This author happened to read today, an article appeared in the 'The Economist', discussing Global big-business houses' dilemma about India; whether to invest more money in this country, as there exists no adequate population of 'middle-class' in its typical sense with the required purchasing capacity in the country!
The link to the said article is here: https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21734382-multinational-businesses-relying-indian-consumers-face-disappointment-indias-missing-middle
The article reveals what is the crux of the concept of her 'development', measured in every nation's GDP, or Gross Domestic Product'. No industry can go on producing to her full capacity without having in mind, a sensible market. Market means, an adequate number of 'consumers' with adequate purchasing capacity for the products in hand. Creating demand for the product is another subject. Industry has her best 'creative-department' who does this job through highly mind-swaying advertisements, persistent till such demand is created!
Then comes the key issue of an adequate number of consumers with adequate purchasing capacity. Neoliberalism is also about keenest possible attention to details, in whatever one does. It was this keenness for 'details' that found the 'inadequate percentage of middle-class' in India, hence blind, huge capital- investment not a wise step.
No industry can survive for long without an ever-increasing buyers base ( consumers) for what trhey produce. That is why she has very thoughtfully created the 'new middle-class', that comprises mostly her own employees, who are paid handsomely!
When industry pays more and more to her top executive-officers by way of their remuneration, it is also for the sole goal of making these employees fit ‘buyers’ for whatever they produce! The backbone of every business is more and more ‘sales' and the resulting profit-return to the producers!
Brother producers cannot ever fill the vacuum of this 'buyers' population fully ever, as their numbers are not large. So, industry always needs her own paid employees also turning into ideal consumers of her products. No buyer base, no business survival as once said above!
Compared to most of the Western countries, where more than 70% are 'middle-class', ( http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/04/24/middle-class-fortunes-in-western-europe/) in India, it is just 3% as per 2011 PEW Research figures.This low figure is what put the Global industry leaders into the great dilemma; there are not adequate 'buyers' in India if they go for large scale-production!
Now we are arriving at our subject matter. We know that the one and only criterion of 'growth' and development for all nations is by increasing their industrial production. The assumption is that, when industries produce more, it will create more jobs, and people of the country will have increased incomes.
But these increased incomes will not move the industry anyway. They have no interest in this area. What they want is 'adequate' income for maximum people, so that they open their purses liberally to grab all the latest gadgets and services they produce in large numbers. This 'liberal buying' without reservation is the key factor that ensures 'adequate return' of the capital invested by the industry! For big profits, there should be
high-end products with good-price range. In other words, industry wants people of earth to be perfect 'consumers', who spend maximum on buying products.
This might appear a noble intention at first sight. Everyone has a lot of income, they shop liberally, enjoy all the best things in life and life goes on in prosperity! All governments in the world want it. They compete each other for increased GDP figures, as it is the sole indicator of progress over others. Increased GDP means increased tax-income gained from the industry, as well as greater income-tax figures from the high-earning citizens.
The institution of education wants it, as it will increase, and keep the demand for their 'product' ( knowledge) high. Jobs need a good education and technical knowledge imparted by educational institutions.
Media industry wants it very badly, as it is on 'advertisement' income that they live on. Industry can't exist and sell more without adequate advertisements.
All good!
But what about the whole subject matter of the LIFE of man on Earth is centered around certain 'obsession' of an institution,( industry) who target the whole population of Earth to be their ideal 'consumers'? What about all governments, all industry, Education, Media, that is, all major institutions of mankind whirl around making man an ideal consumer of the various innovative products of the industry?
Unfortunately in the above process, ever since the industrial revolution in the world and the capitalistic growth she achieved, the trend was an increased flow of wealth into fewer and fewer pockets! It is only one of our grave concerns! American citizens had protested against the above fortune imbalance by their 'OCCUPY' agitations, crying out that they were fed-up with the rule and influence of 1% over the rest 99%. Every statistics now say, more than 55% of world's wealth is in the hands of less than 1% of her population, that is, around 100 rich business families or industrial houses!
Another evil of this madness of our world is about the mental health of people, especially that of her younger-population, especially in the West. Students are compelled by parents to study more and more for becoming suitable work-force in the offices and factories. Parents need their wards to be ‘successful’ in life, in the above sense. They should be adequately ‘earning’ to possess everything modern and advanced in the world. ( see the silly side of such concept of SUCCESS here: http://understandinginflationinanewlight.blogspot.in/2015/03/seeking-origins-of-notion-of-human.html)
So, these pressurized children are turning more and more prone to mental illness worldwide, especially in the West where such ‘development’ is the maximum. ( see one of the many internet sources that describe this problem: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/todays-teens-anxious-depressed-paranoid/story?id=9281013)
What yet to be discussed adequately, as said above, is the transformation of man's life into that of a 'compulsive consumer'! Possessing high-end household products and gadgets now determines one's social status. He consumes not only for satisfying his biological needs but specifically his social-status needs! ( see the following link on this calamity: http://leadingdogmasthatruletheworld.blogspot.in/2014/04/direct-role-of-our-economic-and.html)
Life stands abducted by industry and her affiliated institutions, Govt and Media!
When looked at life from a metaphysical angle, as an individual 'gift' from Existence and a unique opportunity to each individual man from Nature or Existence, can we, the enlightened human society accepts the above-narrated abuse of it by a group of a few selfish men who run Industry, govts and Media to ABDUCT life as a whole, and make it a means to satiate their narrow ends? Can the sense of Reason of man and mankind keep silence upon the above grave abuse of the phenomenon Life? Life is a unique task, an opportunity given to each individual by Nature. Can it be wasted and allowed to be abused by certain institutions constituted by selfish groups of men?
What should rule the life of man need to be a ' sacred realm of his collective', not a selfish coterie, that own, control and determine its direction, the direction of the billions of individuals on Earth? Even the breathing of an individual is today controlled either by the industry, or his govt or the Media! He is a total victim! He does not own his mind, his wishes, his emotions, anything. He is being controlled by the rhetoric of political players, advertisements, and Media mind manipulations. It is a total abuse of the humankind.
The origin of all this is big-business wealth and it's all-controlling properties. It controls Govts, Education, and Media. Think-tanks are their own creation.
The mind of man stands dead. Creative freedom of man stands dead, as industry and govts want only their writs to rule the world, minds, and institutions. If the physical power of the strongest controlled all others in society in the remote past, today, it is the economic muscle of the rich. If society was controlled by Feudalism in the past, today, it stands replaced by the big-industry and big-wealth!
Another recent article explains, that Adam Smith was wrongly quoted by the Industry as the ‘father’ of all evils of Capitalism as made to be believed by the modern world. It was the result of a carefully planned strategy by modern industry institution for turning the world under their control, under what we know today as ‘neo-liberalism’. (https://aeon.co/essays/we-should-look-closely-at-what-adam-smith-actually-believed
It is once again onset of the dark ages, but made to appear golden age by the work and propaganda of Media and govts!
Authored by: Abraham J.Palakudy
He is an independent seeker and researcher into subjects like Mind&Reason, philosophy and metaphysics, man&society, Spirituality etc.
Contact him at, ajoseph1@rediffmail.com
Twitter: Voice of philosophy@jopan1
His profile and other blogs: https://www.blogger.com/profile/14249415589712707293
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