SPEAKING FREELY Iran should look East, not West
By Shirzad Azad
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say.
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TEHRAN
- Within the past century in Iran, scores of words have been written and
many lectures given on whether the nation should emulate the Western way of
development.
The West was a source of inspiration when the government started sending
students to Europe in the Qajar era (1794 to 1925) and more frequently during
the rule of the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979). From shaping a national army to a
bureaucracy to educational institutions and the media, Western ideas have been
a determining factor.
As more Western thought penetrated society, the more a clash of opinions
erupted. Though Westernization sometimes dominated
the public discourse and the way of getting things done by governments, its
scope and instruments was a subject of serious disagreement.
The story has so far turned out to be only a vicious circle in which a staunch
attitude of going fully Westernized has been branded as "Westoxication" and its
arch-rival conviction as reactionary and radical.
It has been a great loss for Iran to fail to learn appropriate lessons from the
West, according to the characteristics of its society and ambitions. But, the
greater loss is its ignorance and failure to pay enough attention to those who
have successfully imitated the West, both in acquiring a proper knowledge of it
and in developing their own societies accordingly.
The East - and especially the three top countries of East Asia - is a case in
point. In the early 1970s, the country's leader, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi,
proclaimed the creation of a second Japan, but he didn't bother to visit it to
get an understanding of what was really happening in the Land of the Rising
Sun.
Instead, he wore dark glasses and visited Western capitals many times a year,
bearing his wishful thoughts that his nation would soon join the ranks of
advanced countries and developed societies - if only through ignorance,
indolence and squandering petrodollars on imported cosmetics and the like.
South Korea and Iran started their auto industries at roughly the same time,
during the 1960s. Today, Korea's Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors have established
their reputations as global brands, while Iranian cars can barely satisfy
domestic customers, let alone capture a share in the world's markets. The same
goes for other areas of the economy.
Not only has the East made spectacular progress and development, the Eastern
way, in fields as diverse as education and finance, it is now frequently
recommended by people in the West. In March, US President Barack Obama urged
American students to study harder, like Korean students.
Eastern societies are ruthlessly marching toward superiority in almost all
fields. Western children trail Asian schoolkids in math and science and their
diplomats have to compete with Asian counterparts to head international
organizations. With the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese making advances in
technology, there are growing concerns that the US and Europe may sooner or
later cede ground to Asian competitors.
Japan and China have come a long way to be the world's second- and
third-largest economies. Not only is Japan's Toyota the world's biggest
automaker, its new Prius hybrid car is going to become America's next top
model. Fourteen Korean companies have made the Fortune Global 500 list of the
world's largest corporations, with names like Samsung Electronics, the LG Group
and Hyundai Motors all easily within the top 100. Chinese-woven carpets not
only now sell much better than the Persian product, Korean kimchi is overtaking
Iranian kebab as one of the most popular ethnic cuisines.
Today, Iranian officials may give themselves credit for making some progress in
cloning a goat and a calf, but that means little when the country is overtaking
Egypt to become the largest importer of wheat, the nation's staple. If the
country had paid more attention to its agriculture sector and cultivated wheat
rather than concern itself with cloning goats, it would now be an important
crop exporter and could rely on its domestic products for its food security.
Indonesia is another Asian example. The predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian
country succeeded last year in becoming self-sufficient in rice, thanks in part
to the government paying more attention to the agriculture sector by providing
seeds and fertilizer for farmers. Indonesia is predicted to produce some 38
million tonnes of milled rice in 2009, leaving an excess of about 2 to 3
million tonnes for export.
Based on any factor, Iran lags behind the East. Take oil: income from the fuel
accounts for almost 80% of Iran's foreign exchange revenues. In the previous
Iranian calendar year (to March 20, 2009), the country's oil revenues stood at
US$70 billion, from which Iran has to pay to import the gasoline it consumes.
In 2008, South Korea exported $36.6 billion of oil products - the first time
that they ranked first in the country's list of export items, overtaking
vehicles and semiconductors. This is a remarkable achievement because, unlike
Iran, Korea has no significant natural resources and had to spend $141.5
billion last year alone to import energy, accounting for 32.5% of the country's
total imports of $435.3 billion.
In another comparison, Vietnam in 2008 attracted more foreign direct investment
- $71.7 billion - than Iran made in oil revenues, even amid the global economic
downturn.
Malaysia has become the first stop for Middle Eastern oil money interested in
Asian markets. With a view to becoming a financial hub for the Islamic world,
Malaysia's Islamic financial assets grew to $51.83 billion at the end of 2008.
The country is now attractive to many Asian financial institutions and offers
advantages over not only the US and European markets, but also the Asian
financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore.
Besides its economic development, Malaysia was ranked among the world's top
five medical tourism destinations in 2008 as the number of foreigners seeking
treatment in that country increased to 374,063 last year from 39,114 patients
in 1998.
Asian values of working and studying hard, and living within ones means, can be
prescribed as a great tool to achieve development, not only in Iran but in many
other underdeveloped societies. Asia is increasingly becoming the world's
center of technology and tourism, fashion and food, creativity and culture.
Iran should no longer be preoccupied with the West.
Shirzad Azad is the editor of the Asia desk at the Moj News Agency in
Tehran. Fluent in Japanese, he has more than three years of research experience
in Japan.
(Copyright 2009 Shirzad Azad.)
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say.
Please click hereif you are interested in contributing.
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