Promoting hedonism
The result of globalisation
Many expected economic liberalisation to diminish the govt’s role in decisions and reduce illegal opportunities for making money.
There are many ‘luxury’ magazines today on products and lifestyles of the well-to-do. They describe a hedonistic life of late nights, intimacy between the sexes, luxury products at outrageous prices, expensive meals and other entertainment. NCAER’s recent report on ‘How India earns, spends and saves’ shows a decline in the percentages in the population of the very poor and a rise in the numbers of the very well-off. For over 40 years we were conditioned to frown upon ostentatious consumption. Thankfully, that guilt has gone. But ostentation has come in.
The opening of the economy allows us to buy almost anything at comparable prices to other countries. Consumption is the mantra for many young urbanites. The credit card and hire purchase culture give easy credit for immediate consumption. It inevitably led in 2008 to the decline of the American economy. Both the government and its citizens got used to living on debt.
Indians surrounded by so many poor people that they must be conscious of these enormous disparities in our society. The media, especially the soaps on television, have played a major role in promoting hedonism. The other influence especially on the young has been the globalisation of information and ideas though internet and cheap travel. Change and consumption are good. But the loss of compassion and rise of hedonism are undesirable social directions.
Consumption’s counterpart is the need for more money for more goods. Not all achieve it by hard work and entrepreneurship. The easy way is through theft, swindling, etc, all on the rise. When they are in government, many politicians and bureaucrats use its machinery to determine policies and their interpretation to maximise underhand incomes. Businessmen gain by feeding them.
Since the 1970s it has been said often that ‘this one’ is the most corrupt government that India has ever had. This remark has followed each government: Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee and now the UPA. Indira Gandhi is said to have institutionalised corruption by centralising all major appointments in government, the public sector and the academia controlled by government and and major purchases. Her office had to be part of every major decision by government on these matters. Successor governments have built on her legacy. The NDA government learnt quickly.
Many expected that liberalisation would diminish the role for government in economic decisions and reduce illegal opportunities for making money. Abolition of licensing reduced lobbying for and auctioning of licenses and permits. Information technology almost eliminated human interventions in many actions of the government. Railway ticket issues are more transparent as are airline tickets. Competition in telecom has eliminated payments to get a telephone or a linesman to attend to a fault.
Larger financial opportunities
But there are much larger financial opportunities. For some years the chairman of the National Highway Authority of India was changed almost every year and all road contracts had to go to the minister for approval; similarly with environmental clearances. Air India and Indian Airlines are heavily in debt, losing vast sums and are a byword for lazy, indifferent and indisciplined employees.
Yet the top management slot is always with a joint secretary. Even when the airlines were hemorrhaging with losses, valuable routes were being surrendered to private airlines. Many brand new aircraft were ordered on debt. Perhaps bureaucrats are more compliant to the wishes of ministers. In defence contracts, project execution contracts, large purchases by public sector enterprises and city improvement programmes, there is much money to be made by decision makers in government. Few resist the opportunity.
A semi-literate chief minister of Jharkahnd is alleged to have made thousands of crores and sent much of it abroad. So also did a private racehorse owner. A small town crook sold fake stamp papers for many years, milking governments out of substantial revenues. Without help from politicians and bureaucrats they could not have done so.
Even food inflation is suspected to have benefited ministers and bureaucrats by holding back distributing the stocks with government, to help the prices to rise. When India imports wheat or sugar the world markets are publicly informed before placing orders. This might be to help international traders to rig up prices.
Corruption in government is all pervasive and has affected eminent professionals as well. Chairmen of the regulatory bodies for medical and technical education and even the University Grants Commission are alleged to have awarded recognition to substandard institutions. Hospitals, nursing homes, chemists are many times part of a nexus with government regulators and other officials.
This loss of moral values has accompanied economic liberalisation and globalisation. Neither is by itself to blame. They have enabled India to become an economic powerhouse in the eyes of the world. But it is sapping the moral fabric of the country. Ostentatious consumption cannot be controlled by fiats unless we revert to the unholy license permit raj.
We must prefer corruption with, not without, economic growth. Our fiscal system must provide disincentives to ostentation. Regulators must limit individual and government debt. Leaders must set an example. Sadly there are few who do so.
