The Dilemma of Hypercharged Economy

Many of us notice the world around us undergoing a swift change. Life has become a race. Race for everything. Many of us (in India) miss normal life that people used to enjoy two decades ago. Today, when we talk about life we talk about corporates, jobs, pollution, degradation of moral values, money and corruption. On one hand we blame the current socio-economic scenario, on the other we all love to earn as much as possible to satisfy our needs (knowing or unknowingly we have modified the definition of needs in such a manner that now luxury has also become a need).

People say change is the most inevitable thing in life. It’s impossible to stop, avoid it. True. At the same time there is a need to understand the fundamental factors that drive change. Where the change is leading towards? Is the change desirable?

The answer is not simple. It requires systematic research. It requires ability to identify patterns embedded in world economics and politics.

The book “Super capitalism” by Robert Reich helps the reader to unravel some key patterns of American and world economics and identifies the underlying principles of the same. The concepts and ideas substantiated by data makes the book an enjoyable read.

There is a dilemma within all of us. We all want to earn more and more. We all want a decent social set up. This desire is not incorrect or irrational. But the means we deploy to achieve our desire are contradictory to some extent.

For earning we look for stock market. We invest our money where we can get maximum return. That makes the companies to focus too much on their stock performance. If stock market performance is not good they will face the heat…even the top executives may lose their jobs. Too much focus on stock market many times forces companies to neglect social, cultural and environmental aspects. We as citizens face the heat of such negligence. Now the question is who is responsible? The companies? Yes. But what made them neglect factors other than stock market? We investors. Our pension funds, mutual funds etc.

We also look for a stable job. No one wants a job full of stress and insecurity. A job with decent pay. At the same time we love to get cheap products. And the pressure of cheaper product forces companies to trim their workforce, to put additional burden on their employees, to curtail their pay (Wal-Mart is notorious for its pay, and for bringing its supplier in the same loop). Who faces the heat? We, the citizens. And who is responsible? Right, not the companies. We, the consumers.

Now what should we look for? To be happier consumers and investors or to be happier citizens. We are in a dilemma. We want to be both. But the present model is forcing us to choose one.

Robert Reich is right when he says that blaming companies or the governments won’t help much. It’s is the dilemma faced collectively by the society.