The Missing Comma and the Collapse of Society

“Thank God” serves as the opening line in conversations within our society, which is widely regarded as devout. Although it is mostly an expression used in everyday situations, for those involved in the small-scale economy—such as shopkeepers and farmers—the phrase that follows “thank God” serves as a clear indicator of their economic situation.

– Thank God, we’re getting by–
Thank God, things are
going well for us– Thank God, things are looking up

This pattern has changed over the past two years: the comma has disappeared, and a period has been added as a pause following the expression of gratitude. Just as the period in literature signifies a pause, this period—which has replaced the comma—also signifies a lull in economic activity.

– Thank goodness. But business is slow, and we’re struggling…

The root of this change in a society with an administrative culture is not merely a minor problem. It is the result of a major collapse.

The economic downturn that began in mid-2012 has long since reached a point of no return, and for the past two years we have been experiencing a state of exhaustion. We are in a period where producers, intermediaries, and consumers alike have gone bankrupt. It’s not just an economic issue; the damage caused by the “missing comma” in society means the cost of social collapse is far higher.

Despair drives people to cling to the faintest of hopes, and they end up losing even more. Gambling has reached terrifying proportions. The financial figures clearly demonstrate this; let’s take a look at the situation through these numbers.

The figures below show the overseas credit card spending of users in Turkey during the first quarter of 2017 (BKM Data).
United Kingdom: 504 million TL
United States: 260 million TL

Card spending
in the UK: January 152 million TL
, February 158 million TL
, March 194 million TL

These figures do not represent the volume of trade or everyday spending; the vast majority of this money is funneled into gambling. And the amount is steadily increasing—the difference between January and March was 42 million TL. In just a three-month period, 504 million TL flowed to the United Kingdom alone.

According to MASAK data, 5 million people place 50 billion TL in illegal bets each year, and there is an equal amount in legal betting.

But that’s not all—dead-ends and hopelessness also trigger people’s potential for evil. Practices such as fraud and pickpocketing, as well as the envy among merchants, have reached painful proportions.

In September, law enforcement carried out a large-scale operation to prevent this.

It’s impossible to stop this through bans or crackdowns. We need to go back to the beginning—the root cause is a missing comma. Like small business owners who’ve been struggling for a long time, economies and people are desperately searching for an easy way out and turning to gambling. From the farmer in the village to the neighborhood grocer to the minimum-wage worker… Everyone is clinging to the faintest hope, and they’re all losing—we’re all losing. The middle class is losing its assets, and the propertyless are falling into an even more dire situation.

Nor is there any effort on the part of the government to prevent decay. Without a vision—and without a policy integrated with the world—there can naturally be no vision to improve society. Although the economy is a financial matter, it requires culture; we find ourselves in the abyss driven by a government led by degenerate individuals who are disconnected from the civilized world, their own society, and the culture of the state.

If we add to this economic decay the fact that those in power are dividing society, Hermann Broch’s statement that “the evil lying deep within the masses known as ‘the people,’ existing as a latent force…” suggests that an even bleaker future awaits us.

So what are we going to do—surrender to pessimism? I don’t believe any answer other than the one the individual finds within themselves can be realistic.

My answer to myself comes from Yaşar Kemal: “A person dies the day their dreams die.”