Should We Change the Driver or the Vehicle?

News:

Erdogan, who has won the presidential elections again, announced the highly anticipated new Presidential Cabinet at the Çankaya Mansion.

Comment:

In the announced new cabinet, all the other ministers have changed except for two. Mehmet Şimşek, a highly anticipated name in the economy, was brought to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, while Ali Yerlikaya, the former Governor of Istanbul, was brought to the Ministry of Interior. While Hakan Fidan became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yaşar Güler became the Minister of National Defence. Ibrahim Kalın was brought to the National Intelligence Service.

It is possible to evaluate the newly formed cabinet in several ways:

When President Erdogan introduced the American-style presidential system, he designed the state institutions, which were previously dominated by the British, to serve American politics. With Erdogan's re-election as President and the new cabinet reshuffle, it was aimed that officials who are loyal to America were put in charge of the strategic institutions of the state and the state should not get out of America's control even if there is a change of power in the next process. Thus, even if Erdogan falls from power, America has further strengthened the possibility of maintaining its dominance in Turkey through institutions.

On the other hand, the appointment of Mehmet Şimşek, one of the new ministers, to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance caused excitement and great expectation in the society. There has been a significant decrease in foreign direct capital investments entering Turkey in recent years. With the reinstatement of Mehmet Şimşek as the head of the economy, it was aimed to increase reliability in the international market and re-enter the country of foreign direct capital.

However, today there is a serious economic crisis in Turkey, where the purchasing power has decreased in the face of high inflation, hurting people, dragging people into poverty and misery each and every day. There is a process going on in which the Turkish lira is losing value against the dollar day by day. Economic hardship has surrounded all sides of life. An expectation has been created that the Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek would solve economic problems. An atmosphere was created in this direction; ‘‘Can Mehmet Şimşek solve all these problems?'' It is unknown, but the solution to the current problems is not to change the minister. Dozens of ministers have been changed before this, but the problems have always remained the same. In fact, it continued to increase. Sixty-six governments have changed from the foundation of the republic to the present day. And now the sixty-seventh government has come to power. If the solution of the problems had been caused by the change of power or man, one of the powers that have come so far would have been successful in solving the existing problems. But so far, it has never been successful. After that, it will never be successful either.

The main problem is the system. The source of all these negativities and crises is the capitalist democratic system being implemented today and its economic order. It is the paper money system of the system. It is the interest-bearing banking and stock exchange system that exploits people and makes money from money. This system is non-human, non-moral and non-Islamic. It is based on exploitation. It exists only to make a small minority happier and richer. It does not even bother capitalists to see people live a miserable life in poverty. This system does not care about people's access to goods and services and their fair distribution among people.

Therefore, as long as the capitalist economic order is applied, it is never possible to solve the ongoing economic crises. The point is not to change the driver, but to change the vehicle i.e., the capitalist system. However, the only solution to the problems is the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) State upon the method of the Prophethood, which will apply the economic order of Islam as a whole.

[وَمَنْ اَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْر۪ي فَاِنَّ لَهُ مَع۪يشَةً ضَنْكًا]

“And whoever turns away from my remembrance (of the Qur'an), he will certainly have a narrow livelihood.” [Ta-Ha 124]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yılmaz ÇELİK