas Karakoram, Hindukush, would have been worse than Sub-Saharan Africa.
What else can you expect other than a terrible product?
Smart people enter Pakistan with a mercenary mindset, harvest what they can, as quickly as they can, and get out as soon as possible. Or smart people emigrate (excluding refugees and illegals) Those left behind are mostly sub 100 IQ trying to pose as 140+ All my smart friends emigrated from Pakistan, and secured a stable future for their next generations. Those who are left behind want to emigrate.
The start up VC money you see in Pakistan is risk money, from people who have spare cash to invest in junk bonds. Just a 100$ million worth of investment in the past few years, and Pakistanis think they are about to produce the next Google or Apple? Sweet dreams. You can't build a sky scrapper using hand tools, and methods used to build shanty homes. Even Mughals had better technology (but then they were also mercenaries who came from overseas)
so much passion :) Pakistanis are becoming more aware and introspecting more which is a positive. I don't agree with your general all-gloom viewpoint. Pakistan just like any other country has both smart and not so smart people. Your claim that only low IQ people are left in Pakistan clearly has no data to back up the claim. In my view the Pakistani society is becoming more globalized and realistic and evolving to understand that Friday prayers won't solve their problems - and they have to take action on the ground to change things. Give it some time, I already see progress. Try talking to folks at Karachi Grammer School or schools like LUMS, etc - you will feel optimistic.
Well put, unfortunately as soon as this narrative is put forth to people in Pakistan it gets their backs up and we hear rhetoric around patriotism and baseless opinion which is not data driven. However we must keep on calling a spade a spade in the hope that one day the message will get through.
Crap! Blame the cook and the ingredients not the food. Pakistan is a blessing
Corruption is one single point - if fixed any nation can grow and earn respect. Pak's problem is compounded with multi tier corruption coupled with unjust justice system multiply everything. They say justice delayed is justice denied! And who are corrupt - the ingredients of the product Pak. This will take a bit more to improve the brand! If corruption is fixed - Rest everything will come naturally.
You missed out the most important problem in my estimation: an overwhelmingly Muslim society. Society which has been closed intellectually for a millennium since Al-Gazali. Muslims can progress when they’re around other cultures which value and inculcate the spirit of intellectual inquiry like Hindu or Judeo-Christian. But kept at a distance (or acceleratingly weaned away from their influence as in the case of Pakistan) their ability to creatively/intellectually contribute to the world is suffocated out. The growth you see in them is either driven by rent seeking or from consumption neither of which is productive or sustainable. This is a feature not a bug of Pakistan or other overwhelmingly Muslim societies. If you've to look for an indicator look for how many books are written, published or read in the country and that'll inform you more of the real story. So comparing to the indicators that others societies do (under the assumption that there's already freedom to think, speak and question) is mistaken.
Being a proud Punjabi I share a deep sense of kinship with Pakistanis when so pointing this out doesn’t make me happy. But this in my analysis is the truth and the fundamental problem.
It's a good effort to look into the current state of affairs, however I find the approach superficial and an in-depth analysis with problem solving approach would be more welcome. Anybody and everybody can point out what is wrong which is not of great value if measures to correct the same are not offered even in conceptual framework if not thought through to end.
Yeah a huge young population that does not have money to spend (because they are not contributing productively to the economy) Average IQ lower than countries like Iraq, and Yemen or at par with Uganda and Nigeria. Malnourishment with little energy left to think and do useful things. A fanatically religious majority (because the people need simple explanations to deal with life's everyday complex challenges, religion provides easy placebo solutions) Pakistan, if it weren't for the 5 rivers (most of which are dry now by the way) and the Himalayas Karakoram, Hindukush, would have been worse than Sub-Saharan Africa.
What else can you expect other than a terrible product?
Smart people enter Pakistan with a mercenary mindset, harvest what they can, as quickly as they can, and get out as soon as possible. Or smart people emigrate (excluding refugees and illegals) Those left behind are mostly sub 100 IQ trying to pose as 140+ All my smart friends emigrated from Pakistan, and secured a stable future for their next generations. Those who are left behind want to emigrate.
The start up VC money you see in Pakistan is risk money, from people who have spare cash to invest in junk bonds. Just a 100$ million worth of investment in the past few years, and Pakistanis think they are about to produce the next Google or Apple? Sweet dreams. You can't build a sky scrapper using hand tools, and methods used to build shanty homes. Even Mughals had better technology (but then they were also mercenaries who came from overseas)
so much passion :) Pakistanis are becoming more aware and introspecting more which is a positive. I don't agree with your general all-gloom viewpoint. Pakistan just like any other country has both smart and not so smart people. Your claim that only low IQ people are left in Pakistan clearly has no data to back up the claim. In my view the Pakistani society is becoming more globalized and realistic and evolving to understand that Friday prayers won't solve their problems - and they have to take action on the ground to change things. Give it some time, I already see progress. Try talking to folks at Karachi Grammer School or schools like LUMS, etc - you will feel optimistic.