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The proposed shift in education policy will aid a radical transformation of Kuwait's economy. As oil is a nonrenewable resource, Kuwait's leaders are eager for their country to develop in new directions. "We can become the Route 128 of the Middle East," says Fawzi al-Sultan, referring to Boston's beltway dotted with high-tech managerial and consulting firms. "We can be the financial brains behind industrial enterprises in the rest of the gulf and in the Arab world at large. As our ancestors were often away as merchant traders, so large numbers of us can be working abroad in Kuwaiti-owned enterprises and for others. But only if we are properly trained."
Self-reliance, efficiency, a genuine work ethic: ambitious goals that defy dissent. But how can they triumph over ba'dain?
The centerpiece of New Kuwait, the key to everything its leaders envision, will be an unprecedented demographic make-over. As quickly as possible, Kuwait's population will be dramatically reduced, perhaps even halved. "How * do you get people to actually stop being lazy?" asks Ambassador Saud. "Why should anyone care about a real education, or making do with fewer handouts?" asks Hasan al-Ebraheem. The answer is that nothing will change unless everything changes. And the way for everything to change is to take a country that had more than 2 million people before August and recreate it with only 1 million. "The only way to exit the trap of dependency," says Tareq al- Suwaidan, the opposition leader, who wholeheartedly shares the planners' dreams of a new Kuwaiti demography, "is to make it impossible for people to be reliant on others. Most of those who have done the real work in the past will have to go. Then there will be no choice. The rest of us will have to do the hard work."
There are two ways to accomplish a cultural transformation of the magnitude contemplated. One is by governmental decree. The other is to let market forces play. While the goal is set -- if still unstated -- the manner of execution is not. Those planning for New Kuwait hope for fiat but are prepared for the slower course. "If, for example, the welfare system is cut back," says Fawzi al-Sultan, "if a person who has three servants, which is not unusual, suddenly has to pay the medical bills of those servants in place of the government, then that person is going to think twice about having three as help. So market forces can do the job. It takes more time, but it may be less risky politically."
Who exactly would be forced to leave New Kuwait, and who could stay or come? If foreign professionals are still needed, the preferred will be nationals of the countries that supported Kuwait against Iraq. Which means that the Palestinians once more in their history will lose out. "We were welcome at the beginning," says Khalid, a Palestinian who worked for the Kuwait municipality until 1988. "We worked hard to build their country" -- as Kuwait worked hard to support the Palestinian cause abroad.