By Adrian Thano
An article by journalist B. Andoni uses the figure of Tajar Zavalani to show that, although Albania’s facade has changed (the skyscrapers, the luxury cars, the EU flags), our social and political software has remained stuck in a centuries-old impasse. Zavalani’s criticisms of “the people” from 92 years ago sound as if they were written today.
Andoni notes that Tirana in 2026 looks like a metropolis, but the reaction to corruption or the rusting in power of the "leaders" remains as anemic as ever. "There's no work to be done with these people!" - says Andoni (through Zavalani), considering this a kind of Albanian historical fatality.
I want to dwell a little on the “it's the people's fault” narrative. I have said it before that this is a defense mechanism of our elites to avoid accountability and justify their failures in leadership.
To break out of this narrative, responsibility must shift to those who have the means, power, and obligation to make change.
A people is not biologically evil or backward. People adapt to the rules of the game. If the system punishes the honest and rewards those who find shortcuts, people will choose the shortcut to survive.
The problem is not the "dough" of people, but the mold (institutions) they fit into. Let's take the example of immigrants. Why does the same Albanian, when he goes to Germany, become a regular citizen?
Everyone mentions apathy. That's how it is if you look at it today, but apathy does not come from laziness, but from accumulated disappointment. When you see that for 35 years the political rotation produces the same results, the people are not "blamed" for not reacting. They have entered a state of survival.
The people cannot “self-organize” in a vacuum if the intellectual and political class does not offer a credible and clear vision. Andoni touches on this, but it can be gone further. In our country, not only the failed political class, but also many intellectuals use the people as a shooting target to hide the fact that they themselves have compromised with power for personal gain.
It is easier to say "the people don't" than to say "I don't have the courage to risk my privileges to defend the truth."
Social behavior is the product of a long-term investment made by those who have the power of thought and other means. If the state invests only in concrete and not in education and culture, the social outcome after a few years is predictable.
You can't ask someone to behave like a European citizen if they grow up in an intellectual environment like ours. People are reactive, not proactive. They respond to the stimuli that the system gives them.
So let's take "people's guilt" out of the equation and stop demanding mass "heroism" from ordinary people who are busy surviving. Let's focus on the mechanisms that force behavior change.
The first is the radicalization of meritocracy. The biggest problem in Albania is that anti-values are profitable. When the common man sees that someone who breaks the law gets rich and the other remains at the bottom of the line, he rationalizes breaking the law as a means of survival.
Islands of excellence must be created first in administration and institutions where success depends 100% on ability. When the system starts rewarding talent, people will invest in knowledge and not in friends or "strong connections."
The second is the creation of a critical elite that does not flirt with power. The middle class and those who consider themselves intellectuals must stop being clients of the parties. Today, many of them are silent because they are waiting for a project, a post, or a favor.
Are we in a perpetual vicious circle? No. The difference today with Zavalani's time (1934) is information. Today, a young man in a remote village has the same access to information as a peer in Berlin. I don't think this younger generation accepts "fate" as an explanation anymore.
People change behavior when the “good” option is easier than the “bad” option. I know you’re using the word honesty, some people will itch like they have lice, but I’m not talking about morality. It’s called Nudge Theory, it’s systemic change. Societies don’t change when people become angels, but when the system makes honesty more profitable than filth.
In a system like this, which values honesty, let's see what comes out of this people's mess that has been so difficult that it has tired and broken those who lead it.
The poor are so exhausted that they can't get out of their chairs alive.
