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“This is a caption”Majid Dari

Gorbachev had said in one of his interviews (paraphrasing): “What caused the collapse of the Soviet Union was corruption. Corruption had become so widespread that I couldn’t fight against it.”

Economy, like culture or even politics, is not a field for boasting and exaggeration, and one cannot reach success through lies and deceit; the account is two by two or four by four. No matter how much you hide the statistics and turn away from speaking and hearing the truth, one day it will all come crashing down on you. Usually, dictators compare society to a body and each part of their institutions to a part of that body. In this situation, military forces are compared to white blood cells whose duty is to fight against intruders. But if every external and internal factor is seen as an enemy and one starts to fight against them, instead of taking care of their own affairs, they interfere in other matters or think they can do the work of others, it not only takes away the energy and dynamism of the main member, but also causes them to forget their main duty and creates the grounds for the destruction of the body.

“Now, with this example, we turn to our own country, Iran. The military forces consider civilian, environmental, social, media, virtual, teacher, and worker forces as enemies, according to their own decision. The military has a defined duty and is not allowed to interfere in economic affairs. It may showcase its military power and provoke national pride, silencing any opposition. But when this same military interferes in economic affairs with the same mindset, it creates a disaster. An example of this is Imam Khomeini Airport or construction projects that should be carried out by the private sector with proper supervision, but end up becoming a failed economic enterprise that also ruins the construction. When someone like Rostam Qasemi becomes a minister, all kinds of corruption and embezzlement occur because his job is something else. The recent major embezzlement case related to the petrochemical industry happened during his time, and if the judiciary has the power to confront it, it should prosecute

Each of these embezzlements, whether it be from Khavari, Zanjani, or others, can destroy the economy that has been created and its consequences spread to other sectors. Banks, institutions, and cooperatives have all become problematic instead of providing services. This corruption has become so widespread and continues to expand that it also affects the culture. Anyone who can sew a patchwork for themselves is considered clever, and this means infiltrating all organs and members. The continuation and expansion of this matter creates rent and impoverishes the system, rapidly leading it towards corruption. Various types of cancers, such as sugar, paper, coins, meat, etc., are the result of this spread and mindset.

The words of Gorbachev become more understandable and tangible. The economic corruption of government and private banks began and spread because there was no action taken against this cancerous tumor. Military forces, by interfering in politics and economy and using their non-accountability as a tool of power, on one side, and politicians and influential individuals, using their gained privileges, plunder public property.

Cancerous corruption and greed must be removed from the body, but it didn’t happen and now this cancer has spread to other parts and is metaphorically metastasizing. The metastasized corruption takes a toll of 4,200 tomans and is sold for 12 or 13 thousand tomans. Low-quality Chinese goods flood the market through smuggling, causing domestic production to decline and leaving only low-quality products due to lack of competition, such as the domestic automotive industry. The beneficiaries of this corruption are not concerned with production or quality. Inflation and high prices worsen and deepen the class divide. The extent of this metastasis is so evident that no matter how much is said, it is not enough, and no matter how much is talked about the economic pressure, it is repeated over and over again. Their meager wages are delayed, they are trapped and the high prices bend their backs.

I believe that there must be a suitable solution to fix this situation, unless there is a fundamental reform and cutting off the hands behind the scenes. Otherwise, this weak body that has been prevented from functioning for years cannot bear it.

The answer is not clear how long it can endure and withstand, but continuing on this path will undoubtedly result in nothing but destruction. Treating cancer requires a change in mindset; a systematic change with the help of experienced professionals and a synergy that rises from the depths of each individual cell.