The state versus market debate has been on from a long time. It may be a century old debate or may be two. Looking back, it becomes clear, that the problems of the developing countries lies majorly in its administration efficiency and the political willingness to make things right. In my view, at least, it is certain that treating every transaction like that in a marketplace can solve most of our problems today. Nevertheless the limitations of this are pretty evident and therefore calls for an involvement of state at various quarters. But the opportunity to innovate that opens up will be surely visible for those who are concerned and a bit creative. The opportunity for larger social innovations will open up for the people to adapt and improve. The opportunities in a market place. Yes, market and social innovations, I think is the way forward.
The societies have progressed from being a community to come together and form a democracy, driven today by the economy. Well this calls for a larger complexity in its processes and it’s services. And a direct impact on its delivery system of these services. There are just too many people today in India that calls for a lot of social innovation for solving most of our civic problems. And the kind of services taken up by the state are varied, some independent some in partnership and some by the private agencies we call today as businesses and the rest by the civic sector through the mission of the various voluntary Organisations that exist. What is actually required is a socio-economic progress, accountability to the people by the primary agency responsible, a positive, persuasive and a pro-active governance. To achieve this the state alone will not be capable. It cannot add much to the economy of the nation and retain profits in the national exchequer for the prosperity of the nation. It depends on the taxes paid by not just its individuals and the industries, but also the state relies on businesses to provide innovative solutions to specific social problems.
On this regard, if we dig deeper into the current situation the ecosystem seems to be extremely co-operative for such businesses to thrive and make a difference. And I need not elaborate the impact today by companies that are coming up in the e-commerce and logistics sectors broadly making life more easy and comfortable. I would call them as not just a business, but as social machines. Social is a largely misunderstood word. Let us not even think about how social work is viewed. At least for me it is not something great that we get into it, it is something which everyone should. It is something you do still doing whatever you are doing for a living. It is a moral responsibility. I don’t see a greatness that needs to be showcased to the world for doing something ‘social’. I mean, what else can be done apart from it being social, right? At max, I can only sympathise for people not having a concern to the situation around them and not working on it. On that regard, businesses are social too, as long as they are solving a real problem.
Business has a framework. It has a clear direction. It will be such a fantastic way to address the problems of our society if the solution to it becomes a reason for the existence of a business, right? For the sole reason that the solution providing system will be sustainable and scalable. The challenges however still remain. It is important to have a clear revenue model and that it addresses a real problem and offers a solution to it. If it does not fit into these the aforementioned requirements, one can simply trade to make money. Not much fun in it, isn’t it? We have all interacted with the various institutions of the government, more so with the businesses around. We spend our 70% day in the marketplace. That’s assuming nearly over 8 hours in a day. All this is not knew, not at all.
But a big question that stands tall in front of me today is, what are we doing in that remaining 30% of the day we get for ourselves completely every week. Assuming a 3hours per day for 6 days and 12hours a day, in a week, we have 1560 hours that gives us 65 days free per individual in an year, that we are out of this marketplace. With the population of India being 1.252 billion, we have 1900 billion hours free in an year by its entire population. If we can activate at least 30% of this we have around 585 billion hours in an year to work on addressing our social problems. So, time is not a concern. We have it. The more concerning issue is, how are we spending this time of ours?
It is clear and is definitely logical for us to accept that the state is not an one-stop solution for all the society’s problems. It needs participation. And for a business to attend to every social issue is near impossible. Like for example, one cannot charge for looking after a kid left alone by its parents and relatives. I mean the state run orphanages/ hostels or those run by non-governmental institutions cannot be treated with business-like solutions. And a lot of such such similar services too. But for those which can, should. And for the rest, there has to be a civic engagement. It is easier said than done. It is subjective to say the least, the idea of a nation's third sector after state and business, its citizens, participating towards better governance. For a developing economy like ours, Indians should come together with one single voice to tackle our internal issues. But, how? No, this post is not to start a movement online. If we have to see more objectively, the case becomes quite simple at the outset. I believe, that there is a solution and I have it.
We have set up a democracy, for our sake. We elect a government which is responsible for a progressive public administration. It is our moral responsibility not just to vote, but to participate. To promote openness and transparency in administration, we need to participate. To measure performance of service delivery and evaluate it to suggest improvements we need to participate. To decentralize authority and get rid off pseudo power structures that exist today in the society, we need to participate. Speaking of which, I just realized how messy it is to participate today. But there has to be a way out. I am sure, there is. Why cannot we be positive about the systems we have developed for ourselves. I had just remarked on the social media, that, collectively we are all becoming more stupid, hitting on all the outbursts on #beefPolitics #Intolerence #AssemblyElections #RahulGandhi #Modi, damn!. We are becoming more stupid because we lack direction. We are concerned, but we are lost. Think about it now. 3hours of free time a day and how we are spending it fretting and ranting about these issues (on social media of course) instead of doing something to tackle them in real. Its easy to blog and post, isn’t it? I know this for a fact. I mean, why would I start another blog. Damn! Opinions are easy and they come free. Take this if you want.
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