Poverty is deepening in Turkey, but the rebellion is not growing. Because the system sells everyone a possibility, even if it does not offer justice.
“There can be no revolution here, because the poor think they are the next rich.”
It does not matter whether this quote belongs to John Steinbeck or not. In Turkey, this is no longer a quote; it is a way of life.
Millions in the country are struggling to make ends meet. Inflation is eroding salaries, rents are pushing people out of the city, young people are packing their plans for the future in suitcases. But despite all this, there is no mass rupture on the streets, no fundamental political rupture.
Because in this country, people are not given rights, they are given hope.
A SOCIETY THAT DOES NOT BELIEVE IN INJUSTICE
The problem in Turkey is not only inequality. The problem is that this inequality is not fully rejected by large sections of society.
Everybody complains about the practice, but nobody really wants it to end. This is because it is morally wrong, but in practice it is a tool that “might come in handy one day”. Therefore, the criticism is not directed at the system, but at the inability to access the system.
This is the greatest achievement of politics:
To transform people from citizens demanding justice into opportunistic individuals.
LANDLORD DREAM INSTEAD OF TENANT ANGER
The housing crisis is the clearest example of this.
Rents are rising uncontrollably. Young people cannot afford to live alone. Families are forced to downsize. But there is no collective demand for the “right to housing” against this.
Instead, this sentence is circulating:
“I'll wait a little longer and I'll buy some.”
That “a little more” is spread over years.
That “I'll take it too” often never materializes.
But this dream is enough to silently accept today's injustice.
HELP OR COMMITMENT?
Social assistance is also part of this system.
When aid is distributed on the basis of grace rather than rights, it becomes a means of establishing bonds rather than a guarantee. Citizens do not hold the state to account, but remain silent so that support is not withheld.
As long as this form of relationship persists, politics remains a top-down hierarchy, not a contract between equals.
OPPOSITION'S COMFORT ZONE
Part of the problem is the opposition.
Because most of the time it does not promise to overthrow this system, but to run it more smoothly. In other words, it does not say “torpil for everyone”, but it does say “you will be able to rise without torpil”.
But here's the thing:
Why does everyone have to be able to move up?
Why does everyone need to “rise” in order to live humanely?
As long as this question is not asked, politics only repackages and presents dreams.
WHEN IS THE BREAK?
History is clear: Big changes happen not because people become poor, but when they stop legitimizing their poverty.
Turkey has not yet crossed that threshold.
Because people don't see themselves as “losers”,
“as ”not yet won".
And this difference is not small; this is precisely what determines political destiny.
THE LAST WORD
It is not only the government that maintains order in this country.
There are millions who believe that one day that order will work for them too.
As long as that belief persists, even the deepest crises will find it difficult to shake the system.
Real change starts when people give up the dream of being “the next rich person”.
And perhaps the most difficult revolution,
that's exactly what it is.