Notes from the Pink City
Pashinyan Shines at World Economic Forum in Switzerland
Just over two weeks ago, overwhelmed air traffic controllers managed to coordinate the landings of almost 1,500 private jets on the tarmac of the tiny Swiss resort town of Davos. Passengers included CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, academics, diplomats, lobbyists, dignitaries and heads of State from all over the world. Most intended to socialize with the global elite at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
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Was Nikol also “shining” when he was seated next to Aliyev, looking like he had just gotten butt-whipped? Perhaps you think he was “shining” when the European that walked in on them gave him and Aliyev a Freemason’s handshake…
The author seems to take too lightly the seriousness of both negotiations with Aliyev and the implications of relying primarily on the good graces of a largely elite group that will have unbalanced power in their business dealings with Armenia. While it is clear that Armenia needs to have some business dealings with foreign partners to foster economic growth, Pashinyan and the Armenian government should tread lightly so as to ensure they aren’t being swindled. It also cannot go unnoticed that the author chooses to reference Reddit (which I suppose he thinks is humorous) when brushing away legitimate criticisms of neo-liberal ideology. An ideology, which in theory sounds desirable, but in practice has been more successful at concentrating wealth among a few individuals and weakening the states and institutions that supported it, rather than achieving its stated goals.
Raffi,
I read your columns a lot on here and you seem like a thoughtful and intelligent writer. So I’d advise you to reconsider dismissing concerns about wealth and gender equality, two of the biggest fundamental issues of our times, as merely “pedantic”. Would you feel they were merely pedantic concerns if you were one of the billions worldwide living paycheck to paycheck, if not starving or homeless? What if you were a woman? Best case would be you live in a country where there’s some leftover ingrained prejudice and disparities in wages. Worst case you live in a country where you have no rights or freedoms and are unsafe leaving your house.. If you have reasons to doubt these issues are concerning then you had better spell them out with an airtight case. You can’t get away with simply dismissing them out of hand.
The other day I read and greatly enjoyed your opinion piece on the flat tax for Armenia. As someone who is far left in my economic views, I strongly disagree and believe in a progressive taxation system. However I thought you raised some great and interesting points in your writing – it made me think. If I were to write my own critique of your article, I would have to address each point you made and come up with a solid counterargument. I couldn’t get away with just dismissing your writing out of hand – that’s an anti-intellectual stance which has really degraded the quality of debate on most issues these days. Hopefully in the future you’ll reconsider such a tactic. Looking forward to the next one.
Raffi,
I read your columns all the time and you seem like a thoughtful and intelligent writer. So I’d advise you reconsider dismissing issues such as income or gender inequality, two of the biggest problems of our times, as merely “pedantic”. Would you dismiss it so easily if you were one of the billions worldwide living paycheck to paycheck, if not homeless or starving? What if you were a woman? Best case you live in a country with some leftover ingrained prejudices and wage disparities. Worst case you live in an country where you have no rights or freedoms and are unsafe to walk outside. If you have reason to believe these are not serious issues, you’d better spell it out with an airtight case. You can’t get away by just dismissing them out of hand.
The other day I greatly enjoyed reading your opinion on the flat tax for Armenia. As someone who is far left economically I strongly disagree and am in favor of a progressive tax scheme. However I thought you raised some great and interesting points – it made me think. If I were going to write a critique of your article, I would have to grapple with and address each of your points one by one. I couldn’t get away with just dismissing or ignoring them – that’s an anti-intellectual stance which has been degrading the quality of debate on most issues these days. Hopefully you’ll keep this in mind. Looking forward to next time.
There isn’t institutionalized prejudice against women in the west and the idea of a wage gap is false. The people who make these claims fail to look at the different choices men and women make in occupation such as men on average working more dangerous jobs, longer hours, more likely to work outdoors, more likely to move etc. Women face serious issues in developing countries but not in the west. This postmodernism, identity politics, victim obsession is poisoning western society.
Hi Nik/HayGuy
the comment “pedantic” was meant to be sarcastic, I thought the tone would convey that. Thanks for the input
Raffi
Actually, Pashinyan shined even more on his visit to Iran. He really shined over there. The Armenian community of Tehran, loved him. And, he did the correct thing in elevating Armenia’s important relationship with Iran, and not allowing the United States government to dictate to him what Armenia can and can’t do. Nobody has the right to intimidate and bully Armenia. Good job Prime Minister Pashinyan!