MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli stated in his message for Ahilik Week that Ahilik had influenced the social and economic structure of Anatolia since the 13th century. He said that the structure institutionalized under the leadership of Ahi Evran was a socio-economic model that brought professional specialization together with ethics and conscience. He noted that education was a lifelong process of maturation beyond learning a profession, and that character was also valued during the apprenticeship-to-mastery process. He stated that the orta sandığı fund provided masters with capital and workplace opportunities. Bahçeli said that the legacy of Ahilik, weakened by the Industrial Revolution, the 1838 Treaty of Baltalimanı and internal problems, could serve as a guide in addressing ethical issues, quality problems and violations of consumer rights in today’s business world. Calling for this legacy to be reconsidered through modern management principles, Bahçeli congratulated tradespeople and artisans on their week.
Why it matters
The message positions the legacy of Ahilik not merely as a historical tradition, but as a framework that can be consulted in the working practices of tradespeople and artisans and in their relations with consumers. By addressing professional competence and standards of conduct together, this approach brings debates over ethics, quality and rights violations in the business world onto the same ground. The example of the orta sandığı, meanwhile, recalls the historical counterpart of professional organizations’ function of providing their members with financing and workplace support. However, it remains unclear how the legacy will be reconsidered through modern management principles, what practices it will be transformed into and who will assume responsibility for this process.