Crisis, Compassion and Committment

Introduction
We are living in a world of abundance. God has given us natural resources to enjoy every day of life in this world. Though the whole world has its own kind of dynamic structures the ingredients of people and nature are the same and the cooperation and interdependence between these two maintains the cycle of life. However, the dominant ideology of human which presupposes that humans are superior has led to the consequence that human beings believe that all things in this world are subject to human consumption, thus favoring the idea of consumerism into human minds. This manner of greedy consumption leads to crisis, hunger and poverty. In this essay I make an attempt to explore how society can recover its wellbeing amidst contemporary consumption based food and energy crisis.

 

Consumption with compassion

1.6 billion people – a quarter of humanity, live without electricity and approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished (http://www.globalissues.org/). However, the basic truth lies that every human in this world has the right to live with sufficient food. In reality, the majority of the world population is seen to have been always living in poverty and hunger, and ironically, this majority does not have any right to alter their destiny amidst the suppressing global economic orders. On the other hand, the remaining minority of the world are living in abundance, enjoying everyday life amidst unimaginable luxury. If one tries to decode this mystery of imbalance and inequality, one would eventually be thrown out the dominant system of global politics. Everyone knows the reason of this inequality and nobody really seems to be wanting to change the existing system. None of us dare to think beyond money.

 

In this context, it is our duty to ensure good life to our neighbors and the remaining creation. Compassion for neighbors and the remaining creation can be viewed as one of the solutions to resolve this crisis. We have realized that compassion is one of the powerful forces driving human beings to experience one another’s pain. When one feels the pain of one’s neighbor, what automatically follows, is an action to resolve the crisis. A compassionate heart is the source of goodwill and the cradle of positive change. Contemporary world has lost the value of compassion and is thriving in selfishness. Here we are discussing about the need for an attitudinal change in each and every person of the world to help one another and to share what we have with others in need. Compassion initiates transformation in a person, and continuous transformation results in the embellishment of the quality of life in society. Compassion is the prerequisite for being called human. Any human without compassion is not a human and whatever political, economical or social order without space for compassion is like vacuum. Be compassionate, consume with compassion, consider everyone in the world while laying development agendas, and lead the change.

 

Policy making with commitment

Policy makers are more responsible for global policies. Commitment of policy makers is the backbone of the world since we live in a political world. They should be committed to the welfare of people. They should be away from vested interests, political agendas and power clashes. The main cause of the current crisis is selfish policies of policy makers. Because uncommitted policy makers come to power for name and fame with great scholarship, family background and political influence, many of them never have experienced, or are ready to understand the real pain of any issue they are dealing with. Therefore, it is quite clear that the education, experience and achievements are an additional qualification where commitment is the prerequisite of policy making. When they commit themselves to the ideals of a just world in which all are living with peace, justice and equality, the world will live in peace and prosperity.

 

I have a fine illustration to quote. The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to sign a nuclear deal with the US to meet the energy needs of India. However, majority of the political parties opposed the deal as part of their trivial politics in the name of “saving fraternity of India”(some criticisms are valid though). At the end of the high drama, Dr. Singh’s coalition government was ready to face the challenge and he even took up the risk of losing power to sign this agreement. In the Parliament, before the vote of confidence he submitted his response to the house (since the members did not allow him to read it), in which he stated, “Every day that I have been Prime Minister of India I have tried to remember the first ten years of my life which were spent in a village with no drinking water supply, no electricity, no hospitals, no roads, and nothing that we today associate with modern living. I had to study in the dim light of a kerosene oil lamp. This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future.” His personal commitment for the welfare of people single handedly made the agreement. And the not-so-good example from the US is the unwillingness to implement Kyoto protocol clearly depicting the selfish mentality of US policy makers. What a terrible example of their being uncommitted to humanity!

 

Conclusion
Compassion and commitment is the need of the day. Whether an ordinary man or a powerful policymaker, all are required to touch their heart and check whether they have compassion for the starving child in Africa and the dying people in Asia? These two binding qualities are the basics in order to contribute to the well being of life in the society. We have adequate money, multitude of resources and millions of people, yet no heart to help one another. If people and policy makers work together with commitment and compassion, then the crisis-free, human-centered development is possible with equal sharing and joy for all amidst this entire crisis because ALWAYS WE CAN

 

Balancing future and Promoting India

I have some practical ideas to promote the importance of development in India particularly among the youth of my nation, because they are the leaders, policy makers and powerhouse of future.

 Firstly, they have to accept and understand economy and its importance. Majority of the population in India, least bother about economy and development. In my state, Tamilnadu, if anyone studies economy in school or college he/she must be the poorest student. The philosophical indoctrination inculcated by various religions in India, made majority of the people as the existentialist and epicureans. A man who does not have anything is saint here; this kind of religious beliefs subsided economic interests of people. So, most of the people believe that just it is enough to be fed three times a day. There is no vision and passion for growth and achievement.

Secondly, the economic reasoning must important. The liberalization opens its gate to the development of software business in India. MNCs and TNCs are flourishing. Now an ordinary student’s ambition in India is doing an engineering degree, get a placement in a software company, earn good salary, get marry an employed girl (majority, most probably a software engineer from the same company, if possible), then they both work together and earn money as much as they can. Finally, after some years only they realize that they have lost their life and its fullness. Economy should enrich human development; here, one extreme people least bother about economy and other extreme people are meditating upon economy, and they are ready to lose anything to earn money. This is the first and foremost part should be repaired in India. If we educate both people, in a right manner; there is a possibility of   balance growth which covers the whole society and enriches the whole community. This is the first step towards a balance economic development, if we cannot repair the fundamental mistake here, we cannot solve the problem. This is the development model from below, if all our people understand development correctly and applies it systematically from grassroots level, it is possible to reach a just development which empower community and integrate our people in the global race for a developed nation. 

Economic Development and Enduring Dilemmas

Introduction

India is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. We are come under developing countries in the World Development Index. Our Prime minister. Ministers, industrialists, economists and scholars are contemplating on Development and finance minister is talking about 8% growth always. In this context what is our response ? How do we understand development in a wider perspective? Is it making people lives better? Or spoiling? In this paper I reflect upon the development which we have been undergoing now and through some light upon the realities to understand it in a better way.

Understanding Development

Development is one of the buzz words in the modern world. Development in education, lifestyle, profession, transport, health and etc., all are appreciated in the light of economic upliftment of a particular people, society or the country. If we have to define development either boon or bane, primarily we should understand what it is? Without a clear cut understanding we cannot make decisions. Sen, Dasgupta and Scholars from United Nations Development Programme argue for viewing development as the process of enhancing people’s capabilities for improving quality of life. Mere economic growth in production of goods and services and the consequent growth in per capita income may not necessarily lead to an improvement in human well being.One way of seeing development is in terms of the real freedoms that citizens enjoy to pursue the objectives they have reason to value, and in this sense the expansion of human capability can be, broadly, seen as the central feature of the process of development. So basically development is the state in which people are enjoying their life with all necessary facilities and rights. We can say that development makes people happy, if so what went wrong?

What is the Problem with development?

I accept development as a boon, but still the narrow understanding of this concept makes problems. Much of people and the great financial institutions believe that only the economic development is the real development all others are the outcome of economy? But really the economy is the provider of the happiness to the humankind, can it make people develop holistically. Research conducted over many years suggests that greater wealth implies greater happiness only at quite low level of income. People in the United States, for example, are, on average, richer than New Zealanders, but they are not happier. More dramatically, people in Austria, France, Japan, and Germany appear to be no happier than people in much poorer countries, like Brazil, Columbia, and the Philippines. Meantime an increase income doesn’t make a lot of difference to people’s happiness. Americans are richer than they were in 1950s, but they are not happier.So economy is the fuel of the development process where people are the axis of the movement, without people it cannot move. In this point of view, human development and economic development are intertwined. While economic growth provides resources to achieve improvements in human development, improvements in human capital can play a significant role in achieving economic growth.

In western countries development is individual based and in developing and under developed countries development is community based. Because most of the basic needs have been attained in western countries, now they are trying to make their people comfort with personalized development because of excess of money. Where, in developing and under developed countries, in contradiction, millions of people not even have food for a time a day. The real problem of today is not the process of development but how do we integrate development. How do we channelize the development from cosmopolitans to the corner of the villages, from west to east and allover the world.

Integrating Development

The global economy decided and determined by developed countries and International financial institutions such as WB, WTO, IMF, USA, UK and European Union. Really developed countries have the care for under developed and developing nations, No. American capitalism creates greater fortunes, and also great inequality. And “WTO suffers from a severe legitimacy deficit. At the same time it retains extraordinary power: the institution and its agenda enjoy a hegemonic grip over ‘economic development’ strategies and all related agreements entered into by WTO members must be compatible with its rules. So it’s very clear that the super structures are driven by self interest with full of confusions and vested interests.

They are very particular about market economy to expand their market throughout the world and sweep money. Warren Buffett told that “a market system has not worked in terms of poor people.” We can understand that this kind of approach cannot integrate the development. But is it possible to integrate the development? Yes. Scandinavian countries and their contributions to under developed countries are the positive sign for this process. Commitment to Development Index 2006, “Ranking the Rich” announced The Netherlands is the richest in the world. Interestingly the first four places occupied by European, especially Scandinavian Countries the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. United Kingdom and United States of America placed in 12th and 13th respectively and at last Japan in 21st place. In fact Scandinavian countries are much interested in the development of under developed and developing nations. But other countries like USA and UK spend much time in politics and their own development and vested interests.

Charity- A way to integrate development

When we are talking about charity, Bill Gates, first wealthiest person in the world says that, “My mother taught me to give back.” Warren Buffet, second wealthiest person in the world who donated $37 billion to charity, is a model for modern charity. They are not just believed in donating but doing something. These people not donate for inflation or for income tax deduction like Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller brothers. But for people and make some difference in their lives. John Hopkins University, in Baltimore revealed that hospitals, schools, churches, museums and charities carry out most of the work through their service and it was estimated that $1.3trillion, or 5% of GDP, in35 countries.

New Policies Needed

We now much think about Globalization and its impact on economy. But for people like us we need effective policies to make our country developed nation .Raul Presbiech argues that the transformation of the system seems to inevitable if it is combine development with social equity and political advance. And he believes that the time has come to search for a synthesis of both socialism and genuine economic liberalism, and thereby restore the philosophic unity of economic liberalization with political liberalism. Socialism is necessary to ensure the b ‘social use’ of the surplus and economic liberalisms necessary insofar as individual decisions to produce and consume should be left to the market.

Conclusion

Why do Governments all focus on increasing per capita national income? Will it give the wholistic development to a nation? Is development possible without increasing per capita? These questions are base for the survival of an individual in a developing country. Globalization makes new way for Indian business flourish, cultural globalization rout out caste, tradition and races. It makes global conscience, development motive, and Inter dependency. But really it develops a nation, the answer is negative, only richer countries are more prosper by globalization and the creamy layer people and richer industries are prosper. After globalization introduced in India, Infosys, software giant in India developed 2600 times but what about others, small vegetable shops, agriculture and village petty shops? Nowadays exemptions are become top stories, Infosys became matter where people on the ashtray. How this developments have to integrate to each and every villages of India not only in and around Bangalore. Development is a boon, but with a condition that until it will not suck people’s lives for its cause.

Bibliography

Books

Dreze, Jean and Amartya Sen. India Economic Development and Social Opportunity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995

Presbiech, Raul. Five stages in My Thinking on Development. see Pioneers in Development. Gerard M.Meier and Dudley Seers,ed.,Oxford: Oxfor University press.1984

Journals

Economic and Political Weekly. Vol.XLI No.3. July29-August4. 2006

The Economist. July 1st 2006

Newspaper

Times of India (Bangalore). August 14, 2006

Website

http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/cdi – last accessed on Sep.18, 2006