Bill Gate’s Creative Capitalism

This blogger stumbled upon back issue of TIME Magazine last week at a pavement in marine drive (Ernakulam). The cover story was about Bill Gates and “new creative capitalism”, the deal was good for me since it cost 10 Rupees. This blogger has not much understanding on Capitalism except few books/articles here and there like any other common people anywhere in the world. It is an interesting article by Gates although he says “it isn’t some big new economic theory. And isn’t a knock on capitalism itself”. He is smart man (a genius of computers….he started playing with computers and doing complicated things at an age when most us were into marbels or climbing trees, well atleast me!!. Clearly he is a brilliant man. Arguably the most well known businessperson in the world). As Michael Kinsley writes in an essay in the same magazine “it is perfect moment for the biggest corporate titan of all time to turn his attention to problems that software can’t solve”.

Gates starts with the statement that “mainly corporations that have the skills to make technological innovation work for poor”. I really couldn’t understand that one I thought technological innovation works because it is technological innovation, innovation is about applicability. Even the example of Kenya wherein innovative uses of cell phone helped low income people to save money is more due to technology and less due to corporate. These kinds of innovations keep happening at the grassroot level, recall an excellent example wherein villagers in Punjab used washing machine to make lassi (the popular word in north India is jugaad). The difference now is that technology has become bit too specialized for day to day innovations by common people. The reason why it is important for big Corporate to tap these markets since small players are not in a position to break even, “business find opportunities that have been missed”. Business here obviously has to be big corporate, small players are not in a position to pick up that $10. That is creative capitalism alright (he quotes CK Prahalad’s ‘The fortune at the bottom of the Pyramid’. It is a brilliant stuff). And rightly so Mr Gates suggest that “government can help create such opportunities where they presently don’t”. Government as facilitator of economic growth is important for development of society.

Bill Gate’s perspective is from the point of view of Corporate he writes “they can benefit from public recognition and enhanced reputation” by associating with cause. He adds “that might be the tipping point that leads people to pick one product over another”. Now this is where we consumers have to be cautious. I buy the product because I have the need, and so I expect the product to fulfill those needs. If the bottom line of corporate is profit my bottom-line as a consumer is quality- value for money. I am absolutely not interested in anything more than that. These extraneous factors shouldn’t influence my decision making. These “enhanced reputation” has nothing to do with the product. This might work in America where they consume/stock more than what they need and so have probably some kind of guilty conscious. It works with people who are blatantly consumerist.

Bill Gates correctly says “governments in developing countries have a lot to do to foster capitalism themselves. They must pass laws and make regulations that let markets flourish, bringing the benefits of economic growth to more people”. Although his perspective is again from the Corporate point of few this blogger would like to see it from consumer perspective and so very strongly feels stringent steps should be taken towards consumer protection. There should be strict laws for protecting natural resources and environment sustainability. Following these laws is Corporate Social Responsibility, it is important that CSR is not voluntary or part of charity (It may work in developed countries). Further the products coming in the market should have all the contents, ingredients, specification mentioned properly. This blogger is not into brands but quality. Brand building is an image exercise which may have nothing to do with the product (what has Pepsi to do with youth!!). This blogger wants the government to provide quality stamps/marks, which is what I believe rather than brand building by money bags. In capitalism government is not only a facilitator to Corporate but safeguard to people. In societies with acute disparities the later fact is often forgotten.

Most importantly the Indian context of giving money for charity falls in the religious-cultural context. If not this then it is a personal-voluntary act not done for gain but for self contentment. Bringing it under the context of consumerism is a dangerous move however well intentioned. The foundation of this society is on prudent use of means and respecting the surrounding. If most people around the world were indulgent like Americans this earth would be dead by now. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the world is carrying the burden of American dream.

This blogger though strongly supports the second part of Gate’s article wherein he extends concept of creative capitalism to government giving incentives for innovativeness in drugs and vaccines to reach the poorest. There are thousands of higher end hospitals in this country wherein millions die of lack of basic treatments and medicines being costly.

Bill Gates is a genuine man with good intentions but the problems is that societies are not same everywhere. It is hard-earned money for most people in here and gimmick doesn’t and shouldn’t work. As a consumer I am more concerned about value for money. Period. The business of business is business, they provide goods and services. They generate jobs and provide social security and mobility for millions that is a stupendous achievement of capitalism. The government will have to make laws and not abdicate its responsibility as is demanded by market fundamentalists.

Post script: So why is that Corporate are being bailed out by US government in the latest crisis?. What kind of Capitalism is that?!!!. Clearly debt money was offloaded to keep the balance sheet straight. Is this mismanagement responsibility of taxpayers?.

Passing scribbles….

Double click life

I saw her
when I took a wrong turn
in the lane parallel to Jew street
of good old kochi.
That was 1995.
This is 2008.
Her skin had sagged and taken some fat,
gait slower than what I was used to in her,
like an actor playing a part much older than her.
“What’s wrong with you?
Wearing such a bad make up.
Take it off” I said quite angry.
“It will take
many more years to bring me back” she said.
And turned older
and older
and stooped
then she closed her eyes gently
and flapped her wings.

Intend to kill

In February this year WHO came out with the report that a billion people will die of tobacco related causes by the end of this century. Contribution of smoking in this is very significant. Smoking killed 100 million people in the 20th century, and the yearly death toll could pass 8 million as soon as 2030 — 80% of those deaths will be in the developing world, where tobacco use is growing most rapidly. According to a study by New England Journal of Medicine “Smoking kills 900,000 people every year in India, and unless corrective action is taken soon that number will increase to 1 million smoking-related deaths annually by 2010. Smoking accounts for nearly one in 10 of all deaths in India”.

WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 called on governments to adhere to six tobacco control policies it calls MPOWER: monitor tobacco use; protect people from secondhand smoke; offer help to people who want to quit; warn about the risks of smoking; enforce bans on cigarette advertising; and raise tobacco taxes. According to the report, nearly two thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries — China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Russia, and Turkey. This blogger read in the Net that combined destruction of AIDS, World War II, and outright homicide accounted for less death than cigarette smoke over a 75 year period.

It is in this context that Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss role comes into significance. We Indians need to be grateful to this man, despite the consistent onslaught from Market driven media (clearly they are fed by cigarette companies, no rocket science there!!) even attempting to brand him as some sort of a maniac (a case of sense of humor from media gone far!!). Mr. Ramdoss according to this blogger -which most will agree, is one the best Union Health minister so far (he is definitely is a role model for policy makers in developing countries) he had the option of playing with the Market but he was brave enough to side with the people and has done what is expected from a health minister of more than a billion people- at mercy of money bags trying to peddle their product despite grave health risk. Lobbies functioning for cigarette companies are quite vicious people and they can go to any extend. Poor and corrupt society like India is an easy game. BBC sometime back did an investigation on how they work in Africa, trying to create addiction as early as possible and other blatant unethical practices. One thing about these lobbies is that they absolutely adore democracy and their each and every argument reiterates commitment to freedom !!

Further a smoker is attempted to be portrayed in Indian media (and most importantly in American media, from where these people get their reference) as a regular guy like you and me!. On the contrary Smoking like any other addiction needs psychological help. A person who destroys his/her health with each breath he/she takes is by no stretch of imagination normal. This epidemic has another dimension and that is passive smoking that affects people around the smoker. Studies have shown serious consequences of this. Clearly they are putting others life on risk too because of their addiction. Everybody has a right so long as they aren't harming others, in this case it is not mere harming it is threat on life. Now this is where the line has to be drawn and a policy of zero tolerance needed. Thankfully Health Minister has taken the responsibility despite usual hoarse from media. From October 2^nd we people can breath easy and don’t have to tolerate some maniac who has to smoke because of democratic reasons !!. They can do it inside their house (provided children’s right to access clean air is not threatened or else it is an abuse) or toilet the onus is on them and not us to give them space for smoking. This is what health minister had to say recently “Demographically, India, home to 60 crore young people below the age of 30, is the youngest nation in the world. They are our national assets and they must be protected against tobacco. We are strengthening our Tobacco Regulatory Authority to enforce strict anti-tobacco laws.” Very right. His jab on Shah Rukh Khan or Budhadeb (incidentally Bengal State has one of the highest smokers) is well intentioned, this blogger like most people in this country welcomes these, he is counterpointing the image the cigarette companies create: “it is not cool”. As also his attempt to rein in surrogate smoking ads in movies is welcomed, don’t know about efficacy part, but it generated lots of awareness about tricks morons play in the name of creative freedom.

Further passive smoking is “intend to kill” (like drinking and driving) and there should be protection from passive smoking and make smokers who puts anyone at risk considered a serious offence (protecting people from secondhand smoke is a policy initiative proposed by WHO). Also the onus is on the owner of private places (like Offices, clubs) to implement these strictly. For the very same reason chairperson of BTC (Bangalore Turf Club) stands accused of “intend to kill”, they are not implementing the no smoking rules strictly jeopardizing the health of its patrons. Hopefully such negligence will be considered a serious offense after October 2^nd. Long live people like Anbumani Ramadoss. He is a very rare politician. This blogger rates him as the best Health Minister ever, probably one of the most responsible Health Minister in the world today. We common people are grateful to him.

Post script: He does it again !!

The Union Home Minister was quoted as saying that there was specific knowledge about threat of bombing in Delhi (don’t whether the intention was to upstage Modi. Never can trust the games politicians play). Obviously terrorists are not going to drop in the address and time. Understanding that it is an uphill task when there are millions of people and so much of lack of information about people and so on, making security agencies job very difficult. What this blogger fails to understand is why basic precautionary standards not taken?. Video footage was a great help in London bombing so that should have been the priority area. The CCTVs in Karol bagh was found to be malfunctioning (also consider crowded places like Karol bagh are always on miscreants radar. This is second one in Gaffar market) therefore valuable inputs lost. This is shocking. Who is responsible for these?. Delhi’s law and order comes under Union Home Ministry, this blogger wants to know whether orders were passed. Otherwise Union Home Ministry is accused of nothing less than criminal negligence.

...in the meantime

What is the responsibility of this man???.

To come in TV after each blast and talk crap (he probably is the most detested politician in India right now), some people don’t know when to keep shut. After Ahmedabad blast this man was found giving “exclusive interviews”, where again he spoke nonsense. Absolute lack of sensitivity, shear lack of comprehending the gravity of the situation. Pity the people on the street. Bad luck I guess. So be brave, tolerate and show your grit…there is no other option is just a coincidence.

Tribals are not Hindus

It is difficult to classify who is a Hindu, broadly it can be referred to as those who follow rituals under Brahminical traditions or wherein the local God has some story that links to mainstream Hindu Gods (the trimurthis). Theoretically those who deny these can also be Hindus !!.

The tribes in India follow animistic traditions and in most cases have nothing to do with rituals associated with Brahmins, they also don’t come under dreaded caste folds. Tribals have fiercely maintained their independence (Birsa munda is a well known name, probably one of the first Indians to take up arms against colonial British). This though has gone against them as they could not garner the benefits of development. It is also true that Macaulay designed education system that was followed enthusiastically till recently alienated most Indians from their surroundings- creating a mindset that is servile to Western. For the tribals the contradiction was so acute that they dropped at the very first instance from an education system that they didn’t see any practical applications nor had anything to do with their surroundings.

Eventually tribals became one of the poorest and most exploited sections quite ironical since Adivasi means the earliest settlers. The mainstream India and the state machinery had nothing to gain from them hence their miseries were ignored for decades (although in paper lots of money was spend). The beauty of Christianity is that this religion produced some committed people who could travel to even difficult terrains to spread the message of Christ (there shouldn’t be any doubt that message of Christ was for goodness but the attempt of ‘civilizing’ which some took it with zest was ridiculous. In mid twentieth century though Catholics made attempts to adopt and assimilate the local traditions, sometimes even regressive like caste or say the recently acquired sindoor obsession in kerala. Organized religion understands rules of market!!).

Christianity provided an alternative for social mobility for tribals, missionaries filled the gap that was ignored by the state. If I place myself in the place of a tribal I would definitely see the benefits of following Christianity (note here there is no conversion since tribes don’t follow any religion that is conventionally understood). Also the following is basically part of economics (the idea that one religion has superiority over other in understanding spiritual is an exaggerated nonsense). Christian missionaries have done a remarkable job in last many decades to raise the self esteem of tribals crushed by the exploitative nature of surroundings. The widely spread education institutions under missionaries has given them the opportunity to learn and progress. Though elitism exists in these institutions and sometime they are reduced to commercial establishment. This blogger strongly feels that Christian community need to immediately put into perspective what is purpose of education institutions they run. There is an urgent need to increase reservations in these institutions to Christians from economically backward communities, next priority need be given to poorer section from not Christian background. Compassion shouldn’t have any space for elite or market defined merit, compassion is about competence. Christianity’s competence is in spreading the massage of goodness to all. (Colleges like St. Stephen should give preference to competence, I give this example since this college has been decided by and among elite section as torchbearer of merit, alumni include mostly of nuisance value and big time chatteratis).

The State and people of India should be grateful to missionaries since they prevented the alienation of huge section of population. The reason why Naxalism is not rampant in many poorer parts of India has to do a large extend with missionaries. Brahminical ideology instigated violence is nothing but consolidating power. Tribals will loose whatever they have if they enter ‘Hindu’ fold, they are numbers in the larger mission of power brokers. The heinous violence against tribals need be understood from the context of superiority of caste hindus over ‘lowly’ tribals and their audacity to challenge this authority. They also tend to patronize them as gullible people!

Attack on tribals need also seen in the context of racism. Tribals have same reference point with ‘Indians’ of American continent or aborigines. The tribal leaders should also try to forge ties with these groups and try create a pan international protection. It is high time UN sponsor such an initiative. These racist attacks should be condemned at the international level, so far only Pope and Italians have reacted for what they think is an attack on Christianity. Unfortunately these attacks are much heinous and are part of systemic act of racism. There is a case for UNHRC against India, in particular the Orissa state. The Indian State stands accused of not protecting victims of racism.

Unprecedented catastrophe

River changing its course is unheard of, it’s unbelievable. Kosi River in Bihar has created unprecedented havoc, it has stranded some 25 million people (that is population of many countries). It is probably the worst natural disaster to hit India after Tsunami. The death toll is rising and there is a threat of disease. Amazingly the situation is not given the gravity it demands. This is not a national crisis, it is international crisis. As the situation unfolds it is matching the catastrophe of witnessed during hurricane Nargis or Katherina. This lackadaisical approach of policy makers and aid agencies (as also international NGOs) probably has to do with the fact that these are poorest people in one of the most impoverished states of India. This is a catastrophe at international level, it is unprecedented (snap taken from National Geography site).

What to do in life ??

This is one question that troubled me a lot when I was in my early twenties. At that time you have so many career options and non options in front of you, and the social system is such that you have to take these decisions as early as possible. Further one was made to feel that whatever one does will somehow affect the future, so continuously scrutinized and heckled. I recall being in a continuous state of confusion with absolutely no reference point. Reaching a stage that one day I sat down with a paper to chart down what exactly was a human supposed to do?. Extending later to ‘what is purpose of life?’. Marina beach Chennai in the midst of crowded people was where I pondered on these metaphysical queries!!.

What does Police do?
They take care of law and order. So that we can concentrate on doing what ??

What does Army do?
They protect us from external threat. So that we can concentrate on doing what ??

What does Engineers do?
They use/enhance technology to make our life easy and comfortable. So that we can concentrate on doing what ??.

What does Doctors do?
They cure the disease and help us keep our body fit. So that we can concentrate on doing what ??

What does singers/ actors so on do?
They entertain us. So that we can concentrate on doing what ??

…..and so on. I would ask people whom I meet as to what they did and then try to analyze the career. Like I recall meeting a man regular at Music Academy (Chennai) who worked in a Bank, querying him at length as to what he ‘really’ did !!. I guess since he was elderly man he tolerated me. But then anyone working in Bank is concerned with monetary transaction which is about taking care of money. So if he is taking care of my money what am I supposed to be doing??

It took me some time to zero down to the fact that the purpose of life is “to know”. The next question was “to know what?”. That which leads to awareness. To know therefore is life. I recall being quite ecstatic about this understanding. (Here I am not working on para and apara vidya, the sacred and mundane, which though is a significant understanding but was sucked in by wily Brahminical nonsense. Environment, nature, diseases…is very much part of the awareness). I recall writing a poem on this, probably one of my first few poems.

My Ambition
Some want to be Pilot
and ride the world.

Some want to be in the Army
to save the nation.

Some want to be Engineers
to correct the world.

Some want to be Doctors
to correct the people.

Some want to be models
to show it to the world.

Some want to be actors
to let the world see.

As for me
I want to sit on the seashore
And count the waves.
Waves are water
So is sea.

Bit juvenile but I still like the last few lines. It was during this time (I was around 24) that I started taking up reading bit seriously and made it a point to visit Connemara library once a week, and later Ernakulam Public library where I decided to finish atleast two books a week !!. Though I really had some tough time and did revert back to confusion since “knowing” is not a career. And career was understood as capacity to make money. I recall being severely stressed and very nearly gave up.

Since last few years I have got involved in Career training for young people I could not help recollect these thinking I dwelled upon. As for me this understanding has stood the test of time except that I have added “to know and contribute to collective conscience” as purpose of life. Means used for contributing may vary. Basic money is important that is the reason why constant source of earning must be there.

One realizes that Market (I have read has its origin in Protestant ethics) emphasizes on means of earning, the better the skills more competent the person (‘chosen’-the means to reach God). It means to constantly refine oneself, since earning comes with basic Christian tenet of compassion (snap taken from www.flickr.com).

But the way crassness has crept in with “competitive environment”, necessarily at the cost of what doesn’t have Market value. I dare say this contradicts the basic nature of humanity, the alien context (like for instance Patenting wherein the local understanding is sharing) is leading to alienation- from society and surrounding. For the very reason Capitalism may not be a not flawed system, though it looks best possible option. When all that can be used is used competition is cannibalism.