Your money, their money

Money, Money, Money, it's so funny… it's a rich man's world! So sang the Swedish pop group, Abba, many years ago. Abba sang the song when the Berlin wall was intact. And State-sponsored socialism as practised by the Soviet Union was creating a robust chimera for the poor and needy all over the world, that yes, a society can be created where money did not matter all that much. Alas, it proved to be a phantasmagoria when the Soviet Union collapsed. The idealism of the socialist State proved a careful camouflage for the corrupt bureaucracy to make money and pauperise the deprived masses. Governments did not really look after the people — they were instruments of aggrandizement for the ruling class. So Abba was right after all! It's truly a rich man's world!

So where did it leave the professionals, the working class and all those who lived with a dream in their eyes hoping that their merit, talent and hard work would help them find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Did a globalised world provide space to those who were not born with a silver spoon? Is it 'just' enough to give adequate compensation for people's labour? Is it possible to make clean honest money in a world where ends justified the means?

These are difficult questions in an unequal world where globalisation is skewing riches in favour of those who are already amazingly wealthy. What holds out hope for many of those who did not have a privileged upbringing is the growing emphasis on knowledge-based skills that the new economy warrants. It is possible for many young people in a country like India which has struggled for years to shake off the colonial hangover of servility and reticence to learn basic computer programming skills to take up well-paying jobs and increase their purchasing power. There is employment for a growing middle and low-middle class in the private sector. Armed with good control over the English language, these youngsters can even take up jobs in different parts of the world. Communication technologies are making borders redundant and pushing trained labour to skill-scarce societies of Europe and the West. Jobs are being outsourced to the lesser developed countries as large corporations that now rule the world want to not just enlarge their profit margins — they also sidestep many of the tough labour laws that prevail in the West. For these trained professionals there are opportunities to start big and small businesses and try to make a clean buck without having to rely on kickbacks and commission that the Delhi and Mumbai's predatory compradors thrived on all these years.

The prosperity and growth that poor economies of Asia are experiencing have a lot to do with the investment in education. But what about millions of those who are not literate and have nothing to offer but basic labour? The challenge to increase their purchasing power is daunting. What is visible in India and other booming economies is the marginalisation of those who cannot contribute to this new economy unilaterally decided by market demands. What is the way out for the landless, uneducated (un)employed to live with pride and honesty? Besides getting educated they need to organise in every village, taluka, district so that they can force the money-bags and government entities to share their wealth by creating jobs for them in the upcoming industrial enclaves and giving them adequate compensation for the use of their land or resources. Making democracy more participatory and accountable is the first step towards ensuring that the poor get a share of the wealth that, unhappily, is concentrated in a few hands. Hardnews hopes that the new year of 2008 would help an ordinary, hardworking Indian make good honest money. This is because poverty is not a blessing, as the cliché goes. Poverty is a curse. Like bloated, cold-blooded prosperity surrounded by a sea of despair and disparity.