Soul based Capitalism- We need to institutionalize doing good

Capitalism reflects positives in the human psyche- power, growth, efficiency and the competitive drive and hence it has built the industrial and the post industrial society since the 1750’s. Socialism and Communism had an opportunity to play its cards with the Soviet experiment for 70 years; proved to be a success in its patches and crumbled under its weight of militarization and authoritarianism. It was dictatorship of the proletarian structure in the USSR and Eastern Europe than anything. Capitalism drives greed and has lead to financial meltdowns during the great depression, the Asian Financial Crisis and the Sub prime debacle over the last two years, Rubini- The doom guru saw it coming but no one else sadly. Capitalism has lead to enormous transformation in lifestyles but also has increased the gradient between the have and the have nots.

Social Innovators such as Ashoka and the Microfinance pioneer Grameen have done good work, but with recent failures  in India with SKS under the scanner and the Bangladeshi Government ousting Dr. Yunus from its CEOship.. This movement is also under the scanner. There are tiny success stories of social innovators all over the globe, creating an impact one community at a time. The Asia Impact Investment Exchange pioneered by Durren Shahnaz- a Bangladeshi social innovator creating a platform for social businesses to raise funds.

The fundamental question is not addressed- there is a gulf between conventional profit based businesses and the non profit organizations who try to do good under fiscally constrained circumstances.  Why is there a 12 inch gap in thinking between the heart and the head?

The hallmark of a successful society is help those who cannot help themselves. We are living in carbon constrained times as well. We are brewing a perfect storm, its the calm lull prior to the calamity.  We need to be a more human society, get our values back in place. We need incentives for creating happier families, a healthy climate and grow sustainable.

We need to re-boot our system or the CPU is going to crash very soon.. the earth’s processor is over stretched and the human intellect is rising but not the soul, its shrinking…We need more RAM into our real motherboard- The spirit and the soul… for the entire technical framework to have upgrades


  1. At first I thought I would defend against few terms that you have used with Socialism and Communism. But, I guess why should I always try to defend 😛

    Well, as far as Capitalism is concerned, it knows the weakest link in human mind – “I”. When everyone starts to think about “I” and not “You” or “We” or “They” or even “Us”, Capitalism will flourish.

    It’s a system which runs on difference. After a certain period of time, if there is no fall then growth is not possible. It’s a cyclic process. It is not about distribution of wealth, it’s about accumulation. It’s just one section of people getting more rich day by day.

    NGOs, Plans, proposed systems etc etc etc…. these are of no use when it comes to social reform. To bring social reform you have to reform from the very base of the Pyramid or else there is no point in doing that. This is where the views of Socialism really excel. They are scientific and rational to the core. They believe in equality. Yes, this word is used in many fancy ways but absolute equality is very different. Food, shelter, clothes, education – these are the most important thing in any society and these should be promised to every human.

    One big example is when Mao Zedong opted not to make cars in his country. Why, because he wanted first everyone should have cycle. When people will understand that yes, this decision was correct, only then can the ultimate Communism come into picture. People need to understand the basic difference between “Need” and “Requirement”.

  2. I do agree with the need and requirement concept as M K Gandhi said- there is enough for a man’s need but not for his greed…on this planet…but the question is-who will distribute the wealth?

  3. cool, i have watched both The King’s Speech and Black Swan! When I was sick at home and they are the only 2 recent movies I could stream easily… they are great movies and it’s good to see that you link them to your life experiences to gain some great insights.

    would be reading your blog for more news about india and your life 🙂

    best regards,

  4. Thank you very much Shean for your feedback… i deeply appreciate it…there is more coming soon.. Its a pleasure reading ur writing as well…looking forward to your next post!

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