“If these idiots would just take the bus, I could be home by now”, snarled a car driver stuck in a traffic jam. The conundrum of public wealth versus private wealth is evident.
“If
these idiots would just take the bus, I could be home by now”, snarled a car
driver stuck in a traffic jam. The conundrum of public wealth versus private
wealth is evident.
Where
is the limit of private wealth in this overcrowded world of us? If all the 7.5 billion people on earth want
private gardens, private pool…private island…, we need to find many Earth. In
the insatiable desires of consumption, humans can make the life that supports
our ecosystems vanish…finally, perish and vanish. The very air we breathe has
become a ‘tragedy of the commons’. Nobel prize winner Elinor Ostrom gave us
insights into the abilities of communities to share their common wealth. She
showed us that communities had naturally evolved unwritten rules for sharing the
common wealth. The issue now is that the contemporary world with splintered
identities has no ground for community identities anchored on land and nature.
The superfluous flux of modern ethereal identities has lifted humans off the
ground with no affinities for land and nature.
When in
human history did we wander from ‘reverence for nature’ and change to amassing
private wealth based on this lopsided view of affluence through insatiable
consumption, without any consideration for the holistic existence of nature and
humans, without consideration for nature’s tender ecological systems sustaining
the beauty of life on Earth?
Once
one has amassed wealth, one wants to have private collections of all sorts,
throwing at them even all the money one has. Wait a minute! What do the
collectors do? ‘Commodity fetishism of capitalists’, and ‘capitalism is not
good for capitalists’ as expressed by Marx throws light on how greedy people
lose sight of the real human pursuits and get strung up on wealth knots in
perpetual wealth mongering, taking out the spirit of real excellence and
exuberance of life. Capital for productivity in the economic imperatives of the
current world order is just a mechanism of creating more wealth for the wealthy
perpetuating disparity without the real richness of enlightenment, excellence,
and exuberance. Isn’t life for living to its fullest?
Into
this conflict, comes the democratization of technologies, for flow creation and
sharing models bringing back the idea of public wealth. Let’s have a look at what is real wealth and
what is public wealth. ‘Health is wealth’ is our primary wealth as anything a
human can enjoy comes from the wellbeing of his body and mind. Over that comes
the refinement based sensual to spiritual happiness. But the uncertainty of the
world and existential fear drives us to keep wealth for the upbringing of
children and circumventing difficult times. As expressed by Plato in The
Republic, if children are all taken care of by the republic, then you are left
with your pursuits of excellence. Vedic thought allows people to accumulate
genuine wealth ‘Artha’ following ethical ways aligned in ‘Dharma’. Societal
wellbeing was at the heart of the Dharmic value system. Thus, wealth is also
aligned with social capital. Further, the concept of compassion as in Advaita Vedanta
which considers all beings as part of the universal soul takes us to reverence
for nature, which gives us the love and beauty of life with the wealth of
vitality and diversity of life. Imbibing from these immensities of life, human
imagination has created beautiful enlightened life of high creativity. Going
deeper we have explored the infinities of the internal world living the moments
ending up in spiritual wealth.
So,
what is the extent of wealth humans aspire? We all know that wealth doesn’t end
with asset holding. Wealth always ends
with the ability to create more wealth. Thus, above physical wealth, the wealth
of human capital, intellectual capital, social capital, cultural capital, and
spiritual capital gives the promise of future wealth. Are all the different
types of capital to be used again to just amass physical wealth in endless perpetual
cycles? That will be so reckless for the world. The wealth beyond physical
wealth can be cultural wealth and social wealth for creating enlightenment,
excellence, and exuberance. And more public physical wealth can be created and
made democratically available for future productivity and happiness of life.
Let’s
look at public wealth. What are they? Resources of a nation, money,
infrastructure, institutions, efficient systems, education and health of
people, capacity for creativity and production, knowledge, literature, beauty, acumen
of people, culture, and nature, are some examples. The elements that create diversity
and vitality in harmony are wealth which gives polarity for creativity.
Increasing public wealth through flow maximization and sharing can enhance
productivity at lower costs and lower the use of resources which in turn helps
in sustainability.
It is
interesting to note Tokyo for its public wealth. Tokyo is the largest urban
economy in the world by gross domestic product. Tokyo’s large network of roads,
subways, rail, together with public places of the likes of parks, squares,
theme parks, theatres, markets, entertainment centers, and 24x7 life avenues
has made space for public wealth to its people who have less private space for
living. This city has become highly productive to stay as the largest GDP city
in the world. Does not public wealth create more flows and sharing which in
turn helps in creating energy for more productivity with creativity upholding
sustainability?
Cultural exuberance over material affluence is the way natural human development can happen. Public wealth in terms of physical assets for productivity and soft wealth for high culture creation is considered. The world is moving into technology-enabled wider communication and entertainment showing the direction of moving away from material consumption to more media consumption for entertainment. If we orient the purpose of life aligned on the cosmic right way, we are destined to enter the refinement cycle for seeking enlightenment. Sustainability is embedded in this idea of enlightenment.
So,
what should we be? Mere creatures fighting for some secluded cozy space for
creature comforts? No! No! We are energy beings lighting up the way firing the
passions of life for life creation with vitalities emerging from the energy
polarities of shared public wealth of nature and human creations keeping nature
and life sacrosanct.
