I had been pondering over writing this blog for quite some time now. Let me start from an interview I read during the days of M.Sc when N R Narayanamurthy was stepping down as chairman of Infosys. He described himself as a man with capitalist mind and socialist heart; it got imprinted in my mind. Years later, I am going through the corporate life and begin to see its both faces, these words keep coming back to me; again and again.
India in my childhood was remarkably different from what I see today. The farthest corners of my own childhood memories take me to the single DD channel and the associated struggles with the Antenna on the roof top. As I grew up, I could see the channels multiply and options increase; not just in the entertainment space but in every sphere of my life. I thought it as part of growing up; I realize now it is also part of the nation's shift towards capitalism.
During the days of its prosperity everybody pointed towards USSR and said that is the way to go. Communism and/or Socialism is the right way to do things. One day the Soviet realized they had weapons to wipe the entire world but no bread to feed their people; and they dis-integrated. Then everybody looked admiringly at the United States and said this is the holy grail. But in 2008-09 the world witnessed a recession so devastating that it erased the myth, at least for me. So, now the world is in search of a new model - that is how I perceive. I was having a chat with a dear friend (and a budding economist) in these lines and he said that decisions and/or solutions should be issue/problem based and not on ideology. Allow me to quote a phrase I read in the book, "The Difficulty of Being Good" by Gurucharan Das. It too got imprinted in my mind, "If greed is the sin of capitalism, envy is the vice of socialism."
As a child I was deeply attracted to the ideals of socialism which were so captivating. But as I grew older I had glimpses of societies built on the sole principle of individualism and they did prosper. I see that today we are moving more and more towards individualism, the foundation of capitalism. But we are also growing extremely selfish and intolerant.I was raised in a joint family(we were one till 2005) with sixteen members in the family. The average family size in India is moving towoards 3 or 4 today. India did not need marriage counsellors & day care centres back then (unlike the west) but is in want of them now. I see this as a direct consequence of our increased intolerance. I feel nothing should be driven to extremes - too much greed or too less accountability; both fail. We need to find the right balance.
In the end, I realized that capitalism or socialism are not just economic models, unlike what I thought, but have huge social implications. And therefore a thorough analysis of what is best in both of them need to be absorbed and assimilated; especially at a time when India is being re-built. Let me end with what my Guru (and my God - I said my God hence don't need comments on that) Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "A man must cultivate the head of Sankara, the heart of Buddha, and the hands of Janaka."
India in my childhood was remarkably different from what I see today. The farthest corners of my own childhood memories take me to the single DD channel and the associated struggles with the Antenna on the roof top. As I grew up, I could see the channels multiply and options increase; not just in the entertainment space but in every sphere of my life. I thought it as part of growing up; I realize now it is also part of the nation's shift towards capitalism.
During the days of its prosperity everybody pointed towards USSR and said that is the way to go. Communism and/or Socialism is the right way to do things. One day the Soviet realized they had weapons to wipe the entire world but no bread to feed their people; and they dis-integrated. Then everybody looked admiringly at the United States and said this is the holy grail. But in 2008-09 the world witnessed a recession so devastating that it erased the myth, at least for me. So, now the world is in search of a new model - that is how I perceive. I was having a chat with a dear friend (and a budding economist) in these lines and he said that decisions and/or solutions should be issue/problem based and not on ideology. Allow me to quote a phrase I read in the book, "The Difficulty of Being Good" by Gurucharan Das. It too got imprinted in my mind, "If greed is the sin of capitalism, envy is the vice of socialism."
As a child I was deeply attracted to the ideals of socialism which were so captivating. But as I grew older I had glimpses of societies built on the sole principle of individualism and they did prosper. I see that today we are moving more and more towards individualism, the foundation of capitalism. But we are also growing extremely selfish and intolerant.I was raised in a joint family(we were one till 2005) with sixteen members in the family. The average family size in India is moving towoards 3 or 4 today. India did not need marriage counsellors & day care centres back then (unlike the west) but is in want of them now. I see this as a direct consequence of our increased intolerance. I feel nothing should be driven to extremes - too much greed or too less accountability; both fail. We need to find the right balance.
In the end, I realized that capitalism or socialism are not just economic models, unlike what I thought, but have huge social implications. And therefore a thorough analysis of what is best in both of them need to be absorbed and assimilated; especially at a time when India is being re-built. Let me end with what my Guru (and my God - I said my God hence don't need comments on that) Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "A man must cultivate the head of Sankara, the heart of Buddha, and the hands of Janaka."
2 comments:
A Very good reaqd indeed Sasi.
A few thoughts. Socialism is inherently flawed as it seeks to divide everything evenly among all rather than merit and harwork (needless to say about the politics e.t.c). Capitalism is inherently flawed due to unchecked freedom resulting in the growth of few.
The question is Can they Co-exist? Well... India tried it out using a Mixed economy and the experiment has not given altogether desireable results. The govt sector here is way behind in productivity and techonology in most of the areas. The basic problem of No Accountability still plagues it. Atleast in case of USSR or China, there was large scale development that was competant with the other capitalist powers, but in our mixed economy case we havent acheived it.
The Private sector grew only after 1990. The growth has since been in those areas which generate lot of money. The income gap has widenened and inequality is everywhere. Though the GDP of the country has boomed only after privatization, it hasn't brought the all round development.
Nice article and Interesting quotes u mentioned!!
anyways coming to India, the model which India has to follow shd be custom made to itself based on time.. It cannot just copy some one else's model to bring success i guess..
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