Iran Military Forum

This documentary is appropriate to the current discussion:

The Iranian economy is almost entirely controlled by the government, a whopping 80 percent.


This has proven detrimental to the economy as a whole, and so to fix it, Iran's parliament has been pushing for reform. A large part of these reforms are down to privatization.

Article 44 of Iran's constitution allows for this, and so in recent years the goal has been set handing over most of Iran's government controlled organizations to the private sector. That said, the wheels are turning slowly, and glitches have occurred along the way.

For one thing, the government, though asserting otherwise, seems reluctant to relinquish some of the power it wields over the economy, and let the private sector take on a more active role in making the big decisions.

To tackle this, Iran's parliament agreed to let the Chamber of Commerce make a series of reform proposals in the form of a bill. This the chamber of commerce did, submitting a 60 article bill.

After parliament reviewed them only 30 were approved, which have now been given to the Guardian Council for the final stamp of approval.

The bill is designed to really get this privatization plan up and running, which can only be done by giving private sector vote power, and the authority to hold the government accountable when necessary. The power struggle is now underway.

In this edition of the show we'll be talking to both sides for a better understanding of the economic overhaul now in motion.

http://presstv.com/Program/218651.html

have you heard of justice shares in iran? question is not if they should privatize but how they should. as in the video an expert rightly says that there are disagreements as to how the government should intervene   

have you heard of justice shares in iran? question is not if they should privatize but how they should. as in the video an expert rightly says that there are disagreements as to how the government should intervene

Agreed. Iran's economic reform program is very different from that of Russia in the early 1990s, where the central state was politically weak at the same time, and where nothing along the lines of the justice shares was put in place.

You can talk how long you like but privatization is the worst thing that can happen.It means the capitalism is coming on small doors.It means that small percentage of population will hold the most of the countrys wealth.This happen to eastern Europe and the result is 99percent of poor and 1percent of rich.The infrastructure(in which people where the biggest contributors over the past years)through the night fall into the hands of couple families.There is no such thing as logical or well planed privatization.This privatization is armed robbery of the people.Trust me the privatization will do bigger harm to Iran then American and NATO attack.You must fight against that evil with all of your power.

I dont believe privatization is the problem, as others have said the way you implement and regulate it that is important for its success.

Privatization schemes only have a chance of success when a state has strong institutions in place that guarantee an orderly and fair process and, subsequently, little corruption. Iran is not there yet and I fear that this will be seen as a once in a life time opportunity by some to enrich themselves.

...but as I said in my first post it is fundamentally a matter of ownership. State owned industries are owned by the people. A great majority of the people must decide on this or else it is in essence theft.

Furthermore, it is a myth that privatization leads to efficiency and innovation. The most successful countries on both counts have very large state sectors and even their leading private firms were once established by the state. People today really seem to have fallen for the lie of greed being the strongest driving force and that we are incapable of excelling for the common good.

Wow
I think the naysayers to privatization need to look @  today's economic power houses  that produce 70 % of the world output & then say it is does not work
US,Germany , Japan , South Korea
Do you really think Toyota , Apple , BMW , Microsoft would really produce world class products if they were state owned ?
I think the GDP of the soviet union was less than Apple gross revenues
Name some great efficient state owned and operated companies that produce world class products and are an example of efficiency  THEY DO NOT exist

USA - When it was prospering the industry was either funded directly by the state or heavily subsidises/aided by it. Today the auto industry, banking and financial sector and  their airlines are all surviving on borrowed time and will go under if not given state aid. Manufacturing in general has little chance of survival. The American healthcare and educational sectors are very inefficient, they cost more and 'produce' much less than their state owned equivalents in other countries.

The USA is the worst example of capitalism. It has given up its democracy and stepped on human decency to achieve success for a few. It is, in fact, a corporate dictatorship soaked in innocent blood and tears. They are a failed society in all regards and their demise is imminent. But, yah, they have iPad and Google and Dr. Phil.

Germany - Strong industrial sector that was initially established by the National Socialists. The German auto industry, their pride and joy, is a sector that prospered the most under state control. If you remember, their industry was also bailed out by the people not too long ago. Germany is the best that the western world has to offer though, I'll give you that.

Japan - Their economy is not doing that great and has been on a downward slope since the 80s. Their industrial sector is strong but, again, it was built essentially with western aid after the war. If Iran opened up to the great Satan this could be an option for it as well, but lets hope not.

South Korea - Same as above. They are held hostage by the west though and are being put against their own brothers. Their success is one that breaks down in the shower and cries itself to sleep at night, so to speak. 

Now, lets compare to China - All modes of production belong to the state and needless to say they are doing fairly well.

Even the relatively failed USSR achieved a feat beyond what anyone ever imagined. They turned the most impoverished, uneducated and culturally backwards peasant societies into industrial powerhouses. And did all this despite relentless opposition by world powers. Ever since the introduction of capitalism to these societies they are virtually sprinting back towards the dark ages. Where is Russia today, buddy, and how did it get there?

...and Cuba. Free and universal healthcare and educational system. One of their main exports are doctors. Seriously, they train people from all over the developing world for free with the only demand that they return to their peoples and help. This is progress. They are a tiny island standing up to the worlds powers and they still find time to help others. Brings a God damn tear to my eye. Viva Fidel.


Now, you may think that I am biased and to some extent that is of course true, but, I also base my ideas on what is actually being said by many leading economists. Capitalism will only benefit people when it is heavily regulated and where there is a large state sector. The laisses fair policies that brought the west to its knees are being re-examined as the downsides of the growth-driven, consumerists, society are being felt. What is the end objective of human effort, is it to work longer hours, give up more rights, ruin the environment to achieve a higher material standard, or is there another alternative?