Society & Politics

How do you interpret the increasing prevalence in society and in the country of the very opposite of what Erdoğan, who governs Türkiye, criticizes?

How do you interpret the increasing prevalence in society and in the country of the very opposite of what Erdoğan, who governs Türkiye, criticizes?

Before his time in office, Erdoğan criticized the use of alcohol and tobacco among the Turkish people. He would even reach into the pockets of voters who supported him, pull out their cigarette packs, and scold them, asking, 'How can you smoke this?' He shut down factories that produced alcoholic beverages and sold them to foreign companies.

Today, although Turkey has more grape varieties than all of Europe, it produces far less wine than countries like Italy, France, and Greece. Wine is one of the most widely consumed and historically ancient beverages in the world. It is also an imperial drink — a staple at emperors’ tables — and is considered sacred in the Christian world.

Given its geographical location, Turkey has hosted the Roman, Byzantine, Hellenic, and Ottoman empires and carries their historical legacy. Yet, due to Erdoğan’s closure and sale of alcohol factories, Turkey has failed to develop globally recognized wine brands. Even Iran, a country governed by Sharia law, is among the producers of wine.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan — who cannot tolerate even alcohol or cigarettes — has presided over a country that has become a major transit route in the global drug trade. Millions of impoverished people in Turkey have become addicted to synthetic drugs."

In the old Turkey, relationships between men and women were more liberal, but in Erdoğan’s country — where he has tried to separate men and women from social life — men and women now engage in sexual activity openly on beaches and by the seaside. Erdoğan sought to make the Turkish family structure more conservative.

Before Erdoğan came to power in 2002, Turkey’s fertility rate was 2.28. As he continued with such rhetoric during his rule, the birth rate began to decline and has now dropped to 1.51. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the divorce rate has surpassed the marriage rate.

Updates
9 mo
Today, no young Turkish men or women of marriageable age are getting married or having children. Out of the 30 million people in Turkey between the ages of 18 and 45, 19 million have never been married.
How do you interpret the increasing prevalence in society and in the country of the very opposite of what Erdoğan, who governs Türkiye, criticizes?
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