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But even questions of fairness are dwarfed by the angst that will attend the truly invasive societal changes contemplated for New Kuwait. If there is a consensus among Kuwaitis about anything, it is this: despite its vast wealth, Kuwait's society was sick, and not merely because of democratic failings or the poor treatment of expatriates. "At bottom," says Hasan al-Ebraheem, the former Education Minister, "much was rotted."
Harsh as it may seem, al-Ebraheem's assessment is common. Across the ideological spectrum -- from those who regularly opposed the ruling elite's every move to some of the elite's most prominent members -- the echo startles. "Ours was a culture of dependency," says Tareq al-Suwaidan, a leader of the opposition Islamic Trend movement. "We were the pampered product of an affluent society taken to the nth degree," says Minister of Planning Sulaiman Mutawa. "Everywhere," remarks Ali Jaber al-Sabah, a KPC managing director, "there was the spirit of ba'dain, of 'tomorrow.' Any real change was put off. 'Why bother?' people would say. 'We're making money, the country as a company is making a good return. We'll decide the hard things tomorrow.' But of course tomorrow never came."
"Most Kuwaitis were spoiled beyond imagination," says Saud Nasser al- Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the U.S. Except at KPC and the investment office, lean and mean because they were (and still are) the lifeblood of the country, merit counted for nothing. "There was no accountability," says Khalifa, "because government employees were promoted automatically. It was impossible to fire civil servants. Several years ago the parliament passed an amazing law. In effect, it said that if someone was performing poorly, he would have been fired. But, says this law, since he was not fired, then by definition he was performing well, and that, in turn, means that he is entitled to a pay raise, if not a promotion, on a regular basis."
A long-overdue merit system will probably take shape in New Kuwait. But many of those who supported such a move when it was only a theory may recoil when faced with it in reality. Many will also be upset by a shrinkage in the welfare state's blanket coverage. Modest steps were already in place before August. Budgetary constraints alone will justify further cutbacks -- and many would-be recipients will be furious.
Education in Kuwait will change too. "Today," says Ali Jaber, whose view is typical, "people go for the sheepskin, not for the knowledge. With employment assured, there is no need to actually learn anything if you are not self-motivated." Performance and accountability "are only the beginning of the new discipline we are going to have to inject into our school system," says Hasan al-Ebraheem. "We have to break up the university, create elite centers of training in specific skills like banking and business, and then we have to encourage those who cannot make it in those places to accept vocational training."