Five leading Iranian economists have suggested to the Iranian government to listen to protesters in the streets and prepare itself for fundamental changes.
The economists warned the government to either listen to the protesters and pave the way for a peaceful transition from the current dangerous juncture, or wait for the people's anger to turn into hatred and violence as the driving force of social developments in Iran.
Massoud Nili, of Sharif University of Technology, Mohammad Tabibian the founder of Planning and Management Research Center, Mousa Ghaninejad of the Donya-ye Eqtesad Research Center, Mohammad Mehdi Behkish from Allameh Tabatabai University, and Hassan Dargahi, from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran explained in a statement released in Tehran on October 7, "Why the Iranian society has been turned into an explosive store where recent sparkles can rapidly lead to an extensive blaze."
The economists observed that generational changes in the Iranian society have increased the number of young and educated Iranians, while the rise in the number of educated women has empowered the Iranian society in a way that it is not comparable to the years before the 1979 revolution.
"The Iranian society now is more urban, more educated and a main part of it is within an age range that increases the country's social energy. Meanwhile, the society's access to information [Internet] is a key factor that leads to to social developments. Individual Iranians can have access to any information they might need and at the same time, their academic level has increased their awareness in an amazing way," the statement maintained.
Based on this assessment, the economists addressed the government and said: "Running such a society requires respect for a set of rules including "taking care" of the society and "respecting its demands and tendencies." These rules, said the statement, are even more significant when we are talking about women.
"Meanwhile, with the rise in the educational and academic level, urbanization and access to information especially for women, there will be rising demands for more welfare, political participation, financial and political transparency and in a nutshell, for better governance. Nonetheless, during the past decade, particularly since 2017, what we have seen in the areas of welfare, political participation and financial and political transparency is that the government has moved in the wrong direction and against the demands of the people," the economists added.
They also highlighted the fact that the past four years have been the worst in economic terms, as low-income Iranians have been pushed more rapidly below the poverty line, while the government has used violence against protesters. "Mismanagement by the government has shifted the protests from anger to hatred," the economists said and warned that in this way, "even if decision-makers manage to suppress popular anger, this does not mean an end to protests. On the contrary, this will lead to a permanent tension between the society and the government in Iran."
The economists further warned that Iran is no longer capable to handle any new complications. They suggested that the only way out for the government is to accept cultural and social differences and diversity and seek to tackle the country's massive economic problems and foreign policy challenges. They also suggested that government should encourage and tolerate criticism in a bid to reduce tensions.