Galim Khussainov
Inflation and the tengeBankingLending and mortgagesTaxationEconomy and public policyManagement

Other · 1 min read

Our Values Are Holding Us Back

Translated from Russian with the help of AI. Original: Russian version

The values of the "upper class" become a model for emulation and hinder the country's development. Changing this requires starting with the upbringing of children and with the values of the elite itself.

Spring, a holiday, sunshine, wonderful weather. People are enjoying the first warm days. But lately something always bothers me.

Today in a parking lot I saw a driver in the latest-model Lexus with "RR" license plates pull into a disabled parking space. A young man with fashionably rugged stubble and tinted glasses got out, while his driver hurriedly opened the door for him and fussed around him obsequiously. His whole manner showed how cool he was as he strolled unhurriedly into the shopping center.

And then it struck me that people like this are our upper class, our establishment, whose image forms in the minds of those who want to join it. And this sets our rules of life: if you want to be cool, be like that rugged young man in the disabled space.

VIP cabins at Kokzhailau, protectors in the police, tokals (second wives) and so on. All of this is a consequence of the not always right values of our society. And, unfortunately, the number of such people is not shrinking, and may even be growing.

This is reflected in other areas of life as well: science, with its opaque system of grant distribution; education, with its incomprehensible system of instruction; healthcare; economic policy; domestic policy; and so on. Our values do not allow us to develop. For a fundamental change, we need to start with how we raise our children, and with the right values of precisely the upper class, those that set the example for our younger generation.

Published in: Ratel.kz, 21 March 2018

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