Good morning. The financial good news this week is that our economy has continued to grow over the past three months. But, alongside the positive aspects there are questions about how many of us are feeling the benefit of this increase of GDP. One person with strong views on the subject is economist, Thomas Piketty - the author of the best-selling book, Capital in the Twenty-first century which explores global income.
Professor Piketty was in London yesterday delivering his message that capitalism always results in a dangerous inequality. He warns that the years ahead may see a return to the excessive inequalities of wealth and society of the18th & 19th centuries. Some economists have challenged his theories and reading of history; and specifically, his main solution of a super-tax for the rich, seeing in it more ideology than sound economics. Even so, widening inequality remains a real issue that both developed and developing nations must address.
For instance, India now has more people counted as “middle-class” than the USA. But, that still leaves hundreds of millions of others below acceptable living standards.
Hinduism may have a somewhat ascetic image, but its scriptures advocate we focus on four key goals of human life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha – which are social ethics, wealth, pleasure, and enlightenment; and that we try to balance the first three at least in our daily lives. It’s said: cultivate virtue in the morning, work hard during the day and enjoy with family and friends in the evening.
Hindu texts consider gaining wealth to be a social enterprise – it requires interactions and exchanges with other persons. And, activities which involve giving and taking from people, should be under-pinned and guided by the principles of dharma – our moral responsibilities towards one another.
The Mahabharat further suggests that: No one is more heartless than someone who fails to utilise their wealth for the benefit of others. So, how we spend accumulated wealth is as important as how we gain it. And, that approach is to encourage us on a path - if not all the way to enlightenment - at least to satisfaction and the enjoyment of life.
I believe that it remains the role of any government to close the gap between dharma and artha – that is, to ensure that the natural and insatiable thirst for wealth is pursued more closely in accord with the personal ethical principles that reflect a progressive society.
There’s a relevant Irish riddle for May Day that my mother taught me:
I wash my face in water that was neither rain nor run
And dry it with a towel that was never woven nor spun
Never mind economics: at least, the morning dew and the warmth of the sun are free of charge for us all.
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