Leibniz, one of the greatest scientists of the 17th century, first developed the concept of physical economy. Leibniz's concept of physical economy implies the transformation of a given matter from one stage to the other through three interrelated actions namely, power, work and technology. According to this three dialectical interactions, in order to change a given matter from one phase to the other without changing or destroying the inherent elements, for example iron ore to iron and steel or any other raw material to a finished product, and again this to the higher forms of products, one needs a specified form of power or energy, and a given technology. These two elements must be set in motion by the help of a specified work. Only the functional relationship of these three concepts and their interactions, namely power, work and technology leads to productive processes. The productive process which is set in motion through the combination of power, work and a given technology is the main tenet of political economy. As such economic science is nothing, but the transformation of a given raw material through the application of the above elements in order to gain a given product.

In primitive days, even today in many Third World Countries, people use charcoal either to cook food or mould iron to develop certain kinds of instruments, say for ploughing or hunting purposes. According to Leibniz, the use of charcoal cannot lead to higher productivity, since it entails very low density of energy. In other words, wood which is transformed to charcoal cannot yield the necessary power in order to transform matter from its raw face to its end products. Because of its low concentration of energy, one should burn tons of woods in order to gain a specified heat or energy to melt iron. Thus the use of wood for power inevitably slows the productive process in a given society, and undermines the development of technological progress. In comparison to charcoal, peat-coal, which is the product of accumulated fossil of thousands of years, holds very concentrated forms of energy. With very small amount of peat-coal one could gain substantial amount of energy which could be applied for higher productive activities, such as manufacturing processes. Leibniz and his collaborators developed an engine which could be set in motion by steam gained from burned peat-coal. Such an engine, which is supported by a fired peat-coal did improve qualitatively the accomplishment of a given work within hours, or could help move a riverboat faster.

Prior to Leibniz's investigation of the concept of physical economy, there was progress in using coal as an industrial fuel. Scientists prior to Leibniz had accomplished some theoretical foundations which helped him to advance his scientific investigation so that he could put it into practice. Like Cues the well known theologian, scientist and statesman, Leibniz applied the principles of least action or his minimum-maximum principle in order to raise productivity in a given industrial process. The development of technology which is the result of scientific investigation and experiments is the foundation of industrial progress. This kind of science driven technological development reduces the use of energy by raising productivity, because advanced technology reduces the waste of raw materials and maximizes productivity. In other words, the principle of least action says that, with the minimum combination of productive forces, in this case, power, work and technology, one could gain maximum productivity. Again, the three productive forces must be qualitative enough to yield higher productivity. Without an advanced technology, higher forms of energy and ever growing and sophisticated technology there is no industrial progress. The application of higher forms of productive forces for industrial purposes will inevitably reduces costs and the allocation of redundant resources in other areas of productive activities will enhance progress and an equal development in a given country will be the rule.

The principle of least action which is developed by Leibniz diametrically opposes the neo-classical view of cost-efficient allocation of resources, and the theory of minimum combination of factor of productions. Since Leibniz's least action based on the development of the cognitive power of the individual who is assigned to invent new technologies or produce a certain product is not per se seen as a production factor which is combined with inanimate factors, like capital and land in order to yield a certain amount of product. Technology is the product of the creative activity of the human being, which can come forth when certain conditions are fulfilled. As such technological development is a dynamic process of human cognition and process of human development which can be materialized when certain political, cultural, and economic, etc. conditions are fulfilled which can redeem the human mind from old values and attitudes. On the other side the neo-liberal model absolutely neglects the power of human cognition in developing a given technology. Cost-efficient combination of factors of production as the main tenet of neo-liberal ideology, in order to gain a maximum amount of profit, costs of the factor of productions must be reduced, and that particular factor which is seen as the main cause of cost inefficiency must be reduced. If a worker in a given factory is seen as the main cause of cost inefficiency, either wages must be reduced or a certain amount of work force must be fired as redundant.   

The physical economic principle which is based on the Platonic science of finding the truth by means of hypothesis building and dialectical questioning can be fully materialized when it is again guided by the principles of machine-tools. The machine tool principles which is the main basis of technological progress enhances manifold growth; and once it is set in motion it opens the door for an ever-growing technological development. Unlike the neo-classical growth model, technological development is not a scalar factor or not a given parameter but through the application of science and intensive research its expansion and growth will be manifold, and encompasses an entire society if it is properly applied. The invention of a machine-tool system of production activity is only possible when steel and iron factory exist. The successive improvement of steel and iron products again pave the way for the advancement of ever sophisticated machine-tool industries which serve for the designing of a variety of factories which can be installed to produce durable and non-durable products.  In other words, the machine-tool system which is based on the principle of physical economy, works on two different directions, namely department I which is specialized solely on the production of different machines to be combined later on as one part to produce durable products, department II which is installed to produce non-durable products which is useful for the reproduction of the human soul and body. Between the two departments there is a dialectical and reciprocal relationship. The fact that there exists a continuous exchange of input factors and end products among the various sub-departments, and the reproduction of labour power is the precondition of general capital accumulation on a higher scale, this kind of growth is manifold.

A society which is not organized on the principle of physical economy, it is not able to produce more value added products or surplus value which enables her to finance the unproductive sector and other major infrastructure activities which are vital for the development of capitalism. Only with the growth of well-organized cities and infrastructural activities, the circuit of commodity and money capital will be fastened. The production of more and more surplus value is therefore vital to finance the above factors which are again essential for the development of a coherent economy which is self-generating. In order to produce a given amount of product which is necessary to maintain a given society the mathematical relationship of the production process as a whole must be described in the following manner.  We take T as the total material output including energy which enables a given society to reproduce itself from to time so the society as a whole can function and maintain itself. V+C+D+S� is the mathematical relationships, which defines the production process of a capitalist economy which as a matter of fact does not know subsistence production. V represents the material consumption of the households which are directly participated in the production process. C is the constant capital which serves to maintain the depreciated fixed capital so that the production process takes place on a higher level. The necessary of capital deepening which is essential to raise productivity and consume less and less raw materials when the financing of C is continuously possible. The sum of C+V represents the total consumption of the society in general: When we reduce this sum from the total product T, S= T-V-C we gain S that is partially consumed. D is a part of the consumption material which is directed for the reproduction of those sectors which are not part of the direct production processes. This includes banks and other credit institutes, trade, education, research, defence and other administrative activities. 

The net gain which is expressed in S� is essential to finance new investments. With new investments the ability of the general economy in absorbing more labour power becomes immanent and with that the general social wealth grows progressively. That means without the production of net surplus value any society cannot develop a coherent economy and cannot sustain itself as a fully functioning society. The production of S` must been seen a long historical process of capitalistic production process that becomes more and more effective as it has totally destroyed the subsistence form of production or at least subsumed it under the general capitalist accumulation process, and when labour power becomes more and more concentrated in areas where its absorption becomes the precondition of general capitalistic production process that is based on science and technology. This form of production process is against the neo-liberal growth model that knows only constant growth, and functions on the substitution of the factor of productions, namely capital for labour power.

If we look at the Ethiopian economy, the economy cannot reproduce itself on a higher level. Since the society does not know the principle of physical economy it cannot be attracted by new waves of technologically based investment activities that fasten the valorisation of capital. Since the production of surplus value is very limited there is no progressive infrastructural investment activity that could facilitate the circulation of commodity and money capital. This hampers again production activities, and hence the income of the state from the productive activity is very limited. The very limited financial resources of the state will determine its activities, and due to this limitation it will be compelled to rely on foreign resources to finance its budget deficit. Again this dependence will be strengthened by the government's false investment priorities. In the last 12 years the government has concentrated on those areas where the production of surplus value is practically impossible. The type of import-substitution activities, like the opening of new beverage factories, the expansion of sugar industry and other production activities which yield very low surplus value are vivid examples how the Ethiopian economy is far away from the principle of physical economy.

The present government like its predecessors has continued on the same line of import-substitutions that with it's an in-built mechanism deepens the structural crises of the Ethiopian society. As everybody knows, the production of beer and alcoholic drinks, and including the expanding of sugar factories could not be changed into instruments of labour. As they are imported materials, and installed without deep intellectual analysis, they have not only the ability of deforming the material accumulation process but also distort the spiritual and intellectual capability of the society in general.  In all areas where private activities have been expanded the opening of new hotels, plastic factories whose ecological impacts are not well studied, and not known become fashions that have distorted private capital to unknown level.  By any standard of a healthy economy and from real civilization point of view such kinds of economic activities cannot be the basis of real capital accumulation. Their capacity of opening new fields of investment activities that could be interlinked with each other and have manifold growth is very limited. 

They neither operates under specified rules and regulations to maintain the ecological setup of the environment nor keep some standardized agreements to work as a harmonious socio-economic formation. Since the investors do not have the necessary intellectual and educational backgrounds, money making and profit maximization is the only criterion, which rotates in their minds. In other words, they do not have strategic planning concepts. The many plastic factories in resident areas are clear examples how such new investors do not have any concept of strategic planning. Houses which are planed for resident will be transformed into factories. In rural areas and in provincial cities, where practically illiterate people administer, houses are being changed into shops, and every body is caught by the idea of money making at any cost and by any means. As if this is the principle of market economy, our leaders lead knowingly or unknowingly the society to unknown destination.  Whenever some problems are arising the government security forces, sometime aided by the military are terrorizing the population in remote areas where they cannot expect any resistance. The situation in Gondar, in Dire Dawa and Harar, and presently in Gojjam area, prove that the poor peasants become the victim of lawless activity of the security forces. 

The security forces of the government that are not trained according to the principles of maintaining laws and orders within specified humanistic values, moral and ethic, whenever situations are suitable by being guided by their instincts, and behave like wild animals inflict heavy damages on the poor peasants and city dwellers. It seems that the government has lost the grip of controlling the society. Its incapacity to study certain social theory and philosophy that can be used as guiding principles to handle the social and economic crises of our society is leading the government to apply forces to show its muscle By its action of applying pure force that is illegal it is working against peace and stability that our country needs urgently. The EPRDF government, though it is boasting of defending our country from an incoming attack from the Eritrean side, its deliberate attack of the innocent people and distort peace and stability favours our enemy.  If one wants to defend its own country, democratic freedom, peaceful coexistence, real economic development based on science and technology, and the rule of law that is based on the principle of natural law are the minimum preconditions that hold the society together.  It seems that the agony of our people has no any end. I think this is a metaphysical problem that we have to study in depth.

The government's attempt to internationalize the socio-economic condition of our society is even worsening the whole social matrix of our society. In order to privatize some of the industries it allocates millions of dollars for international consulting firms which are operating world widely like mafia type organization. Their cost killing planning system and their social-Darwinian philosophy are the causes for the starvation and ever growing poverty in so many Third World countries. In order to reform the tax system within the parameters of capitalistic organization the government has assigned one South African consulting company. The plan has totally failed after the company has received over 4 million $. It is just a nightmare how   foreign company that does not have any knowledge of the socio-economic condition of our society can draw a capitalistic tax system. Even for those who know the system very well it is very difficult to develop a comprehensive tax system.  

As everybody knows the present tax system of most of the capitalist countries is a product of two or more hundreds years, and is purely a reflection of the system itself. On the other side, the social organization of our country operates on subsistence level, and does not know any organizational principles that are familiar to the capitalistic organizations. Most of the production systems that are either organized on subsistence or informal level do not know cost accounting system, and are not operating on the principles of cost efficiency and by raising productivity through technological innovation, and profit maximization. Not only the government makes mistakes after mistakes, but other autonomous organizations, like the Ethiopian Air Line, which is an outpost of US Imperialism, - I do not understand why the organisation buys such very expensive Aero planes in such a very poor county, where over 80% of the population live on subsistence level, and most of the commodities are imported from Europe and America, and as such the organization does not have any backward and forward linkage to the local economy- assigned for reorganizing its management system Lufthansa, one of  its competitors, though Lufthansa has in many cases different routs. 

The Ethiopian Air Line has paid around 5 million � for Lufthansa. The situation is very silly, like asking an enemy which is ready to attack you to ask him to draw a strategic plan how you defend yourself and attack him. It seems that, in today's Ethiopia being a part of this global world and become a global player has become a fashion. If the Ethiopian Air Line were wise enough, it could have opened a special management institute of its own, and could train those students from the Ethiopian university to tackle its management problem. The main problem is not as such a management problem but a problem of understanding the principle of physical economy, and the problem of bringing the Ethiopian economy and society towards a form of rational organization which can be learnt slowly and systematically. As long as one is not able to change the whole social organization by introducing a renaissance type education system, the economic system and the organizational structure of our society will never change. The system remains as chaotic as now by reproducing ever more chaotic situation for generations.

In order to go out of this dilemma we must not rely on those forces which give us unscientific solutions which draw us even to more deepening social crises. Foreign forces, whatever intentions and ideology they have, they operate under one principle. To undermine socio-economic transformations and organizational principles which are based on logic and philosophical rationality. Therefore, not agriculture is the main basis of capital accumulation, as some economists believe but real technological revolution is the real foundation of capitalist accumulation.  The belief that agriculture is the basis of capital accumulation is a reflection of pure exchange economy which undermines science and the power of human cognitive power. In the universities we are falsely trained, as Third World students to concentrate on agricultural production and export growth model, since via exchanges with the outside world we get the necessary capital that helps us to import the necessary technology to develop home market. This growth model as we have experienced in the last 50 years has fatal consequences on the development of so many Third World countries. Our Ethiopia too is the victim of this misconceived growth model, and our present leaders too see agriculture as the only option which draws our country out of the present economic and social crises. See the interview which was given in Addis by Prof. Stiglitz after he had a lengthy discussion with PM Meles Zenawi.  

Though the kernel concept of physical economy is machine-tool principle, physical economy in a wider sense is the improvement of human life in general through the application of modern and advanced technologies. At the same time physical economy means the understanding of the law of nature in order to ease human lives. Without understanding the law of nature there cannot be technological improvement. The understanding of the law of nature and have master over it enables a given society to transform itself from backwardness to modern way of lives. The understanding of the law of nature, the application of modern and more sophisticated technologies, will help a given society to protect itself from the vagaries of nature. A society which is condemned to live in backwardness will be the victim of sudden and unforeseen catastrophes. It cannot only protect itself from such kinds of catastrophes; opening its doors to outside forces will culturally destroy it. If a society is capable to develop itself in various spheres it will be respected. Thus technology is the key to every aspect of human lives.

The concept of physical economy teaches us, a society which is solely dependent on agriculture for its reproduction, its creative power is very limited. It cannot think profoundly and cannot produce multiple products in order to satisfy its needs. Because of the suppression of its natural and hidden creative power it cannot transform natural resources from one stage to the other by using modern technologies. At the same time, a society which is condemned to live on primitive agriculture, it cannot develop itself as a fully emancipated personality and it cannot express itself as an independent natural person. In other words, a society that is ready to transform itself from agriculture to a scientific driven society, can develop itself culturally, socially, politically, and will have a set of social values which bring the society more and more closer. Its social power will be profound and self-reflective. It directs its whole action towards beauty that will be expressed in architecture, in beautiful towns and city buildings, in Theatre and other forms of arts. By that it lays the cultural, the social, the political and historical foundations, on which the coming generation continues to build even more and more sophisticated forms of lives.

 On the other side, a society that is dependent solely on agriculture it will be culturally disintegrated. It will be the victim of bad cultural invasion: It produces unpatriotic elements that are ready to sell their motherland. Thus physical economy is a concept that must be understood in its entirety, and it is not only confined to pure technological development. It is a political, economic and social paradigm, from which every aspects of human development analyzed and planned to build a well-sustained and stable society. The key to social emancipation and true civilization is thus not a neo-liberal oriented economic policy, but a model which is based on physical economic principles, which brings social wealth not only to one part of the society, but to an entire population, that is living in one country. Such kind of economic planning that is based on physical economy can be planned and executed by an independent and patriotic minded elite, whose historical duty is nothing but to build a proud and strong nation.

The problems to apply the physical economic principles as guiding parameter of effective economic planning in our country are visible. First of all the primitive nature of the state apparatus and the feudalistic bureaucracy with it's an in-built hindrance of any technological development and system transformation is the main cause of any fundamental socio-economic transformation.  Eat, drink and die mentality that it has developed over many decades has changed it to a sub-human level and act inhumanely against its own citizen. The absence of any kind of efficiency control mechanisms, and practically the non-existent of capacity building institutions that enable the bureaucracy to update its knowledge has developed within this class and the academic intelligentsia complacency and a mentality of non-replaceable. Secondly, the absence of administrative structures that are setup on the principles of structural planning in all areas of economic, social and cultural lives of the society make it difficult to draw a comprehensive economic planning to bring Ethiopia out of the present economic and social chaos. As every body knows all Ethiopian governments including the present did not have space planning system, that is essential for the construction of houses for residents, shops and market areas, public entertainments, like Theatres and opera, institutions with various capacities and infrastructure activities etc. It seems that an elitist class that did not have any concept of space planning as stated above governed our country. 

The present government too has naturally inherited this mentality of not profoundly thinking. The policy of Kilil and the application of the neo-liberal market economic policy is the reflection of absence of profound knowledge of nation building. Any nation-sate cannot be built by means of guns and tanks but by science and technology, and by persistently raising the cognitive power of the entire population. Only true knowledge and capacity building institutions which enable the entire society to update its knowledge transform our society from the present to the higher stage of a science driven society. The business making mentality that has developed over the last 10 years, and the building of Manhattan like skyscrapers could not be the basis of real social wealth. They are like houses built on sand, and will be disappeared when something unforeseen happens. Thirdly, the incapacity of the entire society to be creative, and produce multiple products in order to gain more value added products, is very underdeveloped. Fore example the transformation of milk to cheese and other diary products, the production of grape wine in order to produce wine etc. are the very few examples why our society remains stagnant and non-creative. Take another example the production of Kati Kala (Arake). Our mothers brew Kati Kala for over hundreds of years by applying the same technology. A student of physics and chemistry should know that the brewing of Kati Kala is partly chemical processes and partly physical processes. In order to brew Kati Kala, our mothers combine grinded wheat sprout (bikil) with pounded hop (gesho) and let it ferment for one or two weeks. 

The fermentation will be put in a narrow jar. The mouth of the jar, except the tiny hole that allows the Kati Kala to pour out smoothly to the desired destination, will be tightly closed. When the fermentation has boiled the accumulated steam begins to be transformed into liquid that is then flows throw the small hole to a container. This process of brewing Kati Kala is very time and energy consuming, and at the same time very unproductive. The point I want to mention here is due to the undermining of technological development in the Ethiopian society, our mothers could not use better methods of brewing Kati Kala that is productive and untiring. After the celebrated modernization, no physic student has ever tried to produce a better jar, say out of copper as we see here in Europe. In other areas too, we experience the same technological backwardness that consume high energy and human labour. Because of the lack of real intellectual development, we see that resources could not be efficiently utilized; goods which could be easily produced at home will be imported from abroad and consume the meager resources.

The case of the importation of vegetable oil is a vivid example how the Ethiopian state system could not function properly. Though the Ethiopian peasants and certain private farms produce agricultural products that can be used for the production of oil and that are healthy indeed, because of technological backwardness, the oil that is produced does not taste well, and the consumers prefer those vegetable oils which are imported from Malaysia, and other Asian countries. As we know, in our country their is no any institution that control the products, that are either produced at home or imported from abroad, whether they are suitable for consumption and do not have any negative side effects. Due to this very simple fact the Ethiopian people are left alone without any systematic protection. There is no either any institution that protects consumer interests. As any society becomes very complex, and inevitably produces certain evil forces that want to become rich at the expense of the masses, they use every means of tricks and intrigues to produce certain products by using some ingredients that jeopardize the health condition of the direct consumers.   

Fourth, practically the non-existence of a well organized enlightened movement that could teach the masses in order to be creative and decide over their fate make the economic and social situation of our country more complicated. Beginning the 1950�s the Ethiopian intellectual movement is caught by purely political activities that are detached from science, technology and the day-to-day life our people. Instead of struggling for technological changes by being selfless, the new elite has developed an aristocratic mentality. With this the absence of any practical knowledge has pushed the generation of the 50`s and the 60`s more and more to political adventurism. Even those of physic, chemistry and biology students were drawn more and more to political activities, instead of making path-breaking researches. In such a way the Ethiopian masses are left alone, and could not become creative. Today to, we witness the same thing. Nobody tries in his own special field to invent new technologies that are suitable for our country's environment. In the field of science and technology, the contribution of the modern intelligentsia is practically zero.

Fifth, as far as I know the Ethiopian society does not have any social philosophy that is spiritually oriented, and that could elevate its power of thinking. The Ethiopian society knows only feudalistic values, that were not based on scientific philosophy, and that could help it to exploit the resources of nature by using advancing technologies. The feudal value system that has arrested the people's mind has suppressed its cognitive power, undermined the development of spoken and the written language, and by that it has blocked its abstract thinking. The feudal value system is more materialistically oriented than spiritually, unlike the Indian society, that is very interesting and creative, though the society has experienced a 300 years of colonial subjugation and exploitation. Though our society knows the word beauty, it could not apply it to develop a new aesthetically based culture, by building beautiful cities, cultural centres and transforming it to a higher form of life. When this backward system was infiltrated by peripheral capitalism, it cannot become innovative; instead the intermingling of peripheral capitalism with the feudal value system has inevitably produced a very confused social force.

The February revolution of 1974 has made the whole situation more complex, and the society becomes more and more dependent on outside forces. I have never seen such a society like Ethiopia, though most of us claim that we have a history of three thousand years that has produced thousands of spies, traitors and intriguers that hate science and technology. Now we have a very confused situation, culturally disoriented and confused. The new generation becomes more and more ignorant. It hates reading literatures. It is oriented towards bad habits, like alcohol drinking, drug and sex. The relationship between the young generation and its parents is no more based on self-respect, and certain hierarchical value system. Most of the parents send their children to Arab countries for slave like works. Most young girls are compelled to sell their bodies to feed their parents, and this with the deliberate permission of their parents. To teach all this new bad phenomena of our society, how it is slowly destructing our country, no body is trying to effectively fight through arts, Theatres and other mediums of educations. Though we have beautiful voices and traditional songs, the system of singing and dancing does not have a sublime effect.

 In many cases it has materialistic appeals that suppress the soul. In the area of other arts and poem too, I cannot understand the messages of the drawings and the poems. Starting from Homer on wards to Lucretius, Dante, Shakespeare, Schiller and Goethe including, all the classical music composers, like, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms, and the artists of the Renaissance time, their message was clear and appealing. It is directing to bring humanity to a sublime effect, to know himself as human being and understand his surroundings so that he could be governed by reason and logic. As Patrick Boyde, in his fantastic book, Dante Philomythes and Philosopher:  Man in the Cosmos clearly states the true message of Dante like this: "The comedy is the story of a journey on which he travelled from ignorance and bondage to a state of freedom in the final apprehension of the whole truth, the full and simultaneous perception of all things seen in their unchanging essence in the mind of God."  In the same book, Boyde summarizes the essence of the Comedy, like this: "And it is only in the poem that Dante writes with comparable fervour, urgency and beauty of the happiness that men could find if only they would use their intellect, recognize the facts, and live their lives in conformity with the truth-the truth that the poem itself will lay bare." In this case when I read the poems of modern Ethiopian writers, the music and arts, they are not directed towards self-questioning, beauty, love, freedom and creative activity. In ton and writing some of them are very dangerous.

When I read the social set-up of the Ethiopian society from the perspective of Dante's Comedy, the psychological make of our people; especially the Intelligentsia is not in a position to understand the present social, economic and cultural degradation of its society. Caught by its physical beauty, it cannot think beyond a certain level, and raise questions how such kind of a situation become part and parcel of our lives. It seems that our physical beauty has totally arrested our spirits, and it is practically impossible to transcend our selves to a higher form abstraction. What is after all physical beauty, without a soul that is aesthetically shaped and governed by humanistic value?  The lack of aesthetical beauty in our soul has made us disordered. In our mental order we do not have respect for time; we do not understand the essence of work ethics, and social responsibility that is essential for the developing of a social and economic system based on physical economy.  

In order to bring our society on the line and principles of physical economy, one needs to take bold measures especially in the fields of education. Since education is the basis of technological innovation, without educational reforms, which could at the end guarantee the true development of a sovereign society, no nation could march towards an independent and well developed country. From this perspective, if we see the education system of our country, we see a miserable situation that has thrown the entire society to cultural, political, social and economic disintegration. From the outset, the education system of Ethiopia was not planned in accordance to the philosophy of physical economy. It was not designed to bring true social transformation by teaching the young generation on the basis of science and technology.  The education system in general does not have a message of cultural emancipation, and scientific invention. Starting from elementary schools, children were simply thrown by themselves without giving them the necessary help and accommodations. There is a feudal philosophy in Ethiopia, which says, a child can grows by its own lack. Such a feudal habit and a corrupted state apparatus and oligarchic class that has existed for its won sake, has thrown Ethiopia back to the middle Ages. Even after the celebrated revolution, no one has tried to study in depth the causes of our country's underdevelopment. Instead, seize of political power becomes the ultimate aim of political organizations, which were fighting under the banner of social revolution. Twenty-five years after the collapse of the revolution, no one is trying to study the social reality and chaos of our society from different angels in order to give approximately a workable solution to the political and economic chaos of our country. It seems every body is caught up by feudal habits and cultures not to see the social realities of our country.

The present government which is a product of feudalism and chaotic market economy brings Ethiopia on the brink of collapse. As we have seen in other African countries, by accepting a neo-liberal market economy, which is designed to disintegrate the African nations, the present government in Ethiopia knowingly or unknowingly, is paving the road to a civil war and unforeseen social chaos which invites foreign nations to decide over the fate of our beloved motherland. From this perspective it is our social and historical duty to see the world politics from the different perspectives. The present global economy which is marching in different countries of the Third World has only one mission: To destroy the idea of Nation-State. By propagating free and liberal trade, its mission is to block the development of science and technology, by that to create an atmosphere of non-governance and permanent social disorder. Look Argentina the true victim of financial dictatorship and irresponsible political class. The result of 20 years of the so-called structural adjustment programs in various African countries, starting from Ghana, to Zimbabwe and Zambia, we see today these countries become more and more economically weak and dependent on foreign aid.

The studies made by various organizations demonstrate that after twenty years of experiments, the social conditions of the people in these countries are worse than twenty years ago. In our country too, the present government by accepting such kind of program and introducing wholesale privatization, it has totally destroyed the social reproduction of our people. No one knows today, under what circumstances and legal conditions the industries once nationalized were sold. No body knows about the right allocation of the money which was gained from the selling of the different companies. After ten years of structural adjustment programs and privatization, we are experiencing another program, the so-called poverty reduction program. The main aim of this program is nothing but to confuse the masses and prolong the misery of our people. It is therefore very important to study in depth the mechanism of all these programs. Certain individuals cannot do alone by themselves. Only if we work together, study and plan we can make history. This is the only road to social emancipation and true civilization. Only scientific investigation leads us towards building a well-developed and proud nation-state

If we accept that true social emancipation could be achieved only through science and technology, our struggle must be profound and sophisticated. Political struggle alone which is completely detached from philosophy and true science leads us not to true economic development. The mere seize of political power and the simple change of economic policy could not bring the desired results. In the last 10 years in so many countries, dictators were removed, and replaced by the so-called civilian governments. Argentina and Chile are vivid examples. In terms of social and economic developments, the situations in these countries are worse than a decade ago. These two countries become the victims of globalization and world financial disorder. Instead of military dictatorship, civilian rules which are following the principles of market economy which is dictated by IMF are destroying the basis of their country. In Africa too, where so-called democratic elections were held, we see desolate conditions.

The situation in Zambia after 10 years of democratic rule and market economy, one out of two Zambian lives below poverty line. In Nigeria too, after five years of so-called civilian rule, the country finds itself in a vicious circle of poverty, social unrest and economic disintegration. Nigeria gains every year from the sell of oil alone a revenue of about 15 Milliard $. But the Abasanjo government is not capable to bring real development and hope to the Nigerian people. Instead, by accepting the draconian programs of the IMF and bringing so-called experts from outside, he destroys the social and economic basis of his society. In this case we have got ample examples, why so-called democratic elections cannot work alone by themselves. True political struggle must be combined with science and philosophy, which is the true basis of nation building. It is therefore, very crucial to study the handicaps of all these democratic elections in various African and other Third World countries. We have two choices: either we build a strong nation state which is based on science and technology and true philosophy, or disintegrate as a nation-state lost forever. I believe, as true Ethiopians, our choice is to build a prosperous Ethiopia, which is culturally emancipated and economically advanced.

    By Fekadu Bekele (PhD)