Page 19 - MYM 2016

who worked day and night over years to galvanize
a citizens’ network and mobilize governments, we would not have forged a collective decision on global warming.
Wealth concentration is as dangerous as the environmental threat. One is a physical threat against the existence of the planet; the other a threat against humanity, against the right of the people to live with dignity and peace pursuing higher ideals.
If the collective e orts of citizens led by a com- mitted group of scientists and activists from all sections of society could make us aware of climate danger, I believe by following the same roadmap
we can galvanize forces to protect humanity from the danger of destruction through ever-intensifying wealth concentration. Citizens have to create little islands of wealth harmony through their e orts. ey have to inspire the world, particularly the youth, that this can be done and must be done. We are in an era where the impossible becomes possible faster and faster. is is one impossible feat that we will have to make possible very fast irrespective of all the hurdles in reaching it.
Let me share some of my thoughts on how we can make it happen.
People at the center
Can wealth explosion be stopped? My rm answer is yes, it can be done. Human beings can do anything they want. ere must be a strong desire behind it. However, the old ways of doing it through government and charities alone cannot do it. People will have to take it up as their personal priority, take the lead in doing it themselves and then put strong pressure on government to create the right kind of policy packages to facilitate this.
Since the appearance of modern capitalism around 250 years back, the concept of the free market has been well established. It is believed that an invisible hand ensures competition in the econ- omy, thus contributing to the equilibrium in the markets. It is also believed that society is bene ted automatically if individuals pursue their own bene- ts without paying any attention to social bene ts. Now the question is: does the invisible hand ensure bene ts equally for everybody in the society? e
invisible hand is clearly biased to the richest. at’s why enormous wealth concentration continues.
how can We reverse Wealth concentration?
My faith in the possibility of transforming
a wealth-pyramid gradually into a new shape, wealth-diamond – very few at the top, and very few at the bottom, with the bulk of the people in the middle – simply skyrocketed a er the UN Climate Change Conference victory in Paris. Now I feel con- dent that wealth explosion can be arrested.
First of all, it is not an unalterable fate that humankind was born with. Since it is our own creation, we can solve it through our own e orts, the same as with global warming. It is our blocked mind that prevents us from seeing the problem that is pushing us towards this explosion. Our e orts should be directed to unblock our minds. We must challenge the existing paradigms that led the world to this problem. e usual political agenda to reduce the problem focuses on income gap, not on wealth gap. It is done through a program of income redis- tribution, taking from the top (through progressive taxes) and giving it to the bottom (through various transfer payments).
Obviously only governments can undertake income redistribution programs. Some governments carry out this program with toughness, some do it
at a relaxed pace. Unfortunately, in a democratic environment a government cannot achieve any sig- ni cant success in a redistribution program. People at the top from whom the governments are supposed to collect heavy taxes are politically very power-
ful. ey use their disproportionate in uence on
the governments to restrain them from taking any meaningful step against their interest.
I don’t think addressing income inequality is the real answer. We have to address the cause, not the manifestation of the problem. We must address the wealth gap, the cause of the income gap. If we keep the wealth base unchanged, any reduction in income gap will be ine ective. On top of that, governments’ cash transfer programs are usually charity programs. Charity programs are excellent as temporary relief, but are not a permanent solution to the problem.
MarketiNg for social chaNge
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