We should take care that the resistive economy doesn’t turn to slogans and formality. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy system of the country is susceptible to turn the valuable and high and destiny-maker concepts to official activities and minimizes its effectiveness. We have already experienced that important and vital solutions changed to compliment and formality and didn’t get executed as much as they should have. We should learn from previous mistakes and don’t repeat them. The resistive economy is unequivocally the best prescription that can be made up for the weak and troubled economy of the country. What the Supreme Leader said in his Nowruz message was the result of a lot of researches and wide studies prepared by social and economic elites in the form of a pervasive project. For making progress and development and relieving from serious and dangerous problems, we have no choice but the resistive economy. Even the knowledge-based economy is defined in the heart of this resistance and self-reliance. If we take a look at the special economic, social and political conditions of Islamic Republic during its 4^th decade of establishment we see that the “Resistance” is not a solution but a necessity and we have no choice but following its customs. Some customs of resistance will be accounted in this note. But it is necessary to say this note beforehand that theoretical discussion on resistance economy doesn’t mean falling away from action. Actually, by accounting all aspects and explaining the concepts of the resistive economy we will manage to get closer to action and will make the resistance atmosphere dominant in the country as soon as possible, God Willingly.

One. One of the resistance’s manifestations is military defense. It is not odd that the holy defense mood is associated when we talk about resistance. We have been through one of the hardest and most expensive wars of the 20^th century after the world war. We had been being in war situation for 8 years and got used to its situation. We did a very important and amazing job during the holy defense. Our war was not only our fighting with Ba’ath party of Iraq and Saddam’s soldiers but also it was the Iranian Muslim Revolutionaries’ battle with the hegemonic system people. We fought with a world and thank God, we were victorious. Then, military fight was of great importance but all of our defense wasn’t just military defense. Spirit of sacrifice, patience, contentment, brotherhood, sympathy, companionship, tolerance, compromise, humbleness, fighting with the ego, serving others, obeying sedulous commanders, compassion for the country, respecting Islamic and human goals and so one were valuable habits accepted by the majority of people not only as public duties but also as religious tasks. We don’t need to refuge to uniforms and dirty boots and weapons and shelter for resistive economy. Indeed, many military customs are like symbols which should be alive to remind us those days. But the important issue is saving and resurrecting those habits ignored after the war, unfortunately. We shouldn’t have exchanged those sympathy and brotherhood and benevolence and empathy of those days with worldliness and wealth contest and luxury-seeking but unfortunately an accident happened that vale became interesting for many of us gradually and we took distance from those valuable habits. What allocated in resistive economy is not returning to military and defensive conditions but returning to all values that can be known as our Iranian-Islamic identity. It doesn’t fit our Islamic values and revolutionary goals that we get renown for worldliness while poverty is intense in our country and social gap increases and people hate each other. It is not proper to any value system related to our history and geography that we not be kind with each other and not wants good for each other and not help each other and show off our little properties. Returning to the resistance concepts is in fact returning to all values that can distinguish Iranian nation in the world from other nations with goodness and righteousness and moderation and fighting with cruelty and defending oppressed people.

Two. The worst virus spread among believers and revolutionaries by the Demon is the virus of luxury. Luxury not only abducts us from the reality but also creates other bad habits within the human’s heart. Beauty and respecting others are different from luxury. The first thing that has to get eradicated in the shadow of resistance is the luxury of selfishness and egotism and wasting. We know that Islam’s spirit is not compatible with luxury. That was this very luxury that abducted many high-ranking companions of Prophet (PBUH) from the reality of the religion and bewilder them in the world of materials. Unfortunately, we have bureaucrative luxury as well. It means that some aristocratic habits have influenced our bureaucratic system which caused our official levels to catch egotism. During the holy defense days, no one was allowed to consider themselves as the only pebble on the beach and has special facilities. The beauty of 60s was that there was no difference between the soldier and the commander and the boss and the subordinate were alike. Of course official grades and organizational hierarchy shouldn’t be put aside but we should continuously reminding ourselves that no one is higher than others just because of world’s credit.

Three. Kingdom. Both Islam and revolution can put up with kingdom. Islam has caught misery and trouble since caliphs named themselves kings and thought that they owned the world and were allowed to get anything. Kingdom and luxury are of same kind. To Imam Ali’s term, what made the religion’s skin became reverse was this that being caliph was gradually turned to being king and kings thought that they should answer to no one. If Abu Dahr al-Ghifari was exiled to al-Rabadha was because he was asking the caliph and wanted him to explain about his assignments and works. In charge means someone who is asked. In charge means someone who is interpellated by people and has to explain about what he had done. Unfortunately, this concept was destroyed by taking distance from the holy defense atmosphere and 60s and we reach a point that asking has price. If you remember the war times, commanders were ashamed of calling themselves commander. They even didn’t write “commandership headquarters” on shelters but wrote “Hossein, Commandership is yours”. We should reobtain that humbleness and refuge to those sincerity and humbleness. The treasury mustn’t be spent by personal decision. There must be strictness and legal meters and criteria must be respected. So from this point of view, returning to resistance may be returning to legal strictness,

Four. Contentment. Shamefully I have to report that wasting is way too much in our country and many facilities and properties are being lavished. Not only we mustn’t lavish the treasury but also we should protect all of the country’s facilities and properties from getting damaged or destroyed. It is of high important that we reach patterns that food materials not get thrown away, money, time and human assets shouldn’t be wasted. We are inhabited in a same ship in which no one can have conceit and waste his properties carelessly. It was said in past: “It is my own money. I want to make egg and throw it to wall”. No. No one has his own money in this term. There are just pawns which should be regarded and protected for next generations. Governmental wasting is obscene. It is obscene in private sector as well. We should plan in such a way that even a morsel of bread doesn’t get thrown away, let alone the country’s valuable facilities. The previous generations have given us some things as loan that we should transfer them to next generations. This carelessness in using energy is dangerous and causes us to deliver an empty country with no facilities and no assets to the next generations. Natural environment, natural facilities, minerals, human assets, money, time and thousands of valuable things have been given to us by God to use them as well as possible and then give them to the next generations. This is possible just through resistance.

Five. Labor and Efficiency. We should be ashamed if the amount of labor in Islamic Republic be at its least amount according to official reports. We should be ashamed if in Islamic and Iranian culture, some people don’t pay attention to labor and some groups dodge their duty whenever they manage to. We should remember the holy defense time during which everyone worked as much as they could and never cast favor in anyone’s teeth. Now we should work and be efficient. The fact is that the country needs labor and there are many undone jobs. We need a firm will to roll up our sleeves and work manly and remove the obstacles of growth and progress from our way. Just look at our martyr brothers’ pictures to remind ourselves: labor and labor and labor. Idleness and laziness have no relation with the resistance. Easy gain has no relation with the resistance as well. Absolutely, there is no one these days that receives wage without any work. Wage is given for labor and we have to resurrect the labor atmosphere within the country. Teachers have to work, workers have to work, engineers and artists and scientist and everybody must feel an open and comfortable space in which they work and raise their efficiency and their work must be awarded.

Six. Self-Reliance. Interacting with the world and economic relations with other people are something, dependency on the world is something else. We owe our country and have to pay our debt to it by regarding the domestic production. Iranian people must respect Iranian production rather than consider it as a shame. We need urgent need to cultural work here which firstly prepare the base of enhancing the quality of Iranian products and secondly propagate the use of domestic production as a value. Unfortunately, we are now one of the world biggest consumers and many economic powers look at us as a very good and potential market. Consumptionism has become prevalence like plague and makes everyone believe that they should consume non-Iranian products. There is the issue of advantage but we have no other choice but increase our production and use it. What made us not surrender to strange powers during the holy defense was this that we managed to rely on ourselves and produced many equipment’s needed for war and life ourselves with the best quality. We should resurrect that mood again.

Seven. Knowledge-Based. The knowledge-based economy is a new term but in fact it is compatible with the resistive economy very much. We should earn wealth from knowledge not from selling minerals and raw materials. Professional discussions are needed on this which will be provided to you soon.

Eight. Government and Nation.  During the holy defense, government and nation wasn’t separated but were compatible in many fields. This compatibility was to the extent that in many cases the nation didn’t wait for the government to do something but they rolled up their sleeves and did their duty prior to it. Now, the meaning of government and nation’s sympathy emphasized on by the Supreme Leader is that the government and the nation have to become one. There is something else. People have to look after each other and solve each other’s problems. Actually, donation and alms tax and khums are manifestations of brotherhood so that poor people don’t feel loneliness and know that their brothers look after them.

Nine and Ten. Resistance, Resistance, Resistance…Endurance and effort and firm will and patience and tolerance and affiance and perseverance and gaiety and exuberance and placidity and intimacy and hop and such things are hidden in resistance. We should equip ourselves with these features to become a nation that accept their commander and renew their promise with Imam and martyrs. Obeying the commander is not just by words. The work is done by practice than by speech. If we think about proud and excellence of our country and want to have a share in it, this the way that consider the resistive economy and step through it. God Willingly.

*Parviz Karami

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