Quick Bytes: Individual Vs Collective Success
Quick thought on how all the metrics published by the governments focus on the collective group rather than individuals - Oct 15
In the morning newspaper, I read the news about the projection of India becoming the world’s third-largest economy in the world by 2028. Though this might seem like good news, the GDP per capita of India remains very low - standing at about $2500 (to get some context, China is around 5 times of India, Taiwan stands at 25 times of India and the US stands at around 40 times of India)
Source: Economic Times
To add to the gloomier side of the picture - this data just shows you the average, the extremes stand different distant edges with the poor earning meagre incomes and riches enjoying the lavish lifestyle.
The World Inequality Report 2022 says the world’s most extreme inequality has been observed in India. It notes India is a “poor country and very unequal, with an affluent elite”. The WIR says the top 10 per cent of the country’s population account for 57 per cent of the national income, of which 22 per cent is held by the top 1 per cent. While a small section of India’s populace enjoys 5-star privileges, for the bottom 50 per cent sustainability of life is still a challenge. This is due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, loss of job opportunities, an erratic unorganised sector, and rising poverty and inflation. The bottom 50 per cent are earning Rs 53160 and the top ten percent Rs 1166520, 20 times more.
Source - The Daily Poineer
In my attempt to connecting dots with how things operate in nature, I was quickly reminded of Harari’s words on how nature measures success - for nature, multiplying and increasing the count is the measure of success - wheat being the most successful plant. By this measure, the poultry animals could be termed as a success by the count metrics but the reality is the miserable life they lead before they come to our meal plate. If you are interested in our hypocrisy on this topic watch this movie - Okja
Just like governments, nature work on the collective idea of success - the individual factors like the happiness, love, and quality of life of the individuals are left to the individuals to figure out by themselves. This also remains same in the nature, nature does not care about a tiger’s or a deer’s life and hunger. There could be the case that a tiger within the community could not survive but the streak of tigers live a great life in their area. The quality of the life of the individual is thus left to his/her own.
So, you might be wondering, what can be done about this - In my opinion the lesser the control the governments have on our life, the better it is. Having said that, I do believe that every human has the right to get an education, good health facilities, a basic income for his survival, and equal opportunities to grow and conquer the world. The rest is up to the individual on how well he/she is able to understand the rules of the game of the modern world and win/lose.