Atatürk, the economic state, and full independence

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, even before the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and before the proclamation of the Republic, stated the following in his opening speech at the First Turkey Economic Congress (February 17 – March 4, 1923) held in İzmir: 

“History, while seeking the reasons for the rise and fall of nations, finds and lists many political, military, and social causes. Undoubtedly, all these reasons are influential in social events. However, what is directly related and connected to the life, rise, and fall of a nation is its economy. This truth, determined by history and experience, has been fully observed in our national life and national history as well. Indeed, if Turkish history is examined, it is understood that all the reasons for its rise and fall are nothing other than an economic issue. Gentlemen, all those successes, victories, or defeats, disappearances, and disasters that fill our history; all of them are related and connected to our economic conditions in the periods in which they occurred. To bring our new Turkey to the place it deserves, we must absolutely give primary importance to our economy. Because our time is nothing other than an era of economics.”

In the later parts of the same speech, he draws attention to the following point: 

“No matter how great political and military victories may be, if they are not crowned with economic victories, the resulting victories cannot be permanent and will fade in a short time. In this respect, to determine the beneficial gains that even our strongest and most brilliant victory has provided and can still provide, our economy and our economic sovereignty must be secured, strengthened, and expanded. Gentlemen, it is not correct to assume that our new government, which is so productive and so strong, will remain without enemies. There will be those who try to destroy these beautiful foundations by placing bombs inside them. There will be those who attempt to organize assassinations against its life and progress. Against all of these, our strongest weapon will be our breadth, durability, and success in the economy. Gentlemen, to write the national history of the era of the people, the national era we are in, our pens will be plows. In my opinion, the era of the people can be explained with the concept of the era of economics.”

The integrity of Atatürk’s speeches, his propositions regarding the economy, and the direct link he established between economic independence and national independence are remarkable.

There is a continuity in all his speeches on this subject. Indeed, one month before the İzmir Economic Congress, on the night connecting January 16, 1923, to January 17, 1923, while chatting with representatives of Istanbul newspapers in İzmit, he stated that the Republic of Turkey would be a 'devlet-i iktisadiye', meaning an economic state, and said: “The new Turkish state will not build its foundations with the bayonet, but with the economy upon which even the bayonet relies. The new Turkish state will not be a conquering state. But the new Turkish state will be an economic state.”

As can be seen, according to Atatürk, independence without economics is out of the question. If there is no economic independence, there is no political independence either. Without financial sovereignty, national sovereignty cannot be mentioned.