Gamal Abdel Nassers Economic Policies - Essay Example

TO WHAT EXTENT WERE GAMAL ABDEL NASSER’S ECONOMIC POLICIES SUCCESSFUL? By Location Contents To what Extent were Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Economic Policies Successful? 3 A.Plan of investigation 3 B.Summary of Evidence 3 C.Evaluation of Sources 7 D.Analysis 7 E.Conclusion 11 F.Bibliography 13 To what Extent were Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Economic Policies Successful? A. Plan of investigation This paper attempts to assess the extent to which Nasser’s economic policies were successful in improving the lives of Egyptians. The discussion is centred mainly on the conditions that were prevalent before Nasser came to power and the effects that his economic reforms had on the population as well as the country. The economic reforms instituted by Nasser captured my attention mainly because it allowed me to see a different representation of this leader in a world where he is often depicted negatively. Therefore, I will look at the evidence provided concerning the reforms that Nasser made to the Egyptian economy and during the process will attempt to determine the motivations behind some of his actions so that a better picture of whether these reforms were successful can be developed. An analysis of the evidence in addition to a close reading of some other texts will help to bring about a verdict that will be used to decide if Nasser’s reforms were not only successful but also whether they had either a long term or short term impact. The research took place in duration of 6 weeks. The research gave attention to six journal articles and two books that discussed the land reform policy, the nationalization policy, and the land reclamation policy. B. Summary of Evidence . One of the journal articles identified was titled "From national bourgeois development to Infitah: Egypt 1952-1992" authored by Ibrahim G. Aoude, who is an associate professor of ethnic studies in the University of Hawaii, Manoa.1 The article is relevant because it discusses Egypt under the Nasser regime and the reforms that resulted. The article is well referenced making it a valid source. In addition, the author claims with relevant evidence. An additional article titled "An Initial Perspective on "The Winter of Discontent": The Root Causes of the Egyptian Revolution" authored by Dr. Hazem Fahmy, who is a minister at the Egyptian foreign service.2 The article he authored is of critical relevance to the subject of the study because the author is well vast with Egyptian issues. In addition, the author references his article widely and relates on evidence in support of claims. Therefore, his article proves to be a reliable source for the study. Ryan’s article titled "Political strategies and regime survival in Egypt" is also a credible source because the author works with the department of political science and international affairs in the Mary Washington College. Therefore, the author is well vast with political issues. Ryan presents a description of Nasser’s regime as well as the survival strategies used by different regimes in Egypt.3 The article qualifies as an academic source because it is well referenced and claims are supported using evidence. In addition, Tell’s article titled "State formation and underdevelopment in the Arab world" also proves to be a reliable source. Tell is affiliated with the Center for Arab and Middle East Studies (CAMES), American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon and his article focuses on the causes of underdevelopment in the Arab world. It is relevant because Egypt is categorized among the Arab countries. Tell explores different sources of evidence from numerous references in order to support his claims.4 Utvik’s article titled "Filling the vacant throne of Nasser: The economic discourse of Egypts Islamist opposition" is also a reliable source. The author is an associate professor in the Department of East European and Oriental Studies, the University of Oslo, Norway. Therefore, he understands political and historical issues well. In his article, he focuses on describing how current governments are trying to fill in the gap left by Nasser. His article is of great relevance because it describes Nasser’s contribution to the Egyptian economy.5 The sixth article identified for this paper is Reid’s work titled “Nassers Egypt, Arab nationalism, and the United Arab Republic” is also a reliable source from a reputable journal and a renowned author. The article is well referenced and relies on evidence to support historical claims.6 The evidence from the readings shows that the economic reforms that Nasser in Egypt helped the Egyptian economy to have some significant development, which provided the necessary incentives for individuals to be brought out of poverty. It is essential to note that the reforms propagated by Nasser, while successful in the short-term, were not sustainable. The reforms created a situation where in a decade and a half; Egypt was on the brink of economic collapse as swift urbanization led to significant reduction of arable land while there was an increase in rural-urban migration, which reduced the labour needed in the agricultural sector of the country. While this may have been the case, the evidence shows that among the most fundamental policies of the Nasser government was nationalisation and this was accelerated, especially after a new constitution was put in place making Egypt a one-party state. Furthermore, the results of the Nasser government economic policies were neither good nor bad. Before the institution of economic reforms in Egypt by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the political neglect of the Egyptians was so great that their problems were not even considered in official government policy, and this ensured that the area in which they lived had become an unattractive place for economic activities to take place. Moreover, Nasser recognised that Egypt was a nation that had huge potential for developing into one of the prominent countries in the Arab world, but this had to be accompanied by political goodwill in order to be made into a reality. The Nasser government aimed at improving the economy through encouraging well-educated individuals to work within the public sector. The reforms made by this government were based on the belief that the government needed to be in control of all the major economic activities in Egypt. One of the economic policies introduced by Nasser was the 1952 land reform. Before the land reform was established, the country has a total of 2.5m hectares of land that could be cultivated. One third of the land was owned by about 94% of the population who did not practice farming. The second third of the land belonged to 150 landowners with each having between 2 and 20 hectares. The final third of the land belonged to 11, 000 large estate holders. These large estate holders defined 0.4% of landowners. In addition, many of them exerted control over 20% of the agricultural land. The 1952 land reform introduced limitations to the amount of land a single person could own. According to the reform, a person could only own 84 hectares and be able to transfer 42 hectares to children below the adult age. The purpose of the land reform was to promote equality in land ownership. It is unfortunate that the reforms did not register the expected objectives because of illegal land ownership. An additional policy that Nasser established was the nationalization policy that had different aspects. Specifically, in 1962 to 1962, Nasser nationalized different corporations on Egypt. The purpose of nationalizing corporations was to ensure that wealth generated by the corporations served to improve the living standards of the Egyptians. In 1962, Nasser announced that the Arab socialist lines would apply in Egypt. Nasser was against capitalism, which only accumulated wealth to the rich. He believed in a socialist system that would redistribute wealth to all the citizens of Egyptian citizens. Evidently, the nationalization of corporations served to improve the living standards to many Egyptians and ensured a proper distribution of wealth. In 1964, Nasser also introduced the land reclamation policy. Land reclamation denotes the process of restoring land productivity especially when land has been under waste. Land reclamation involved the establishment of agricultural industries in land that had been wasted. The process required proper planning, the development of irrigation schemes, and other technical activities in an effort to ensure that the land could become productive. Small peasants benefited from the land reclamation process. In addition, land reclamation increased the percentage of land that could be cultivated. These economic policies registered remarkable growth in the economy. For example, Egypt registered a 9% growth annually in over 10 years. In addition, the creation of the public sector through nationalization resulted to wealth redistribution of over 75% of the gross domestic product from the rich to small owners. In addition, Nasser ensured that the manufacturing industry made a significant contribution to the economy. Specifically, the industry contributed to about 35% to the economy in the 1970s. C. Evaluation of Sources Two books were identified as sources in this paper. Abdel Malek the author of Egypt: Military Society was a renowned pan-Arabist as well as Egyptian French political scientist. Therefore, the topic he explores in his book is a subject that he well understood making his book a reliable source.7 Osman Tarek, who is apolitical economist giving special attention to the Arab world, authored the second book titled Egypt on the Brink.8 Therefore, he explores Egypt and its economics since the Nasser period to the Muslim Brotherhood. The comprehensive analysis that the author offers makes the book a reliable text. Notably, books are secondary sources and do not offer primary evidence unlike the journal articles described above, which are primary sources. D. Analysis According to the evidence from the journal articles described above, it became evident that all the authors give credit to the efforts made by Nasser to introduce social reforms in Egypt. Aoude, Fahmy, Ryan, Tell, Utvik, and Reid are all recognized authors who have presented a critical analysis of the policies that Nasser introduced. All the authors make it evident that, the political neglect of the people of this country was so great that their problems were not even considered in official government policy, and this ensured that the area in which they lived had become an unattractive place for economic activities to take place.9 The negative stigma caused by the poverty of this country made it a less attractive place for professionals, such as doctors and teachers, to work. This had created a situation where the government of Egypt had lacked the most qualified professionals who would help to improve not only its health system but also the education of its children. The fact that people were discouraged from working in the most crucial areas of the Egyptian economy before Nasser came to power created a dilemma, because with low quality of education and health care that resulted, there also developed the problem of high unemployment rates coupled with low healthcare. This situation made the poverty even worse within the population, making a majority of Egyptians desperate indeed. Without some public and private investment in the neglected areas of the communication, better communication between the government and local governments, and more attention to the needs of the populations of these areas, the poverty rate in Egypt had continuously risen. The Nasser government, therefore, attempted to discover the causes of poverty in Egypt and understand them before it could make decisions on how to remedy them and bring the country into prosperity. Nasser recognised that Egypt was a nation that had huge potential for developing into one of the prominent countries in the Arab world, but this had to be accompanied by political goodwill in order to be made into a reality.10 One of the main reasons Egypt’s development was held back were higher rates of poverty within the country, which tended to discourage the people to improve their lot. In addition, there was 60% illiteracy rate, which served as a major hindrance in economic growth. Notably, there was increased corruption, inefficiency, overpopulation, and the lack of investment, factors that served to increase poverty rates. The aridity of Egypt was also seen as a hindrance to its development and led to some individuals in this country seeking opportunities elsewhere. To recover from this, the Nasser government invested heavily in the development of new sources of water for the population to use, and this was done through the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This water could also be used for irrigation, which would enable the state to put as much of its land under cultivation as possible, and this will ensure that the country was food sufficient. The Nasser government aimed at improving the economy through encouraging well-educated individuals to work within the public sector.11 Thus, it worked towards providing professionals with the incentives to occupy the vacant public positions within Egypt so that there could be an improvement in the service delivery to the population. When considering the level of education within the country, the government invested in ensuring that only the best teachers were employed in schools because they would encourage the students of Egypt to take their academics seriously enough to excel in them. The reasoning behind this must have been that with a good education, it would be easy for the various individuals to not only escape their poverty, but also to come back and help improve the lives of their fellow members of society. For example, teachers were provided with the necessary incentives, such as competitive salaries, for them to want to teach, and not only was this be done, but their positions came to be accorded enormous respect. The same treatment was also accorded to all those individuals who worked in other relevant fields within the public sector so that they could find the working environment within the Egypt attractive. One would argue that more well trained individuals ended up being attracted to working in the diverse professions that was provided in the nationalised economy of this country.12 Moreover, the government of Egypt worked towards creating avenues for attracting potential investors, especially from within the growing middle class, with more investments would develop opportunities for more job openings, and this would in turn ensure that it led to a reduction in the unemployment levels. However, despite Nasser’s reforms, it should be noted that most of the economic reforms that he took were done merely as experiments and they were likely to not to have had a long-term impact.13 One of the ways through which Egypt could have been made more productive so that the standards of living could also improve would have been by studying other countries which had much success in turning their arid regions into productive zones. The best example of such a country is the United States, whose ingenious irrigation systems had been able to convert the arid areas within it into productive farmlands. Nasser’s economic policy was based on the belief that the government needed to be in control of all the major economic activities in Egypt. To achieve this, his government came up with policies that ensured the lowering of direct taxes, especially on income, and the increase of indirect taxes. Nasser encouraged policies, which would increase money not only in public spending, but also on social services since, according to Abdel Malek, most Egyptians, especially the peasantry, lived in abject poverty and had no means to support themselves.14 Because of his increased government expenditure on tertiary learning, Egypt came to have more professionals in the public sector who were well qualified to handle their jobs. According to Abdel Malek, despite the expression of doubt concerning his policies from some members of his party as well as close former associates, he remained adamant that his policies, especially those of land reform were the best for the people of Egypt and that he would not turn away from them.15 This expressed his will not to abandon his guiding principles because of his belief that what he was doing was right. His economic policies came under a lot of criticism from some movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and it is as a result of the socialist economic policies that the instituted in Egypt that there was an attempt on his life. One of the most fundamental policies of the Nasser government was nationalized, and this was accelerated, especially after a new constitution was put in place making Egypt a one-party state. According to Osman, through the nationalisation programme, the government could finally control the costs of various goods and services for the Egyptian people.16 The creation of state-owned industries for privatization ensured that there was a marked improvement in the performance of these industries. Both Abdel Malek and Osman agree that since most of the nationalised industries were monopolies, their privatization did not significantly affect their activities since there was no significant competition. While the nationalisation of privately owned industries benefited consumers in many ways, there were also some negative consequences, such as a decline of the private sector. E. Conclusion Most of the economic problems in Egypt during the Nasser era were within the human means to solve as long as there had been a bit of dedication and support from the not only its government, but also from other Arab states that had a stake in a stable Egypt. Since among the main causes of poverty in this country was its geography, even more steps that the construction of the Aswan Dam should have been taken to ensure that the various geographical factors were overcome to make the state more productive. However, most of the people with the power to make a difference, especially the leading political figures, were either unwilling or unable to do so because they did not want to disturb the status quo. It is this attitude that President Nasser should have struggled to fight so as to be able to help the Egyptian people who were affected by poverty. This is because Nasser has the necessary power to bring about long-term reform and a little effort from him would have made a big difference for the better in the economic conditions of Egypt. However, it is worth mentioning that the economic policies introduced by Nasser registered remarkable economic growth and introduced favourable social changes. F. Bibliography Abdel Malek, A., 1968. Egypt: Military Society. New York: Random House. Aoude, I.G. 1994, "From national bourgeois development to Infitah: Egypt 1952-1992", Arab Studies Quarterly, 16(1), pp. 1. Fahmy, H., 2012. "An Initial Perspective on "The Winter of Discontent": The Root Causes of the Egyptian Revolution", Social Research, 79(2), pp. 349-376,551. Osman, T., 2010. Egypt on the Brink. Boston: Yale University Press. Reid, D. M., 2002. Nassers Egypt, Arab nationalism, and the United Arab Republic. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 34(4), 757-758. Ryan, C.R. 2001, "Political strategies and regime survival in Egypt", Journal of Third World Studies, 18(2), pp. 25-46. Tell, T., 2014, "State formation and underdevelopment in the Arab world", The Lancet, 383(9915), pp. 480-2. Utvik, B.O., 1995. "Filling the vacant throne of Nasser: The economic discourse of Egypts Islamist opposition", Arab Studies Quarterly, 17(4), pp. 29. Read More