On the Occasion of the Price Storm: Let’s Talk About Civil Liberties

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The economic impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine began even before the Russian forces moved towards their targets. The prices of wheat and grains surged, energy prices doubled, and as the Russian military operations evolved into a war with an unpredictable temporal and geographical scope, the crisis worsened and expanded. This crisis has resulted in a storm of price hikes, adding to the aftermath of the pandemic, whose effects have yet to dissipate.

In Egypt, the effects of the crisis were swift, unlike the delayed impact of recovery. Under the pretext of the crisis caused by the war in Eastern Europe, the prices of all goods and services, whether connected to the crisis or not, have risen. The inflation extended to the simplest of goods, starting with the unsubsidized loaf of bread, amidst prior governmental statements about the inevitability of raising subsidized bread prices. This inflation has reached all essential food items such as rice, sugar, oil, and medicine, and subsequently includes all goods and services, turning daily life for people experiencing poverty and even the middle classes into a nightmare.

Despite the crisis impacting Egypt, the situation is just beginning, as the second week of the war has not yet concluded, and no one knows how many more weeks will pass before the war ends. Nonetheless, price hikes began before the direct impact of the crisis arrived, as the available stock of goods, which had not yet been affected by the war’s prices, meant that the wave of inflation was in its early stages. With the rising prices of wheat, fuel, imports, and production necessities, the wave will intensify, especially with the advent of Ramadan.

Does talking about civil and political liberties seem appropriate amidst the crisis?
Yes, this dire crisis seems appropriate for discussing political and civil liberties and is also the most suitable.

In response to demands for freedoms and political rights, the government has always raised the slogan of the “comprehensive concept of human rights,” in which the regime places a dignified life, health, education, and food in opposition to freedom of opinion, expression, and political liberties.
The truth is that this trade-off has always meant losing both economic and social rights and political and civil liberties. With the war crisis and its economic effects, society appears exposed in a way that exacerbates the crisis’s impact and eradicates any ability to confront it.

It is by no means possible to hold the government responsible for the crisis, as the outbreak of war and the consequent rise in global prices are controlled by major powers. However, there are two issues from which the government cannot be absolved.

Firstly, the government’s official policy over the years, which has relied on the state abandoning its social responsibilities by eliminating subsidies and subjecting life’s essentials to market laws, has made the local market more sensitive to any fluctuations in the market.

Secondly, the policy of the iron fist and the prohibition of all forms of public work and any collective activity, whether political, union-related, or even humanitarian, and the absolute control over the media has left society devoid of any tools to resist crises and mitigate their effects.
The government did not create the crisis, but distributing the effect according to the capabilities of different classes, meaning not placing the entire burden on the poor classes who have no tools to mitigate its effects, is certainly the government’s responsibility.

Here, political and civil liberties appear closely related to the price storm we are experiencing today. The effects of this crisis could be different if there were popular oversight tools over the markets and independent media not subject to authority, capable of discussing crisis management scenarios and possible alternatives without directives and prior instructions from the authorities. The crisis’s effects would differ in the presence of real political parties not controlled by the authority, capable of exercising their right to discuss the public budget spending priorities, and directing state capabilities to mitigate the crisis’s effects on the poor classes, and holding accountable those profiteering from the crisis.

The effects of the crisis would differ in the presence of unions not controlled by the state, capable of organizing workers to demand wage improvements to cope with inflation.

The current crisis confirms that political and civil liberties are not luxuries that can be dispensed with. Political parties, labor unions, student unions, agricultural unions, independent media, civil society organizations, and human rights organizations are society’s tools to confront crises. For the regime, removing these tools is a necessary precondition to stripping away all economic and social rights, as tying hands and gagging mouths is merely the essential step before taking the loaf of bread.