By Dr. Ali Obeid
Communicating vessels is a term used to describe a system consisting of a main container connected to several tubes of different sizes and shapes, some narrow, some wide, and some winding or irregular.
When the main tank is filled with a liquid, we observe that the liquid level rises in all the connected tubes to reach one level, regardless of the shape, size, or position of the tube.
Just as connected vessels share a common liquid level, so too do organically linked entities influence one another. When dealing with any of them, this relationship must be taken into account.
Applying the concept of communicating vessels to Libya’s various sectors reveals a stark reality: the state of any sector reflects the condition of all others. In essence, a failing education system cannot coexist with a thriving healthcare system, nor can dilapidated infrastructure support a sophisticated public administration.
The principle of communicating vessels reveals that the condition of any sector accurately reflects the state of all others. This provides a reliable indicator of a nation’s overall development, allowing us to classify it as either advanced or underdeveloped.
Libya faces a complex web of interconnected challenges. As the principle of communicating vessels demonstrates, reforms in one sector will inevitably impact others. Consider the case of education: even a well-intentioned plan to redistribute teachers will falter without addressing deficiencies in transportation, communication, and other supporting sectors.
The late Mahmoud Jibril understood that Libya’s problems were interconnected, like liquids in communicating vessels. He believed the previous regime was genuinely trying to fix the deteriorating services and infrastructure.
His plan “Libya of Tomorrow” called for parallel reforms in every sector, fuelled by a “critical mass” of skilled individuals. However, his efforts to achieve this through the Economic Development Board were blocked by the demagoguery of the revolutionary committees and the narcissism of the country’s leader, ultimately leading him to abandon the project.
Since February, successive Libyan governments have shown a lack of understanding or concern for the “communicating vessels” principle—the idea that sectors are interconnected. As a result, there’s no evidence of meaningful reform. Education, healthcare, and infrastructure remain devastated, while Libyans live in a state of perpetual despair.