A Luxurious Cesspool

Dear Writer,

Cheap liquidity,rising property prices and increased globalization has helped many Pakistanis. Similar phenomena can be found in other third world countries endowed with resources, liberalized economies and the most common denominator ie cheap liquidity.

Very interesting article. You sum up with:

"The distance between the economic classes is getting stronger and stronger, contributing to the moral and social devastation of our society."

But on which side of the economic divide do you stand? I'm curious. Its a hop, skip and a jump to assume that the spread of luxury outlets is directly correlated to the poverty gap. Are these merchants really contributing to moral and social devastation? As businessmen they're more likely fulfilling an existing market need, not creating it. The combined marketing budgets of industry titans like LVMH and Ralph Lauren likely exceed the GDP of Pakistan, they don't need a leg up from our local merchants.

Which seems to be what seethes beneath the surface of your article. How dare some people be able to afford monthly outings at Tiffany's when other people are struggling to put food in their mouths. Right? But what's the correlation?

I don't disagree that the sight of someone driving a luxury car (though none costing billions I assure you) on our shattered roads alongside six motorcycles, a rickshaw, a cab from the 60's, a Toyota Corolla and a donkey is comical. The sight of armed guards protecting ordinary citizens (including some of my friends) instense yet oddly comforting. If anything this for me is the culture of Karachi, its been like that since I've been around. Why knock it?

Javaria,

wonderfully expressed. I agree with you. Let us all get rid of our Mercedes Benzes and BMWs and buy hybrid suvs.

There is not time like today, especially in the midst of the christmas spendathon, to realize the futility of all this consumerism!

Reverend Billy has our back. Check out the documentary "What would Jesus buy" in which Reverend Billy talks about the Shopaclypse and urges people not to buy. I guess an equivalent "What would Mohammad (PBUH) buy"? Would not be that successful in Pakistan...