By 20th century, the capitalism transformed into imperialism. The past history of capitalism is the history of wars. There is no proper statistics for the slayings and wars done by imperialist forces to capture markets and fleece natural resources. Only in World War II alone 50 million people were killed and another 50 million became handicapped.
The Iraq and Afghan wars were for petrol. Imperialism is the pest of world environmental destruction, poverty and other social evils. It imperils the economic security, food security, health security individual personality development and environmental security, social-cultural security and political security in all over the world. It obliterates the individual culture of all the countries of the world. The lone ?consumption-culture? of capitalism defected the world. The Soviet communism, which came to the place of capitalism was nothing but a state-capitalism.
It is the utilitarian capitalism implemented in the erstwhile Soviet Union. The 75-year-long communist canon sowed un-describable environmental hazards. Chernobyl disaster and dry-up of Aral Sea are some among them. The social condition of Soviet Union was deplorable. A society having all kinds of wickedness like bureaucracy, corruption, black marketing, destituteness of the public, high mortality rate, high infant-mortality, alcoholism and drugs was the residue left behind by the communists bee in Soviet Union. Poverty, starvation, social-inequalities are prevalent there. One of the slogans set forth by the Chinese Communist party who is building up capitalism in the guise of communism, is ?making money is a divine action?. China is endeavouring to defeat America in production and consumption, just like the erstwhile Soviet Union earlier. As far as China is concerned, the cat should catch the mouse whether the mouse is black or white. Red cat is not necessary. The difference between ?haves? and ?have nots? are sky-rocketing. In the world labour market China pays the lowest remuneration. The flee from villages to cities in search of employment is whopping. In China employment, food, health service, education are not fundamental rights. The environmental degradation is appalling. All rivers are polluted with chemical and organic wastes. Capitalist culture is in the going and the ones motivated: Cuba and Vietnam are highly backward countries. The state of North Korea is pitiful. The North Koreans writhe under the wrath of dictatorship.
The economic theories of the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi come up as the substitute to the in-humaneness capitalism and communism. Gandhian economics is based on Indian conceptions. It is totally different from the modern economics based squarely on the production and consumption. Gandhiji wrote, ?The resources and equipments to satisfy the needs of all people of the world is here. But it cannot satisfy at least one person'sgreed.? The economic concept of Gandhiji is based on renewable natural resources. Authority and planning are decentralised in Gandhian economics. The development is people oriented. The economic view of Gandhiji gives prime importance to humanism. The world famous philosophers Shoemaker, Fukuoka, Rachel Carson, Frijoph Capra presented new economic thoughts substituting the modern economics. Their economic views adhered to Buddhist views. Those are generally known as Buddhist economists. The gist of Shoemaker's?small is beautiful? is this. The resources in earth are diminishing due to ingestion. If it goes on like this, it will not sustain long. Instead of big production centres, effective small production units are to be implemented.
Machines and technical systems suitable to this should be the challenge of the science and technology. Larger productions generating unemployment should be avoided as far as possible. Production increases only when everybody has employment; economical inequality is redressed. New technologies should be in harmony with nature. The technology never be nature destructive. When natural resources are consumed it should bear only the loss due to the natural processing. Thus a system which is harmonious to nature and man is to be expounded. Through small consumption, the rightful lifestyle, the maximum golly is to be the vision. The modern economists including Gandhiji consider man and nature to be one and the same. Humanity can be salvaged only if the new economic theories, brought forward as the substitute to western classical economics is pragmatically implemented.
(Translated by Jayapradeep Viswanath)
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