Between a Service State and a State of Opportunities

For decades, Kuwait has historically succeeded in building a model of a welfare state that provided citizens with a comprehensive system of services, support, employment, and benefits, including education, healthcare, housing, financial assistance, and government jobs. This system contributed to consolidating social stability and enabling Kuwaitis to take pride in their standard of living. Such care was a fundamental component in the construction of the modern state. However, times and circumstances have changed, and it is no longer sufficient for the state to merely be an entity that provides services and jobs. The greater challenge lies in transforming these privileges into a state that creates opportunities. The problem begins when past success becomes a rigid framework that we are unwilling to review or change. The world around us is moving rapidly; economies are shifting, jobs are evolving, and technology is reshaping the labor market. Yet, we remain trapped in the traditional question: “When will I get a job?” and “What will the state provide for me?” The state continues to dominate the present reality of citizens’ lives, starting from employment, services, subsidies, housing, and care. Over time, a conviction took root that the natural path after graduation ends in a government position. This is the equation that Kuwait needs to reconsider, transitioning from a service-based state to an opportunity-driven one. The state cannot continue to absorb the growing number of job seekers or sustain endless subsidies and services. Nor are we calling for the abolition of services or for citizens to bear the cost of reform. The issue is not for the state to retreat, but to change its role from merely providing care to empowering citizens. The shift is from the concept of providing services to the concept of providing opportunities. It is time to build an economy capable of generating its own opportunities. The private sector should not be merely an alternative destination for those who fail to secure government jobs, but a genuine partner in development. We want an economy that enables young Kuwaitis to see the private sector as a real opportunity to build their future, not a risk they fear the consequences of. We also want entrepreneurship to evolve from slogans into a culture and practice, making it easier to establish a business than to close it, and ensuring that innovators find funding, supportive legislation, and market access, rather than a series of bureaucratic hurdles that stifle ideas before they are born. This requires a more flexible business environment, investment-friendly regulations, and opportunities that make working in the private sector an attractive and stable choice. Education is the gateway to this transformation. It is impossible to build an opportunity-driven state with an educational system focused solely on obtaining degrees and securing jobs. We need future-oriented skills, in-demand specializations, entrepreneurship, scientific research, and artificial intelligence. Kuwait possesses capital, expertise, and intellectual capital, and does not suffer from a lack of potential or youthful energy. Rather, it needs to unleash these potentials from the constraints imposed by a mindset dependent on the state. What we need is to redefine the relationship between the state and the citizen: the state provides the foundation, and the citizen builds achievements upon it. We do not want a state that abandons its citizens, but one that is more effective. The Kuwait we aspire to is not merely a nation that provides its children with a decent life, but one that grants them the opportunity to build a greater life, a stronger economy, and a future they truly deserve.