How can anyone make a living from selling slices of coconut?!
Continuing the series of posts by Sanjeev Sabhlok, I am very glad to present this thought-provoking argument on creating and maximising opportunities.
*** Guest Post by Sanjeev Sabhlok ***
No one in developed countries will be found living off a few coconut slices sold under the hot sun each day. So why is this man forced to waste his entire life in this totally insignificant activity? An answer is found in our politics.
This man could well have been a successful industrialist or entrepreneur given the right opportunities. But today, most Indians are either illiterate or unskilled. Socialists (most existing parties are socialist) have sentenced this man and millions of other Indians like him to a lifetime of miserable poverty. Politics is the key difference between success and failure.
The magic of free trade
Adam Smith showed in 1776 that we become richer each time we trade. Both sides gain. Free societies therefore do not indulge in the futile battle between winners and losers. Everyone can be a winner. Wealth creation is not a zero-sum game. The size of the pie is not fixed in free societies; it constantly expands. Even if a person’s relative share of the pie declines as the pie becomes larger (ie. inequality increases), each person still ends up becoming better off.
Adam Smith showed that if each of us produces things of the greatest value we can, and are allowed to maximise our personal gain, we will end up contributing the most to society. If everyone produces most effectively, a society’s total wealth will increase. Indeed, this is trivially obvious. So why did India discard Adam Smith and follow Karl Marx and the Fabian socialists instead?
The stark choice before India: success vs. failure
India will continue its bad policies if we continue to elect the same old corrupt socialist governments. Today, our governments are not held to account. Our municipalities do not clean up the roads nor provide well-lit foot paths. We do not get regular supply of water and electricity. All this is happening even as the quality of life in the West gets better each day through good governance.
If we really want to, we can get accountable governments in India very soon – governments that enable citizens to achieve their highest potential; governments that follow world-best policy. But it will mean changing almost everything we have done for sixty years. It will mean demanding the policies of freedom. It will mean that many of us will have to join active politics to promote freedom. Societies cannot change unless ideas are translated into action by real leaders.
*** End ***
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The last sentence hits the nail on the head “Societies cannot change .. leaders”. We have had committees that provided brilliant ideas on education and transport, but our (so-called) leaders did not have the courage of conviction to implement the suggestions.
It requires fore-sight, a sense of ownership and moral responsibility to take actions. Qualities that found to be lacking among the leaders.
But we (the ordinary citizens) are also partly to blame for our lethargy in accepting mediocrity.
आप राषà¥â€à¤Ÿà¥à¤°à¤µà¤¾à¤¦à¥€ विचारधारा को आगे बढाने के लिठशानदार पà¥à¤°à¤¯à¤¾à¤¸ कर रहे हैं। मैंने à¤à¥€ à¤à¤• बà¥â€à¤²à¥‰à¤— और वेबसाइट शà¥à¤°à¥‚ किया है। यदि आप इसका लिंक अपने बà¥â€à¤²à¥‰à¤— पर देंगे तो यह मेरे लिठखà¥à¤¶à¥€ की बात होगी। Please give link of following blog to your blog.
http://hitchintak.blogspot.com
http://pravakta.com
sanjeev.sinha78@gmail.com
@ Chandra: You are right…beyond a point blaming the leadership is futile…After all, we elect them.
***
@ Sanjeev: धनà¥à¤¯à¤µà¤¾à¤¦ ! I will certainly have a look at your blog/website.
Talking of “insignificant activity” and somewhat related to the point of this post…
If you want proof of how socialism and the culture of dependency and mai-baap sarkar has destroyed the country, look no further..
From 23,000 applications for 11 posts by Deepankar Sharda, Tribune News Service:
Often a witness to rigorous drills by policemen, the Sector 26 Recruit Training Centre (RTC) of the Chandigarh Police is witnessing an unusual event of youngsters, including several postgraduates and professional degree holders, walking gingerly to demonstrate their skills to carry a tray full of glasses.
The candidates are appearing for the Class IV post of water carriers in the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) of the Chandigarh Police. After almost three decades, the police has invited applications for the 11 “coveted†posts of water carrier, which have drawn a whopping 23,000 applications.
Such is the desperation of getting a government job that candidates with BSc and even MBA degrees are queuing up at the RTC to try their luck. “Despite being a graduate, I am unemployed. I do not mind carrying glasses of water. At least my future would be secure,†said an applicant.
According to sources, the posts have a pay scale of Rs 12,000.
My heart goes out to these people…I cannot decide what makes me more sad – that there is such a job (water-tray bearer) or the number of people who applied for it..
The British impoverished India – and our leaders continue to lead us down the path to poverty and ruin..
Thanks to cernterofright for this