Elitism and Materialism in Kurdistan

By Hawar Jamal Ameen

Everywhere you look there is a hierarchy of power and influence. From the animal kingdom and the Alpha Male at the top to the aghas, sheikhs and kings that have ruled Kurdistan and almost every other nation and country in history. Put two people in a room, and sooner or later one will assume the leadership position.

So hierarchy is not only a natural occurrence; it also allows the most intelligent, strongest, and righteous to protect and guide those less able and fortunate. However, abuse of this power and wealth breeds economic and political “elitism” when the accumulation of power and wealth by a small group leads to the neglect of those lower down the hierarchy. When people have more money than they know what to do with, they quite naturally want to enjoy their wealth with a bigger house, nicer car and clothes. And so, they become consumers and “materialism” takes over.

On May 6, on Rudaw’s Facebook page, a picture was posted of a pair of shoes for sale at an Erbil shop. They were made of alligator skin and had a price tag of just under $15,000. The picture came with the question, “Are we witnessing the emergence of an elitist society?”

In a recent Al Jazeera article, it was quoted that the 200 richest people on earth have more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion (around half the earth’s population). That 200 people can own so much of the world’s wealth clearly shows that we do live in an elitist society. Although this may be a morally repugnant statistic when so many are dying of hunger, the questions should be: Is it okay, is it earned and is there a limit?

There is no published wealth inequality data in Kurdistan or Iraq, but it is safe to say that there are more expensive shopping malls selling pricey luxuries, trying to entice shoppers to spend as much money as possible. It is also safe to say that there are a great deal of people living below the poverty line, begging on the streets, children working and adults laboring for very little wage.

Previously closed off to the world, Kurdistan is now the proud owner of the biggest import that the West has to offer: “Materialism.” What little statistical data exist on household expenditure in Kurdistan come from the latest (and only) published “Iraq Household and Socio Economic Survey 2007,” published on the Kurdistan Statistical Office’s website.

This survey found that in Kurdistan people spend 7.2 percent of their income on clothes and footwear. Whilst this doesn’t sound like much, we should look to other countries for comparative figures. In 2008, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) conducted a similar survey and found that in the UK and Germany people spent 5 percent of their income on clothes and footwear, in France and the USA it was 4 percent, whilst in Italy – the home of designer goods – it was 8 percent.  So, in Kurdistan we spend almost as much on clothes as they do in Italy!

As Kurdistan is opened up to world markets, and as a consequence to consumerism and materialism, it is inevitable that people want the latest gadgets, fanciest clothes and newest cars. And it is inevitable that a few people in Kurdistan will become unbelievably rich. They are free to do with that money what they wish, be it giving it away to the poor or spending an average person’s two-year income on a pair of shoes.

However, my previous questions remain unanswered: Is it okay, is it earned and is there a limit? To add to that, is it right that someone can justify spending $15,000 on a pair of alligator skin shoes?

I have my own answers to these questions. But like anywhere else, these are questions for Kurdish society to ask and for the political and economic elite to answer.

* The author is a PhD candidate at Cardiff University in the UK, conducting research into 'The Transition of Kurdish Identity in Post Saddam Hussein Iraq'.