Egypt as a Democratic Socialist State

The constitution of 1971, with minor modification in

1980, declares Egypt to be a "democratic socialist

state," with direct control over agricultural prices, rent,

trade, foreign travel, corporate administration, production,

distribution, and a variety of public policies. Particularly in the programs of public health and education, such governmental control has had definite positive effects on quality of life, despite the fact that the programs are administered through "bloated and grossly inefficient state industries, venal bureaucracy, and overburdened services."

These improvements in health and education are undeniable. Since the 1960s, steadily increasing expenditures on public health programs have resulted in higher av

. . .
eets and massing at intervals like an audience at a colossal traffic accident." Unfortunately, both the climbing population and increasing administrative work force (often fed by rural villagers, who migrate to the city) have led to grave shortages in urban housing. Moreover, even with governmental guarantee of job placement, the majority of the population earns very low incomes; and the burden of direct taxation falls on the few rich. Such a system is not particularly stable. Even by the early 1970s, the Egyptian government realized its plight and lobbied for more foreign investment. Originally, it received aid from various Arab states; then, following the 1979 treaty with Israel, Arab aid was suspended. In an attempted substitution, Japanese and Western corporations were lured, with marginal effects on improving the floundering Egyptian economy. Curiously, it was the Gulf war in the early 1990s which assisted in the rebounding of economy; as pointed out in The Economist, "the dispatch of 35,000 Egyptians to fight in the anti-Saddam alliance . . . miraculously released Egypt from economic disaster." Before the war, "Egypt had built up a foreign debt of $50 billion . . . and was $10 billion behind in its payments
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Fundamentalism Islam, Curiously Gulf, Advances Egyptian, Japanese Western, Israel Arab, Sadam Economist, quality life, arab world, public health, birth control, Bruno Leone, health education, democratic socialist, contemporary egypt, Milson Menahem, Greenhaven Press, secular religious affairs, improvement quality, press 1984, improvement quality life, islamicist movement, public health education, increase public services,
Approximate Word count = 1406
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Egypt as a Democratic Socialist State