Yes, two Greeks make one German in terms of productivity. But two Turks hardly make a Greek.

The world has been changing constantly. Even the meaning of what people who are now deceased had once said changed. You do not know who or what to trust anymore. Last year, we had learned that former Chinese prime minister Zhou Enlai’s remarks on the French Revolution, previously thought to have referred to the revolution of the 1789, actually referred to the student protests of 1968. It appears that his statements were lost in translation, as one who was with Kissinger during the related visit reported. I guess you know the story: Zhou Enlai was asked, “What do you think about the impact of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune?” “Too early to say,” he replied, despite the revolution had taken place almost two centuries earlier. I have read many pieces on what Enlai actually meant. Now I learn that it was all a translation mistake. I guess we must now and then re-question what we take as given.

While listening to Daron Acemoğlu at the TEPAV building in Ankara the day before, I thought that we mustn’t expect China as it is today to become like the US. Acemoğlu spoke about the book Why Nations Fail? The book is the fruit of a long-term partnership between Acemoğlu and James Robinson. It questions matters on growth that we have taken for granted so far. It emphasizes that political transformation is an important factor for economic transformation. Acemoğlu was in Ankara as the keynote speaker of the Second Merih Celasun Memorial Day. To be honest, I made a number of conclusions about Turkey after listening to his speech. Today, let me talk about chief ones...

First, there are two types of countries in the world:  those that have the institutional infrastructure and a peaceful climate that allow the creative energy of its citizens to flourish, and those that don’t. The precondition of freeing one’s creative energy is to help them become well-equipped with skills and then give them the guarantee and freedom to choose the lives they want to live. People who cannot concentrate on their own business because they are occupied with troubles are not able to improve and maintain their productivity. With this perspective, the economic development process is closely associated with politics. And China, for not being democratized yet, is in the second group. They offer no guarantee as to the extent to which you will be able to benefit from the outcomes of the value you create. The state of intellectual property rights still depends on the outcome of the ongoing struggle for power within the dark lobby of the party. Then what happens? The climate of peace and confidence required for creativeness and innovativeness will not be established or will hang on by a thread. Furthermore, you cannot expect deeply segmented societies to make significant innovations or inventions.

With this perspective, how does Turkey perform? Don’t you all feel the burden of a Jacobean mentality that attempts to regulate society on all areas, intervening in people’s bedrooms by dogmatizing the dangers of abortion, intervening in what plays will be shown in theaters or what stories will be written in newspapers? Evidently, Turkey, still trying to complete its democratic transformation, is in the second group alongside China, Russia, and Venezuela. Turkey is among the countries that don’t have the institutional infrastructure or a peaceful climate that allow the creative energy of its citizens to flourish. The achievement of political transformation is critical for economic transformation.

The second point is that if citizens’ creative energy is to be freed, their being skillful is of importance. Turkey, with its population of seventh grade dropouts, is not there yet. Concerning the skill level of population, Turkey is where South Korea was in 1975. We have to admit that we have fallen behind. Even if we take immediate steps to catch up with South Korea, we will need additional measures to fill in the gigantic gap. I have not come across any creative suggestions, though. With the latest crisis, the unemployment rate among the youth in Greece has exceeded 50 percent. The youth of Greece are better-educated than their peers in Turkey. Perhaps, while educating the Turkish youth in some way, we can design a solid migration policy to invite the young people of Greece to Turkey. Why not! “What are we supposed to do with lazy Greek people?” some of you might ask. A German can say so, but it is a bit meaningless to say that for a Turk. Have you ever checked a productivity index? Yes, two Greeks make one German in terms of productivity. But two Turks hardly make a Greek.

Turkey does not become more productive by pledging a $5 billion contribution to the bailout fund.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 22.06.2012