Our Pockets and the Foreigners’ Pockets

"Our Pockets and the Foreigners’ Pockets" by Salama Moussa

Introduction: Historical Context and Significance

Published in 1931, Our Pockets and the Foreigners’ Pockets appeared at the height of British colonial rule in Egypt, when the national economy was almost entirely dependent on export agriculture—most notably cotton—while foreign communities dominated trade and industry.

Salama Moussa (1887–1958), one of the pioneers of socialist thought in the Arab world, presents in this book a radical vision for Egypt’s economic and social liberation. He argues that political independence without economic independence is nothing more than an empty illusion.

Diagnosing the Illness: Critique of the Economic Order

Agricultural dependency and industrial collapse

Moussa contends that Egypt had been reduced to a mere “raw farm” for Britain, exporting agricultural commodities like cotton while importing finished goods at inflated prices. This dependency rendered the economy:

Fragile: tied to global price fluctuations.
Drained: wealth flowed into foreign pockets rather than Egyptian ones.
Stagnant: the neglect of industry deprived Egyptian youth of employment opportunities.

Foreigners as economic parasites

Moussa highlights the presence of a quarter million foreigners—British, Greek, Italian, and others—who monopolized:

Commerce and brokerage: blocking Egyptian producers from reaching markets.
Elite positions: holding senior administrative posts in government and private companies.
Consumer perception: spreading slanderous rumors about local products (such as the absurd claim that “Egyptian eggs hatch crocodiles”) to undermine domestic goods.

The Cure: Turning Toward Industry

Why industry over agriculture?

Moussa draws a sharp comparison between the two sectors:

Criterion	Agriculture	Industry
Psychological	Fosters passivity and resignation to nature	Stimulates creativity and reliance on science
Economic Value	Low added value	High added value and product diversity
Employment	Seasonal, unable to absorb labor	Permanent, generating multiple opportunities
Sovereignty	Keeps Egypt a consumer market	Enables competition on the world stage

Global models of success

He points to:

Henry Ford (automobiles): efficiency through specialization and division of labor.
Bata (shoes): quality production and cost reduction.
Gandhi in India: boycotting British goods while revitalizing the local textile industry.

Obstacles to Egyptian Industrialization and Proposed Solutions

Main obstacles:

State mismanagement: unjust laws that handicapped local investors and failed to protect fledgling industries.
British occupation: deliberate destruction of thriving Egyptian factories (Moussa cites two specific cases).
Poor quality control: outdated machinery and lack of professional specialization.

Practical solutions:

Boycott foreign goods: a nationwide campaign to strengthen local products.
Empower Egyptian labor: replace foreign administrators with skilled local workers.
Mobilize women: encourage them to support domestic goods, praising figures like Nabawiya Moussa and Insaf Abdallah for their educational efforts.
Reform education: align curricula with the needs of industrial growth.

A Vision for Egypt’s Future: Becoming an Industrial Nation

Moussa imagines Egypt as the “new Japan” through:

Comprehensive industrialization: processing raw cotton into finished textiles rather than exporting it raw.
Self-sufficiency: producing everyday necessities domestically, from household goods to fabrics.
Global competitiveness: raising quality while reducing costs by leveraging cheap labor and abundant natural resources (cotton, phosphates).

Critical Reception and Contemporary Relevance

Reactions at the time:

Critics accused him of being “anti-agriculture” and excessively hostile to foreigners.
Supporters hailed the book as a “roadmap to economic liberation.”
The book was reprinted multiple times, with the latest edition appearing in 2025—proof of its enduring resonance.

Relevance today:

Strengths:
- Anticipated the centrality of industrialization (Egypt launched car manufacturing programs in 2023).
- The idea of “boycotting imports” resurfaces in campaigns like Buy Egyptian.
Limitations:
- Overlooked the potential of modern agriculture (e.g., export-oriented contract farming).
- Did not anticipate globalization as a structural challenge to emerging industries.

Salama Moussa: Pioneer of Economic Enlightenment

Our Pockets and the Foreigners’ Pockets remains a landmark text, embodying:

Boldness: fearless critique of colonial-era realities.
Vision: charting a path from a consuming nation to a producing one.
Humanism: tying economic freedom to eradicating unemployment and improving lives.

As Moussa declared: “Industry instills in man a sense of power and capability, while agriculture instills helplessness and resignation.”

About the Author

Salama Moussa (1887–1958) was a leading Egyptian intellectual who, during his time in Europe, was deeply influenced by Darwin and Marx. A lifelong advocate of socialism as a solution to the Arab world’s challenges, he wrote more than 40 books, including Socialism, Woman Is Not a Plaything, and The Theory of Evolution.

His legacy is profound: he was the first Arab thinker to propose industrialization as an alternative to agricultural dependency, paving the way for later policies such as Egypt’s industrialization programs of the 1960s.

For the original summary in Arabic