24.11.2011
Lukashenko: Scientists should be more helpful to the state
MINSK, 24 November (BelTA) – Scientists are not helpful enough to the state and fail to provide good advice to top officials when it comes to difficult and unexpected situations, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with the scientific community of Belarus on 24 November, BelTA has learnt.
“Unfortunately, research in economic disciplines, social sciences and humanities remains scholastic, to put it mildly. The independent Belarus is choosing its socioeconomic development strategy empirically. The science stays away from it. Therefore, in difficult situations it fails to give good advice to our top managers who cannot think of anything else, but blindly copy somebody else’s disastrous schemes, like “shock therapy” trying to present it as a new, market strategy,” the President said.
“Why cannot Belarus become a leading producer of high-tech products? It has an extensive scientific infrastructure, stable government subsidies, and an army of academicians, doctors and candidates of science. Why cannot you work like your counterparts in China, Korea or India, due to whom these countries are making great progress leaving behind the “old” Europe and the United States?” Alexander Lukashenko said. The President suggested analyzing what is wrong: are scientists focusing on wrong things or just unable and unwilling to promote useful solutions and make good money on it.
According to the head of state, any economic and social change is necessarily based on a clear, balanced, scientifically sound strategy. The President believes that scientists should be one step ahead of the whole society, and the development of such a strategy is one of the priority tasks of social scientists and humanitarians, with which they have yet to cope.
Alexander Lukashenko stressed that in the modern era no economy, no state can develop without science, without scientists. “I therefore ask you a question: are you ready to address the challenges facing the state and society. This is not only about the panic we are having now, lack of money, a foreign trade deficit. These challenges are not big and they will be resolved,” the President said. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the question is much bigger: whether our state will remain on the map.
“Let us take the Eurasian Union for example. What are we going to do, how will we be doing it? I have not heard a word from our scientists on this project,” the President said.
“Today we are deciding how to live, whether we add 0.5% or 5.5% in GDP next year. Our scientific community keeps silent on this mater,” the President said.
He stressed that half of lawmakers have scientific degrees. “There is a question: when will you start working for the state?” the President addressed the meeting participants.
“Unfortunately, research in economic disciplines, social sciences and humanities remains scholastic, to put it mildly. The independent Belarus is choosing its socioeconomic development strategy empirically. The science stays away from it. Therefore, in difficult situations it fails to give good advice to our top managers who cannot think of anything else, but blindly copy somebody else’s disastrous schemes, like “shock therapy” trying to present it as a new, market strategy,” the President said.
“Why cannot Belarus become a leading producer of high-tech products? It has an extensive scientific infrastructure, stable government subsidies, and an army of academicians, doctors and candidates of science. Why cannot you work like your counterparts in China, Korea or India, due to whom these countries are making great progress leaving behind the “old” Europe and the United States?” Alexander Lukashenko said. The President suggested analyzing what is wrong: are scientists focusing on wrong things or just unable and unwilling to promote useful solutions and make good money on it.
According to the head of state, any economic and social change is necessarily based on a clear, balanced, scientifically sound strategy. The President believes that scientists should be one step ahead of the whole society, and the development of such a strategy is one of the priority tasks of social scientists and humanitarians, with which they have yet to cope.
Alexander Lukashenko stressed that in the modern era no economy, no state can develop without science, without scientists. “I therefore ask you a question: are you ready to address the challenges facing the state and society. This is not only about the panic we are having now, lack of money, a foreign trade deficit. These challenges are not big and they will be resolved,” the President said. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the question is much bigger: whether our state will remain on the map.
“Let us take the Eurasian Union for example. What are we going to do, how will we be doing it? I have not heard a word from our scientists on this project,” the President said.
“Today we are deciding how to live, whether we add 0.5% or 5.5% in GDP next year. Our scientific community keeps silent on this mater,” the President said.
He stressed that half of lawmakers have scientific degrees. “There is a question: when will you start working for the state?” the President addressed the meeting participants.