The Birth of Human Struggles or the Broken Systems
Once upon a time, King X, who ruled the Valley, was a good man, but he harbored one great fear: that things were not "orderly" enough. One day, he decided that for eternal peace to exist, he needed soldiers. "The more swords guard our borders, the more peacefully my subjects will sleep," he thought. And so, he commanded the strongest men to become soldiers, patrolling the roads and guarding the realm from other kingdoms. However, the young people of the Valley soon realized that the silence had vanished. Everywhere, the thud of boots and the clanking of weapons echoed. When they wanted to go to the river, heavily armed soldiers would stop them, demanding a password. "We are keeping the peace, youngsters," they would say, but their eyes were filled with suspicion. Where there were too many soldiers, peace turned into a constant expectation of war. Seeing that the people were growing restless, the king decided he needed more order within the cities and villages. He appointed guardians of the peace—the police. Their job was to watch every move of the citizens to guarantee their "freedom." The king believed that control was the mother of security, and he gave every officer a thick book of rules. But freedom began to wither. The youth no longer dared to sing in the streets because of a rule against "unauthorized noise." Every time a neighbor spoke to another, a guardian would stand nearby, recording their words. Where there were too many police, people began to feel like they were in a prison without walls. The fear of making a mistake replaced the freedom to breathe. When disputes arose over the new rules, the king decided to introduce justice through laws. He appointed many lawyers. "They will solve every problem with the power of argument," he proclaimed. Contracts of hundreds of pages were soon written for every small fence and every apple sold. The youth tried to defend their right to the land but found themselves lost in words they did not understand. To manage this complex machine, the king appointed politicians. They spoke beautifully about the future but spent their days arguing over who should sit in the highest chair. For every action, they created a committee, and for every committee, a subcommittee. The Valley stopped growing because no one made decisions; they only debated what to do. Thus, the politicians created their own army of bureaucracy. To plant a single tree, the youth had to collect twenty signatures and twenty stamps from twenty different buildings. The bureaucrats were people who loved stamps more than trees. They turned every simple task into a mountain of difficulties, creating unnecessary delays and frustrations for the youth who were eager to plant trees. "Come back tomorrow," they would say, as the planting season passed and the earth dried up. Finally, to fix the chaos, the king hired consultants. They were dressed in the finest silk and spoke of "optimization." They took the last gold from the treasury to tell the king that the problem was that the people had too much. "You must cut the costs of joy," they advised. The kingdom was now rich in rules but poor in bread. While the subjects used to work in the fields and small workshops, most had now entered the service of the kingdom. Production dwindled, and the kingdom's expenses soared. Taxes grew heavier. The king began taking loans from various creditors. The moneylenders held a deep affection for money. Realizing they could become even richer, they hired advisors to manage their wealth. They avoided the spotlight, worried for their safety, yet in the end, everyone—including the king—was dependent on them. Eventually, other kingdoms learned of this system and followed suit. No one paused to contemplate the potential consequences or the pitfalls that even a king could encounter. Thus, the system that was born then continues to operate with the same force today.
The moneylenders always want to profit. Their managers develop a wide range of dangerous financial products; the politicians help remove regulations. Experts validate the procedures. The media repeats the expert opinions. And the masses? They pay the price.
"Does this story sound like a fairy tale to you, or does it sound like today's news?
This hastily invented parable complements the topic of my previous article, “Are Systems Consuming Society? ” You can read it here.
Author: Sezgin Ismailov
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