I used to think that radical, sudden change was the only way to fix a broken system. When you are young and seeing your country struggle, you want a solution that is as fast and loud as an explosion. But after witnessing the fallout of such moments, I’ve realized that while sudden shifts are exciting, they often leave behind a ground that is more broken than it was before.

I saw this firsthand in Pakistan. Imran Khan, our previous prime minister, tried to incite a nationwide revolution against the military establishment, which he claimed was controlling the country behind the scenes. The movement was short-lived and crushed by force. Dialogue collapsed. After this revolution failed, Pakistan was worse off than before. Exchange rates collapsed, inflation soared, and the current account deficit worsened dramatically. This is the price of a failed revolution: economic instability that hurts ordinary people most.

Still, even a successful revolution does not seem especially promising to me. Our neighbor, Bangladesh, recently went through what many would call a successful revolution. But it made me realize that revolution is rarely an endpoint. Bangladesh was left with a 'clean slate', but that blank slate can be really intimidating, and if people cannot sustain dialogue about how to move forward, conflict returns quickly.

I’ve come to believe that the most sustainable evolution happens through steady, often dull, institutional reform. It allows us to focus on building a life within a system that isn't constantly on the verge of breaking. On a personal level, it means we can focus on our education or careers rather than just trying to survive the next period of unrest. On a larger scale, even a flawed government has an incentive to keep the economy moving. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s a platform where public pressure and constant conversation can actually make lives better without destroying the foundation we’re standing on.

That said, I do recognize that there are moments when evolution is no longer possible. Under deeply oppressive regimes, dialogue and reform may be deliberately blocked. In those cases, revolution can become the only way to restore basic human dignity.

This leads to a difficult moral question. Should societies prioritize immediate freedom or long-term stability? The people who should answer this are not those watching from a safe distance, but those whose survival depends on the system staying functional.

I don’t believe there’s one answer that applies to every society at every moment. Still, when given a choice, I believe evolution, grounded in dialogue, institutional reform, and patience, is the more reliable path forward.

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