Read an article on current affairs and critically analyze that how social, political and economic aspects of that topic been considered? | AIOU Assignment 8611 Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices | Allama Iqbal Open University Assignments

AIOU Assignment 8611 Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices

Question No 01

Read an article on current affairs and critically analyze that how social, political and economic aspects of that topic been considered?

Answer

The Social Aspects

Pakistan has been facing a lot of social problems since its inception in 1947. In the start there were the problems of lack of funds, rehabilitation of refugees, poor infrastructure and widespread poverty of masses etc. Some of those issues were solved by Pakistan is still facing some of those social issues like poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, corruption, unemployment and child labor. The biggest of these problems is poverty. Poverty is the state or condition in which people or communities lack the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.

As such their basic human needs cannot be met. Poverty-stricken people and families may go without proper housing, clean water, healthy food, and medical attention. Each nation may have its own criteria for determining the poverty line and counting how many of its people live in poverty. About 39 percent of Pakistan population lives below the poverty line. It means more than a third of the total population lives below the poverty line. History shows that there was a decreasing rate of poverty in the seventies and eighties.

However, since 1990 until today poverty is on the rise. This phenomenon has been called the poverty pump. Destabilization of democracy, rampant corruption, the rapidly growing population, the unfortunate state of the education sector, the ineffective management of natural resources, feudalism, uncontrolled inflation etc are considered the causes of poverty. Along with these national factors there are international factors that have added fuel to the fire like the global financial crises, the increase in the price of the oil the global food crisis etc.

Pakistan is facing the issues like child labor, deviation from moral and religious values, crime and violence, health problems, substandard life etc due to the poverty. Illiteracy is yet another problem of Pakistan. And the illiteracy is a state whereby one is unable to read and write. It can be said that it is a lack of any or sufficient education. The illiteracy among parents, lack of family support, unemployment of the educated, lack of awareness, social barriers, lack of affordable education facilities, poverty are the factors that are the main causes of illiteracy. And there are many adverse affects of illiteracy like social crimes, difficult life, poverty, hindrance in economic and social progress etc. Unemployment is also regarded as one of the major current issues.

It is defined as the ratio of people who wants to do a job and they are searching for a job but cannot find a job. Unemployment is considered a reflection of the economy of a country. Pakistan has been facing this issue since the start. There are number of reasons of unemployment like growing population, current economic state of Pakistan, energy crisis, high taxation rate etc. And the unemployed people are being affected in number of ways like less money, health stress and mental disturbance, economic suffering, social dilemmas, labor exploitation etc due to the unemployment. And, the child labor is also widespread in Pakistan. Whether in bigger cities or in small villages, we find innocent malnourished children employed in various forms of labor.

They are working as welders, mechanics, plumbers, electricians and in industries like carpet-weaving, glass, football making etc. The overpopulation, poverty, lack of education back production costs etc are the main causes of this issue. Children who work often face serious health problems because of working incessantly in perilous conditions. Often the employers do not care at all about underage children who are almost always malnourished and continue to work for long hours with little or no respite. Their mental health also takes a beating owing to the severe form of exploitation. These children often face severe mental trauma when they attain adulthood, owing to the constant threats and ill treatment they received toiling away as laborers.

Children, who cannot find work to feed large families resort to begging on the streets, and in many cases, also fall prey to prostitution. At other times they even turn into thieves just to make a quick buck on which the family’s survival depends. It also has a negative impact on the welfare of a nation. Since these children do not receive any education, it increases illiteracy hampering the overall growth of the country, reflecting poor human development.

Lack of education as children also means that when they turn into adults, finding jobs become tough since these children do not possess the necessary skills and training. This leads to a sharp hike in unemployment. Such children are always underpaid, and that lowers the country’s per capita income, putting long term economic development in peril. To put an end to this issue the root causes namely poverty, unemployment among adults and measures to control population growth must be targeted by the government.

The Economic Aspects

Economic prosperity serves as a backbone for the overall progress of a nation. One thing is common in all developed countries that they are economically sound. Poor economic condition is the root cause of so many problems that exist in a society. Unfortunately Pakistan economic conditions are pathetic. Currently, there are many economic problems like inflation, less export and more import, inappropriate budget allocation, lack of tourism, value of dollar, no industry and nationalization of industry which Pakistan is facing.

Inflation effects the different sectors of the economy (Effects on the distribution of income and wealth, Effects on production, Effects on the Government, Effects on the Balance of Payment, Effects on Monetary Policy, Effects on Social Sector, Effects on Political environment) and different classes of the people (Debtors & Creditors, Salaried Class, Wages earners, Fixed income group, Investors and shareholders, Businessmen, Agriculturists). A reasonable rate of inflation–around 3- 6 per cent– is often viewed to have positive effects on the national economy as it encourages investment and production and allows growth in wages.

When inflation crosses reasonable limits, it has negative effects. It reduces the value of money, resulting in uncertainty of the value of gains and losses of borrowers, lenders, and buyers and sellers. The increasing uncertainty discourages saving and investment. Not only can high inflation erode the gains from growth, it also makes the poor worse off and widens the gap between the rich and the poor. If much of the inflation comes from increase in food prices, it hurts poor more since over half of family budget of the low wage earners goes for food. Second, it redistributes income from fixed income earners (for instance pensioners) to owners of assets and earners of large and variable income, such as profits. For Pakistan’s economy, inflation can be bad if it crosses the threshold of six per cent, and can be extremely harmful if it crosses the double digit level.

Several supply and demand factors could be responsible for this surge in inflation. Supply-side shocks can cause large fluctuations in food and oil prices, effects of which on overall inflation, at times, can be so excessive that these cannot be countered through demand management. In today’s global economy, consumers are used to seeing products from every corner of the world in their local stores and retail shops. The overseas products or imports provide more choices to consumers. And because they are usually manufactured more cheaply than any domestically produced equivalent, imports help consumers manage their strained their household budgets.

A country importing and exporting activity can influence its GDP, its exchange rate, and its level of inflation and interest rates. A rising level of imports and growing trade deficit can have a negative effect on a country’s exchange rate. A weaker domestic currency stimulates exports and makes imports more expensive; conversely, a strong domestic currency hampers exports and makes imports cheaper. Higher inflation can also impact exports by having a direct impact on input costs such as material and labor. When there are too many imports coming into a country in relation to its exports which are products shipped from that country to a foreign destination then it distorts a nation’s balance of trade and devalue its currency.

The devaluation of a country’s currency can have a huge impact on the everyday life of a country’s citizens because the value of a currency is one of the biggest determinants of a nation’s economic performance and its gross domestic product. Maintaining the balance of imports and exports is crucial for a country. And, Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, accounting for 10% of global GDP. It is an important mean of generating income, creating employment, reducing poverty, earning foreign exchange and promoting cross cultural understanding and cooperation. Currently Pakistan is facing the issue of lack of tourism and this issue is affecting the economy of Pakistan in a bad way. Industry is an important sector of Pakistan next to agriculture.

It is a major source of consumer goods and employment in country and accounts for almost 20 percent of country’s annual gross domestic products. Industrial sector is very important for Pakistan as it contributes 20 percent to country’s annual gross domestic product. And industrial sector in Pakistan consumes about 25 percent work force in the country and it is the second largest source of export earnings. Cotton and cotton based products are Pakistan’s largest source of export earnings. It accounts for about 61 percent of country’s export earnings. But currently this sector is also facing the problems. And country economy is being affected in a bad way due to these problems.

The problems are like frequent power short fall, trade deficit, some government policies, poor commercialization policy, technical incapability, lack of capital, political instability, and problems of industrial labors etc.

The Political Aspects

In Pakistan the political instability has proved itself detrimental to the socio-economic health of the country. And undoubtedly the political instability has caused great havoc around the globe as well. It jolts a state socially, politically and most importantly economically. Similarly, Pakistan has faced several issues because of political instability. Where it hampered the state’s political environment, it has stricken its economy. The decline of foreign direct investment has been the most significant impact on the economic arena of the polity. Moreover, it has also emerged as a terrible weapon to kill the concept of national integrity.

However, the centralization of power, the trend of family leadership, regimes of dictatorship and the aggressive style of leadership are the several factors that are pushing Pakistan towards political instability. Nevertheless, to migrate the political instability in Pakistan, conducting transparent elections, working mutually for the betterment of Pakistan by the political parties, enforcing constitutional laws, and encouraging the active role of the public would be immensely helpful. At present, the issue of political instability has become a matter of grave concern for Pakistan.

It manifests in multiple ways across the country, including widespread political corruption, nepotism, cronyism and abuse of power. As a result, it has cast dire consequences on the state’s social, political and economic peace. The political instability has curbed Pakistan progress socially, politically and economically. With the rise of political instability, political polarization has prevailed intensely amongst the political parties. As a matter of fact, when various parties

with different slogans steps into politics for their vested interests, the concept of national integrity starts to vanish. Since Pakistan is composed of multiple ethnic, linguistic and religious groups, the element of national integrity has been dream for the nation. Taking advantage of the situation, anti-Pakistani agencies exploit the situation to spread terrorism and extremism. As a consequence of terrorism and extremism, the country’s economy receives a fragile inflow of foreign direct investment; thus the state’s economy suffers badly. Nonetheless, the political instability also bred a volatile political environment in the state on the basis of the undemocratic practices. Thus, political instability has laden the state in several ways.

Pakistan has suffered political instability for several decades. There are multiple reasons behind the menace. First, the duel of power between the federal and provincial governments has been the paramount reason. It has been the dominant reason behind the political riots and inefficient governing system that always fails to implement laws within the appropriate time. Second, the trend of family leadership has distorted the political fabric of the state. Third, for several decades, Pakistan has witnessed the leadership of the some parties. Despite multiple failures of the some of those political parties to uplift Pakistan, ruling the country more than once reflects the perpetual power game played secretly by the nation.

Moreover, for around thirty years, the regimes of dictatorship have haphazard the political system of Pakistan. As a result, the civil military relationship has been fragile and incompetent. Nevertheless, the aggressive style of politics has also ruined the state’s political instability. Revoking the nation’s emotions the in the name of multiple factors to gather votes has been common. To fix the issue, transparent election system must be ensured by Pakistan. By implementing transparency, the chance to serve the country could be given to the true elected political party. Moreover, this may also help to end dynastic politics.

Additionally building unity and national integrity concepts amongst the public may help set aside ethnic and linguistic differences so that the political leaders do not exploit the nation for any political interest. National integrity in the state would push the political parties to work in favour of the state. Moreover, the enforcement of constitutional law in a true spirit and adequately working government can turn the tide and can put the country on the right track. Similarly encouraging public participation may help pluck the country out of the political darkness. The active role of the public in politics would hold politicians accountable for each immature and self-interest policy. As a result the political parties would restrain themselves from skipping the pro-state attitude.