Is there an immoral growth in a hormone-fueled Turkish economy?-4

As a natural consequence of the neo-liberal policies implemented in our country since the 1980s, and its increasing dependence on the global economy through finance, investment, and trade channels, the Turkish economy has become a HORMONE-FUELED economy. It is an economy that grows when capital inflows from abroad are provided, but stagnates when those inflows slow down; it has become more fragile, prone to crises under the influence of both domestic and foreign conditions, and is based more on consumption than production.

On the other hand, the Turkish economy has transformed into a structure that targets short-term economic growth at any cost, where individuals and firms are drawn into an immoral growth network due to short-term gains, and where this network expands to cover different segments of society, influencing individual behaviors and serving a self-interest-focused mindset.

It is evident that this structure, centered on self-interest and a rentier economy, causes great harm to society and the economy through cash and in-kind aid provided to the poor within the framework of social assistance, appointments and assignments not based on merit, partisan hiring and contracting, and pre-election promises (expansionary policies such as wage hikes, amnesties, incentives, transfers, deferrals, and bonuses).

In this order, there is a model based on mutual interest, maintained as long as the parties get what they want, within a cycle of interest rent, land rent, socio-economic aid, duty losses of state-owned enterprises, and privileges and incentives provided through non-competitive public tenders and tax exceptions, exemptions, and treasury guarantees.

Because immorality has become a part of the cultural, social, and economic structure, being first internalized and then legitimized in both business and daily life (real and legal persons begin to normalize these behaviors, thinking that in this unpredictable environment that creates distrust, they will be deceived, subjected to unfair competition, and that even if they do not do it themselves, others will engage in irregular or unethical activities, transactions, and behaviors that will prevent them from getting what they deserve), and because of the pressure of external factors, the damage to mutual interest relationships, and the unsustainability of the negatives created by the system, we are facing an IMMORALLY GROWING economy that is inevitably likely to collapse.

It is impossible not to agree with Ege Cansen's definition: "Morality is a set of prohibitions that ensures an individual acts in a way that does not harm the interests of other individuals and society as a whole while trying to maximize their personal interest." While it is considered reasonable moral behavior for individuals to try to maximize their benefits and interests, the immoral side is when the individual does this at the expense of harming the interests of society as a whole, the general good, social interest, and societal benefits. Therefore, it should be the duty of the public and institutions to establish social values and rules that ensure the overlap of short-term personal interest and long-term social interest, rather than their conflict, in a way that does not cause others' situations to worsen while improving the individual's own situation.

More important than economic collapse is fighting moral collapse. Political polarization, corruption, and degeneration, which also affect the country's legal, political, and socio-economic system, lead to institutional moral collapse. At the root of the structuralization of problems in state administration—which begin with corruption and result in degeneration—as institutional moral collapse lies the fact that neither politicians nor public officials are selected based on merit. As corruption becomes widespread and permanent, a climate of degeneration emerges, and as a result, institutional moral collapse occurs in public institutions and organizations across the country.

Furthermore, in order to solve the fundamental problems of societies, it is first necessary to achieve a transformation of mindset and reach universally accepted working standards. The first way to do this is to contribute to a rise in consciousness in society by teaching work ethics in general and ethical principles in terms of codes of conduct.

It would not be a rational expectation to expect the state to improve and to realize the principles of welfare and distribution fairly without transforming society and adopting ethical principles. It is at this point that important roles fall back to the state in a hormone-fueled economy where markets fail to solve these problems.

To Be Continued…