Are we really responsible for domestic productions? When it comes to choose between buying Iranian and foreign goods, do we have to think about things beyond “demand and quality and family’s economy” and such things? Do things like social commitment have to enter the field and make the domestic purchase pan heavier? Many domestic factories have been closed and their workers have lost their jobs.

Many venders you see along the street or many people who carry passengers in their private cars used to be technicians, workers, technical men, something and were working in a factory for 8 or 9 hours a day. But as their production had no market for some reasons, or it did have a market but lost it gradually, the production had to be given up inevitably and these people scattered and are doing other business to live. Some factories around Tehran have changed their function and turned their green space and working-official space and production line to wedding salon with shiny strings and apparent razzle-dazzle. The workers who had worked with tools and factory’s equipments have been dressed with party cloths and have been installed as waiters and hosts. The worker who used to work with hammer and anvil and press and turning machine and casting and such things and the technicians that used to work with technical tools are now bend before guest with tray to provide tee and cookie and juice. This story turns more painful when we understand that many producers have turned to be middlemen inevitably and has lessen their table around which some people used to sit down and use and has reduced it to an importing company. The story doesn’t end here.

Capitals which should have entered the production and create occupation and move the industry’s wheels and reduce the joblessness rate and eliminate many other social problems have been invested in other places. Capitals which could boom the production are booming other countries or catch profit of being idle. Closing the production has calamities which shouldn’t be limited to these workers’ joblessness and economy slackening. We have many social problems here which will be enlarged by turning off the production’s light and become powerful and enchain people. It is not an intricate and hidden issue that if production and investing in production get boomed, joblessness will be minimalized and many familial problems reach the society will be removed spontaneously. Joblessness is the mother of problems. If we track the root of addiction, divorce, violence and many corruptions we will reach the joblessness and living condition’s problems. Additionally, young and educated and fresh forces are on the way and are ready to work and make the industry’s and economy’s wheels move. What will happen to them if they face factories’ closed doors and what should they do if they don’t manage to find a useful and proper job for themselves? These questions are serious and shouldn’t be ignored easily. Whenever we go shopping and wonder whether to buy Iranian goods or foreign goods we should think about all of these questions. These basic questions can change our habits and thoughts and even our lifestyle.

It is good to set up a national campaign for booming the production. It is good to stir people up but we should avoid poetry. Production closing is absolutely painful but instead of grieving we should decide, Asked Imam Ali (PBUH) for help and do a revolutionary and God-pleasing action. We can do nothing with elegy although with right kindling the national emotions we can improve the production condition to some extent. By using artistic and cultural tools and utilizing all the cultural power we have in the society we can motivate the national proud and shake the national patriotism and turn this to a fundamental issue that anybody who ignores the domestic goods and buy foreign goods because of national advertisement is hitting the production’s body and is responsible for joblessness of his neighbors and brothers and sisters.

We are responsible for making the society good or bad and all of our behavior and words influence the society directly and  indirectly. When we neglect Iranian goods because of fake and unscientific and unrealistic reasons and buy foreign goods, we should consider its consequences and get ready for its dangerous backwashes. The issue of supporting Iranian qualified good must become so pervasive that people get agony when they want to buy foreign goods and believe that one simple purchase can lead to many consequences for not only their compatriots but for themselves and their children.  I don’t want to create a new concern for people and add it to people’s concerns and make a new trouble for them. Not at all. But the concern of booming the production and words of “O’ Iranian, buy Iranian stuff” should be turned to a main concern without governmental orders and prohibitions and fully public and spontaneously and pervasively although this concerns doesn’t get shaped in vacuum and shouldn’t be a show.

We shouldn’t be deceived by our slogans to the extend we forget the new world’s facts. The requirements of the new world are as important as booming the production and supporting Iranian qualified goods. However, the production should be organized in first place to ensure the goods quality. The bad good shouldn’t be sold by emotions and patriotism which itself is contrary to the intention. We should first produce high-grade goods so that the consumer gets attracted and comes to the market and buys our goods. For example: There is a washing machine in the market made by foreigners and has years of credit. Right or wrong it has turned to a public thought that these brands are unique and won’t break down. They work well and serve the family’s economy. There is a made in Iran good in competing with this foreign brand which can’t compete for any reason.  It is behind its foreign rival whether in price or quality or branding and can’t find customers for itself as many as required. Now no spurious word should be spoken and no irrational recommendation should be given. We shouldn’t lie to people but they must be shown clearly and well that what is about to happen and how we can raise the quality of Iranian good as much as the foreign one and amend its psychological and advertising issues and empty the minds from all of these unrealistic and advertising assumptions. We should not be trapped in the egg and hen continuum and say that we should improve the market first so that the good get improved itself or we should make a desirable good first and then the market will be improved automatically. These two must happen simultaneously rather than priorize one. Actually we should persuade the consumer from the correct and rational way that what consequences his foreign purchase have and what his domestic purchase have. In other words, Does the Iranian good have to show itself in a free rivalry or by order and begging and stimulating the patriotism?

People may set up a campaign because of their grandees’ orders and prohibitions or their artists’ recommendation and accept to buy Iranian goods. Maybe we can defeat foreign opponents by stimulating the emotions. But we will reach nowhere just by this. We should learn from our history. We will achieve nothing just by advertisement and slogan and campaign and emotions although these preliminary actions are very necessary and important. Take vehicle and its records. The domestic car had no rivals in almost 4 previous decades and dominated the domestic market. Now that there is the opportunity of buying foreign cars, domestic producers have the market. But have the situation of our automobile manufacturing improved?  Have we managed to organize the economy of automobile when we had the chance? If importing not only Chinese goods but any good form any where get banned right now, will prosperity return to the production and industry and economy? One more question: You produce the good x with the price of N Tomans. People buy it with pleasure or reluctance. But everyone knows that Koreans or Japaneses produce this good with a better quality and price lower than B Tomans and are ready to sell it to us with special discount. Is it rational to buy it or not to buy it? The today’s world has its own demands. We can’t close the doors to many things. If you close the door they will enter from the window. Industrial ad economic relations are in such a way that we can’t separate domestic and foreign production. But some other occasions have been emerged meanwhile that can change the market for the benefit of the country. There is a national topic in it and an international topic. The international issue is the very thing that is called knowledge-based economy. The knowledge-based economy can change our position in competitive economy. Here we don’t need to compete with foreign producers but we can produce products or supply services that are solely belong to us by relying in knowledge-based. The knowledge-based economy will lift us from a weak and little rival to a top economic position in the condition that firstly we understand it well and then coordinate other scientific and economic organizations with the concept of the knowledge-based.

The second issue which has Iranian and Islamic and revolutionary support is the issue of resistive economy. With the lessons of resistance we can avoid luxury and reinforce the scientific and economic stamina of the country in such a way that it can minimalize the negative consequences of import and make the domestic production amazingly strong. We have talked about this previously elaborately. It is enough to follow the successful experiences of these 36-37 years seriously to remove the latency, God willingly. So the concept of made in Iran shouldn’t be turned to unreal slogans and hitch them to elegy but if the made in Iran incorporates with two concepts of knowledge-based and resistive, then its effects would be increased.

*Parviz Karami

Secretary of the knowledge-based science, technology and economy culture development headquarter