The last decade and a half has witnessed a boom in our economy. Liberalization and privatization no doubt have been the chief agents of this miracle as in the western developed economies. Yet again capitalism has triumphed. The theory of ‘invisible hand’ is after all invincible. It has in it the best mechanism to produce and distribute the wealth of the nations.
With higher per capita income people have come to enjoy a higher standard of living. Competitive market economy has made it possible for the economic participants to reap the benefits of a growing economy. When the stakeholders in the private sector seem to have a windfall can those in the governance be kept at bay? A piece in the expanding cake rightfully belongs to them too.
How does one transplant the market economic techniques into the governance sector to replicate therein the efficiency of the private sector? Whether we have recognized it or not, I believe it has already happened in good measure. Market economy is not an artificial invention but the natural phenomenon, a possible behavioral pattern arising out of normal human interaction. So also in the interaction between the government and the governed a natural process of discovering the best possible mechanism of mutual benefit is only expected.
In my humble opinion, what we widely perceive as corruption in government establishments is verily the capitalistic technique at work. At one level it is the incentive for the efficiency of the government personnel and in a larger perspective, it is the mechanism for the wealth of the economy to reach those in government. May be we have to come out of the conservative and misconceived notion that corruption is unethical.
Contrary to what may appear, my idea of setting forth the above argument is not to justify corruption on grounds of capitalism, but to question the justification of capitalism itself. If one holds on to the idea that corruption is immoral and dishonorable, then one has to review the well rooted idea that capitalism is ethical and capitalism is morally right.
Corruption thrives on power, access to information and the vulnerability of the victim. In that sense, capitalism is not very different. It flourishes on the strength of the financial muscle, asymmetry of information and the vulnerability of the consumer. The rosy pictures painted of the success of capitalism are just one side of the story. There are multitudes who are marginalized and excluded from the benefits of progress. What about the fact that 10% of population of the world owns 80% of the world’s wealth? What about the insatiable thirst of consumers and the instinct of the businessmen to cash in on that? What about the enormity of damage caused to nature in this mad pursuit? And in all these we have not even taken up the issue of deterioration in the quality of life itself. Let me not go on further on those lines lest I sound preachy.
No doubt by now the votaries of capitalism have rushed to the defense of it - in theory capitalism does not encourage any of these practices. That is right, yet the fact remains that it is only in theory.
With higher per capita income people have come to enjoy a higher standard of living. Competitive market economy has made it possible for the economic participants to reap the benefits of a growing economy. When the stakeholders in the private sector seem to have a windfall can those in the governance be kept at bay? A piece in the expanding cake rightfully belongs to them too.
How does one transplant the market economic techniques into the governance sector to replicate therein the efficiency of the private sector? Whether we have recognized it or not, I believe it has already happened in good measure. Market economy is not an artificial invention but the natural phenomenon, a possible behavioral pattern arising out of normal human interaction. So also in the interaction between the government and the governed a natural process of discovering the best possible mechanism of mutual benefit is only expected.
In my humble opinion, what we widely perceive as corruption in government establishments is verily the capitalistic technique at work. At one level it is the incentive for the efficiency of the government personnel and in a larger perspective, it is the mechanism for the wealth of the economy to reach those in government. May be we have to come out of the conservative and misconceived notion that corruption is unethical.
Contrary to what may appear, my idea of setting forth the above argument is not to justify corruption on grounds of capitalism, but to question the justification of capitalism itself. If one holds on to the idea that corruption is immoral and dishonorable, then one has to review the well rooted idea that capitalism is ethical and capitalism is morally right.
Corruption thrives on power, access to information and the vulnerability of the victim. In that sense, capitalism is not very different. It flourishes on the strength of the financial muscle, asymmetry of information and the vulnerability of the consumer. The rosy pictures painted of the success of capitalism are just one side of the story. There are multitudes who are marginalized and excluded from the benefits of progress. What about the fact that 10% of population of the world owns 80% of the world’s wealth? What about the insatiable thirst of consumers and the instinct of the businessmen to cash in on that? What about the enormity of damage caused to nature in this mad pursuit? And in all these we have not even taken up the issue of deterioration in the quality of life itself. Let me not go on further on those lines lest I sound preachy.
No doubt by now the votaries of capitalism have rushed to the defense of it - in theory capitalism does not encourage any of these practices. That is right, yet the fact remains that it is only in theory.
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