This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed "Reducing micro frictions" carried by the newspaper last Sunday. The writer, Ali Khizar, has concluded his argument by advocating that "such councils should have social scientists and philosophers in addition to economists. The solution is in social engineering - changing the mindset of people. No one has a clear path on how to proceed; but it is a friction at macro level; and governments at all level, should work on reducing the trust deficit, and improving the moral of employees, employers and more importantly the youth."

His argument makes greater sense because of a variety of reasons. Philosophy, I believe, has clear dominance over all other disciplines. In simple words, philosophy means a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour and policymaking. Changing the mindset of people is no easy job; it is almost impossible in a society in which most people refuse to learn new things.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019