2 - Imprudent Economic and Financial Policies (1966)

Summary

Introductory Note: Two important events took place in early January 1966: Huge student rallies to protest the government's attitude toward a recent coup known as the G30S/PKI and a week-long seminar organized by the Indonesian Students Action Front (KAMI) of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia (FEUI), a group that opposes the existing government's economic and financial policies. The packed seminar featured speakers from University of Indonesia (UI), as well as from outside the university. Among the UI speakers were Professor Sumantri Brodjonegoro (UI Rector), Professor Moh. Sadli, Professor Subroto, Professor Ali Wardhana, Professor Emil Salim and myself (all from FEUI). Proceedings from the seminar were published into a book titled “The Leader, the Man and the Gun” inspired by the title of the presentation made by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX in the seminar.

P.A. Baran, a well-known Marxist, pointed out the difference between an “intellectual worker” and an “intellectual” in his article entitled: “The Commitment of the Intellectual”. The first one employs his intellect and his brain in the way a “manual worker” utilizes his hands. In other words, an “intellectual worker” is a craftsman whose strength and skills lie in his brain power, not his muscle or the agility of his hands. The skill of a soldering worker, for example, is put to a test when he plugs holes in a pan or a cooking pot, for which he is paid for. He is not asking, nor does he care about, what the pan or the cooking pot is used for; closing the holes is all he cares about. Similarly, all an “intellectual worker” does is “sell his brain”. He does not care about the impact of the use of his brain. An “intellectual worker”, according to Baran — in C.P. Snow's words — has the attitude that:

“… we produce the tools. We stop there. It is for you, the rest of the world, the politicians, to say how the tools are used. The tools may be used for purposes which most of us would regard as bad. If so, we are sorry. But, as scientists, this is no concern of ours.”