Capitalism and consumerism in India - necessary evils?
I remember reading about the quaint old days of pre-liberalization India on many a blog. It were the days of Doordarshan and Dalda; when we all watched the saturday night DD movie and the wednesday night Chitrahaar. We all brushed out teeth with the same colgate or pepsodent and Fiat Padminis or Ambassadors served us just fine. It was a time when more of what we consumed was swadesi than we care to think about today. Consumer choice was limited and the ill effects of consumerism were largely unknown. We led simple - and as I am inclined to believe - happier lives. The governmental shift in policy that occured during 1989 - 1992, with regard to foreign investemnt in India and the privatization of Indian inducstry, changed all that for good.
Recently, I dared to ask myself (and others around me) why our nation had to change the way it did. Why could we have not remained on the path of swadesi? The seemingly innocuous question dragged along with it, a number of other question, which in turned served the purpose of the realization that my knowledge in economics is grossly wanting. Some of these questions were:
What is Capitalism?
Is Capitalism bad?
In what ways is the India of today different from the India of 1986?
GDP:
National Debt:
Population:
Foreign reserve:
Foreign investment:
What are some sensible metrics to evaluate a country's progress?
What are the pros and cons of privately owned industry Vs. goverment ownership?
How does M.R.P. (Maximum Retail Price) work? How come America doesnt have any such concept ?
A reasonably observant Indian living in America will notice that the economic setup in America exhibits a vastly different structure from the one back home. I have come to understand that while casual Indian consumers in America often underestimate or misunderstand the Indian system, they must understand that the current economic norms in the two countries have a very strong link with their respective histories. America, a 200 year old nation, evolved as a vast land controlled by the British, and run as a trading ground, with intermittent discoveries of gold (cf. the gold rush) and other natural resources. the development of communities in America was economically focussed - in layman terms, it was based on buying and selling of goods. The era of slavery saw ships land on the west African coast to gather african slaves to be auctioned and used as means to improve farm production. While, America was being discovered, India had already been past her prime, plundered by foregners of her treasures and ruled by men of several different religions. Much of what we have now, is a highly correlated version of the norms in Britain, because they were our most recent rulers. The semblance is more than we, living in India, normally understand.
For me, a lot remains to be understood. But I have scratched the surface.
Recently, I dared to ask myself (and others around me) why our nation had to change the way it did. Why could we have not remained on the path of swadesi? The seemingly innocuous question dragged along with it, a number of other question, which in turned served the purpose of the realization that my knowledge in economics is grossly wanting. Some of these questions were:
What is Capitalism?
Is Capitalism bad?
In what ways is the India of today different from the India of 1986?
GDP:
National Debt:
Population:
Foreign reserve:
Foreign investment:
What are some sensible metrics to evaluate a country's progress?
What are the pros and cons of privately owned industry Vs. goverment ownership?
How does M.R.P. (Maximum Retail Price) work? How come America doesnt have any such concept ?
A reasonably observant Indian living in America will notice that the economic setup in America exhibits a vastly different structure from the one back home. I have come to understand that while casual Indian consumers in America often underestimate or misunderstand the Indian system, they must understand that the current economic norms in the two countries have a very strong link with their respective histories. America, a 200 year old nation, evolved as a vast land controlled by the British, and run as a trading ground, with intermittent discoveries of gold (cf. the gold rush) and other natural resources. the development of communities in America was economically focussed - in layman terms, it was based on buying and selling of goods. The era of slavery saw ships land on the west African coast to gather african slaves to be auctioned and used as means to improve farm production. While, America was being discovered, India had already been past her prime, plundered by foregners of her treasures and ruled by men of several different religions. Much of what we have now, is a highly correlated version of the norms in Britain, because they were our most recent rulers. The semblance is more than we, living in India, normally understand.
For me, a lot remains to be understood. But I have scratched the surface.
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