Why Hate the Rich and Consumerism?

To paraphrase that old saying, “Give a man charity, and you feed him for a day. Give him a job and you feed him for a life time.” And yet, many talk as if the person doing charity is better than the one creating jobs! Of course, there are times when charity is necessary (like after the tsunami in 2004, or in Haiti now) but most of the time, people want jobs.

Sunil Mittal, founder of Airtel, has put a phone in the hands of 100 million Indians. Why resent it, if in the process, he has become one of the world’s richest men? Before telecom got privatized, how many years did you have to wait for a phone connection? But hey, let’s just curse Mittal for being rich.

Reliance employs a huge number of people. They include uneducated ones, the 12th pass and the ones with degrees (engineers, MBA’s). Shouldn’t we be glad that jobs are there for such a vast set of people? Why hate the Ambanis just because they are rich?

People resent the rich. Or maybe they just envy the rich. I always find it weird that people don’t seem to differentiate between the guy who earned his wealth, pays his taxes, maybe even does charity as opposed to the rich guy who got there by swindling or cheating.

I can understand (and even agree with) the anger, resentment and frustration with the second category since they never get punished. But c’mon, surely not everyone who is rich got there through illegal or unethical means. It is the difference between a Laloo and a Narayan Murthy. Don’t tell me they are at par!

Let’s forget the super-rich for a moment. The middle class today wants to enjoy the good things of life. They buy cars, shop at malls and visit places for fun. Those activities in turn create jobs in the auto plants, malls and the tourism industry. And they in turn create jobs in the tyre, film and local industries. And so the money flow continues.

Who cares whether the intent of the Ambanis or the middle class was to create jobs? They cause that to happen regardless. Trust me, most people would rather have a steady job that ensures that they won’t starve ever. Relying on charity is a dangerous way to live: ask a beggar if he knows whether he will get enough to eat tomorrow.

Stop cursing the rich or the middle class guy who spends. They do more good (intentionally or unintentionally) than the once-in-a-while donors. Isn’t that what all the do-gooders and socialists wanted in the first place? So why exactly do they hate the rich and the consumerist tendencies of today?

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