KZBlog

Yesterday, President Nazarbayev announced that Kazakhs should learn to respect rich people, that there should be some kind of cultural program to inculcate this new attitude, and that businessmen should be more open about their wealth. The comments at Zonak.kz are well worth reading.

In short, the questions that will need to be worked out are:
1) Why is the President proposing new social programs?
2) Is this a serious social problem? Could we perhaps stop people spitting on the sidewalks first?
3) Will the President start the trend by explaining where his wealth came from? Will his family and close colleagues be next?
4) Are we supposed to simultenously hate poor people?
5) Is this to be taken as a decree having the force of law?

In all seriousness, most people disrespect rich people because their wealth often came from connections, semi-legal privitization of state property (before or after the USSR fell), taking bribes, etc. It would be nice to have some wealthy businessmen step up and say, “Well actually I worked damn hard for this money,” or, “These cool connections come from my being a competent, intelligent, hardworking professional.” It would be a nice model for young people who frankly spend a lot of their time trying to make good connections, kow-towing to top people in the hopes of rewards, etc. The cynicism is palpable among some young recent university graduates I have met. An internship is just to meet the top people, not to pick up valuable professional skills, and so on.

But, as one commentator noted, even Henry Ford, the American father of business, said that he would talk openly about his millions, but not his first million.