The three pillars of progress

For contemporary Ethiopia, there can be little doubt concerning the desirability of what may be called the three pillars of progress. This, the government has recognized as consisting of: a) rapid economic growth, b) democratization and c) good governance. There are of course different conceptions as to how to erect these pillars of progress, but there is little if any major dissension from the fact that they are central to the transformation of Ethiopia towards a new dignified standing in the world. This much the government has firmly grasped and already vigorous efforts are underway to implement the three pillars of progress within a federal political system that is seeking to create a fresh and genuine sense of national unity for all the peoples of Ethiopia.

There have been some very encouraging achievements thus far which include

) an unprecedented growth rate of 10% in the last four years,

ii) current primary school coverage of above 95% (before 1991 it was around 25%) and

iii) more than 65% of the government’s latest capital budget allocated to key sectors of infrastructure development.

The government has correctly conceived these kinds of transformation from the perspective of a revolution in agriculture which after-all is the economic backbone of the country. A country-wide policy of agriculture-led industrialization is one of the foundations for rapid economic growth and the positive results here should be steered towards a sustained development of infrastructure and education.

This point has been made in various parts of a number of recent official organs, but not always consistently, and education itself could be more usefully conceived as an infrastructure - a mental and social infrastructure. It can not be overemphasized, that improved country-wide infrastructure and education are the keys to the much desired higher standard of living for all the peoples in Ethiopia, and this in turn is what will lead to a genuine universal suffrage and good governance both of which are essential preconditions for internal security and progressive foreign relations.

One of the problems of Ethiopia in relation to its internal security is to meld the country’s diverse identities under a single, satisfactory, national ideal. A genuine sentimental unification of all the peoples of Ethiopia would deprive the enemies of Ethiopia from fomenting dissent among groups who feel that their identity is not meaningfully recognized under the federal umbrella.

With a better grasp of science and technology the peoples of Ethiopia will see that the country can not be built on the pillars of progress unless the foundations for those pillars are the key infrastructures of country-wide locomotion, communication and sanitation. The government has recently emphasized the necessity of building Ethiopia’s military capacities, but of what use to Ethiopia is a defense force that can not easily move through all parts of the country? A standing army indeed! who would consequently be unable to protect the people from terrorist attacks launched from the wild, uncivilized parts of the country.

What must clearly be understood, is that civilization, which is characterized by the three pillars of progress, means in the first place subduing nature to the will of man. To say that a country is civilized is to say that it is developed and democratic and the most civilized and democratic countries in the world are those that have most effectively reined nature to their will through the forces of science and technology.

These are countries that have reclaimed land from the sea, built roads, rails and bridges across formerly impassable mountains and increased the fertility of previously barren soils through hydro-technology and chemical science. The more Ethiopia develops her capacity to influence her natural environments through science and technology, the more civilized (the more developed) she will become. This is the true and lasting foundation for the three pillars of progress, which in turn are the only ways to ensure internal security and progressive foreign relations.

Conflicts of interest will always exist, especially in countries like Ethiopia which have a diversity of cultures. Even so, the real and genuine movement of civilization in which Ethiopia must now prove herself, is the progressive amelioration of human conflict through free trade and free movement, free self-expression, exploration, innovation, art, music and culture. Click HERE to go to the source of this article.