More on Corruption...

While expressing his views on my recent post on corruption, my friend Pranav brought up the topic of 'inequality' and many interesting issues related to it. The following were the main points he made:

1. The root cause of corruption is economic inequality - Countries like Sweden which have lower levels of economic inequality seem to be more prosperous and less corrupt. However, I was not totally clear on the directions of causality, if any, between inequality, corruption and prosperity here. One can have views, but I think we need a more detailed study to come to a conclusion. Apparently, it seems economic equality among the masses can be managed to a good extent by smart policy; and at the same time, if economic prosperity of the country as a whole is managed through aggressive economic activity (the tendency for which might lie in social attitudes), the propensity for corrupt actions can be minimized to a great extent.
2. Economic inequality comes naturally and is unavoidable, yet manageable to a certain extent - This point was made independent of the last set of points, and was substantiated by an excellent thought experiment by some great guy, whose name Pranav mentioned by I don't remember now. The thought experiment was to have a world with a group of people, equal in the way humans are (with our unique and different personalities and abilities), and then give them all an equal amount of money (or I would say some equivalent of money in such a world at a kick-start stage). The result of that experiment, according to the thinker of the thought experiment, is that with time, the world will work in such a way that the equality of the distribution of wealth will vanish and eventually a small minority shall hold most of the wealth. Pranav fit in the 80-20 principle there, but I think we see a far higher concentration of wealth in very few hands in the real world. As I see it, wealth is an indicator of a sum of all abilities a person has, through which a person stakes his/her claim for a share of the resources of this world. This is literally a fight for what is there. And since we humans are not at all equal, it is not possible to achieve economic equality either. That is, as long as we stake a claim on the resources of the planet. If we all give it up, and become saints, then perhaps we'll be equal. As long as there is competition, there can't be economic equality. But lack of competition is probably not good for human progress. And so is equality.
3. Tendency towards wrongdoing is directly related to nature and deep rootedness of social value systems - If the social values we imbibe as we grow up are so strongly against doing things that are conventionally wrong, that they can induce a deep sense of guilt even upon slightest slip in behavior, the chance of an average citizen indulging in such activity is highly remote and unlikely. Pranav elaborated this point with three kinds of wrong actions as per the norms of any society in this world - taking bribes, cheating on spouse and murder. I agree with Pranav, and we can clearly see, that this is the intent with which most of our social and religious institutions, stories (mainly mythological), relationships, etc., are designed and developed. And we, as common people, adhere to most of all that just coz we want a safe and comfortable life, and no threats on us because of anybody else, and in return we assure the same to others from our side. But at the same time, on second thoughts, I feel that this adherence is because of a deep-rooted fear - of death, painful life, etc. If somehow this vulnerability goes away for a person, or something can shield him/her from all human threats to life, will he give a damn about the value systems of society? Not to a very great extent, I feel. And that's why they say 'Power Corrupts'.

2012

Happy 2012 to everybody. We're a couple of hours into the new year. Strangely, it has been relatively warm tonight in Pune, as compared to the past few nights. I hope it's not the 2012 effect - the earth getting hotter and stuff underground boiling its way out like they showed in the movie 2012.

I came to know of this end-of-the-world prophecy in 2005, and since then, have always found it fascinating to think about. To choose to believe in the possibility, I have to either believe that all that is and will be is deterministic, or that there are some really scientific observations which probably the Mayans did and based on that knowledge, calculated the date of the end of the world, and for some reason, we are not able to see their point, and have clearly not made any similar observation that leads to the same conclusion. Like in all cases of human belief, I have difficulty in taking a side here as well, without any evidence to justify that side. Nor can I deny the possibility, as I really don't know. Therefore, I will just wait and watch. But I must say that the topic is extremely interesting and exciting.

2011

Today is the last day of 2011! Not the most eventful year 2011 was, but I have definitely had quite a few interesting and memorable experiences this year.

The ones that have immediate and top-of-the-mind recall are the following -
1. Manfest 2011
2. IIML Placements
3. My father's bypass surgery
4. Job change

Interestingly, all in the first half of the year. The only thing in the latter half of 2011 which I would always remember is the Anna Hazare movement, because of the impact it had on my mind.

2012 is going to be interesting and eventful, as have been most of the even numbered years in my life so far. I am going to start the year with the 1st guitar class in the music school I've joined. I hope I can play the thing well by the end of 2012 or by the end of the world, whichever comes first. And I also hope to become a better swimmer in 2012. And I will certainly do many many interesting things in 2012!

Blogger app for mobile

Installed the Blogger app for Android just now. Looks pretty cool and easy to use. This post comes through it.

The app has all the features you need for a basic blog post with pictures. The text box for writing your stuff is small when you start writing, but grows as required when you type in text.

Still need to explore it deeper to figure out what's wrong with this thing. So far, everything seems pretty good!

Lokpal Bill

All of a sudden, Anna Hazare and his team seems to have lost the support and sympathy of a lot of people. Here are my views on what’s probably happening.

Common man would not have a goal so specific as having a Lokpal to check on the Governmental bodies. His interests are specific to his view of or touch points with the Government. His concerns are specifically on how he is affected by the practices prevalent in Governmental institutions. Of course, the case may be that a corruption-free government may be the only way some of people’s high priority wants would be met. For example, we all want good and adequate roads, and corruption in the whole public infrastructure space is one big reason why we don’t have them. Therefore, it is indeed good for us that our systems are clean, efficient and transparent. However, how that translates into the clauses of the Lokpal Bill, is beyond anyone of us common people. Therefore, it seems everyone is confused about what’s going on and what should replace what in the bill, and if the bill is really of any use in the first place.

But then, common man in a democracy is not the one who makes laws. He elects representatives who are supposed to be smart and wise enough to come up with the right set of rules, regulations and laws. However, a unique law like the Lokpal, whose sole purpose is to keep those elected representatives in control, cannot be framed by those representatives alone, coz there is a definite conflict of interest there. Then who would do it? That’s where a Civil Society or some such body finds its place. But the way the system is designed, making laws is the sole prerogative of the elected representatives, i.e., parliamentarians. So the civil society has to act as a pressure group. Anna Hazare’s team has been doing exactly that, and in great style until now. Their claim to represent common man is solely based on the crowds they have been able to gather. These crowds, however, bother least about the specific clauses of the bill. They generally want an end to corruption, and want to trust that Anna’s bill would do it, coz trusting the government’s version is difficult because of the conflict of interest, and Anna was able to stand out among the many who have been fighting for Lokpal. This worked till now, because the common man was happy to have someone shouting slogans standing in front, coz in a mob opposing a governmental system, everyone wants a bakra who would willingly stand in front, who is revered as long as he’s getting it right or it’s all just working somehow and is called a fool as soon as he goofs up somewhere. And Anna’s team goofed up in quite a few things through their tactics since the last fast - taking party-specific stand in elections and indulging in anti-campaigning, for example, which was really stupid and unethical. Not that people don’t trust team Anna any more or their tactics have lost appeal. It’s just that it’s not working any more. Also, and most importantly at this stage for the common man, there’s too much confusion on what’s right and what’s wrong for the future of the country. And amidst all this confusion, there arose a question mark on whether team Anna really represents the common man. After all, our parliamentarians, who are elected by masses by actually casting votes, don’t seem to really know or care what the masses want. In that situation, how can someone stand up and claim to be speaking the voice of the common man?

I believe, the tendency for corruption springs from some element of human behavior, and the economic and social context. A holistic solution to corruption should involve strong inputs from psychologists, sociologists and economists. Not just political scientists and legal experts. And not necessarily the common man. I am not sure whether the current drafts can claim to be so thoroughly analyzed. May be we should pilot 2-3 versions of the Lokpal Bill in different States and understand the pros and cons before we do a National rollout. Why don’t we do that? We have so many States, and so much scope for trial and experimentation. Why do we have to draft/pass a bill just by debate, without doing a trial run and without collecting real data to prove its effectiveness?

Note: Use of masculine gender for common man is just for the sake of simplicity, and it refers to both males and females.

Passion

Let me attempt to present my views on the question I raised in my previous article.

I was trying in my mind to define Passion, and was easily lured into defining obsession instead. But soon realized that there ought to be a difference between the two. Without getting into the trap of referring dictionaries, let me choose what I mean by passion. I would define passion as a highly intense positive feeling or emotion for an activity, which can drive a person to dedicate all his/her energies into doing it in the best possible manner and which results in happiness of the order for which one can willingly choose to die.

Such true and genuine passions are rare, mainly because our upbringing tries to make of us individuals who can handle, to an extent, most of the basic stuff required for living in this world, and anyone who does one thing to an extreme degree, ignoring everything else, is seen as an abnormal being who must be penalized for his/her behavior. So, first and foremost, this belief must change, along with the development of institutions and systems that allow an individual to focus on his passion, and have the rest taken care of. The industrial revolution was a small step towards that, and consequently, we have had more people in the west, choosing and working in fields they strongly feel for, than in the east, where countries like India have had professions decided by castes which have been largely hereditary for the past 1000 years.

That explains the various perks and facilities most companies provide to their employees in their workplaces. And the company that gets it right, can get the best out of its employees, provided its employees are also doing the work they are passionate about. For example, I heard a few years back that google ensures there's food within 8 feet from each of its employees! Not sure whether that's true, but it certainly is one such perk. And google certainly used to hire extremely talented guys those days.

However, ensuring job-fit is not what a company's HR department or Talent Managers or Technical/non-Technical managers can do best. Job-fit not only means that the company gets the best out of an individual, but also that the individual enjoys doing the job, so much that he applies his mind and creativity to do it better and then, is motivated to get to the next level in that stream. Most well-educated individuals are equally capable of doing most kinds of jobs efficiently. And they can prove their skill well if their abilities are put to test. And I don't think the world really has many jobs so complex that an average human being can't do well enough with a little training. Given all this, I believe it is always only in the hands of the individual to choose his work in his/her area of passion. The world can only offer him the environment where he/she can pursue his/her passion in the best possible way, but can never ensure that he gets the work that he does best and also enjoys doing.

Which brings us to the next element of the puzzle of passion - Choice. Besides the context of our birth, our choices largely define what we experience in life. Our upbringing and education should therefore jointly involve the right elements to give us a strong belief that we should fearlessly and rationally choose what we want to and when we want to. Of course, they should also impart the values which would govern the nature of those choices and ensure that they are not harmful to the world.

So to summarize - our institutions, social setup and systems should be such that they take care of everything else if an individual wants to do one thing alone; and our upbringing and education should make us strong enough to make our choices and stand by them.

There has to be a lot more, and I would therefore like to invite your views. Please comment.

India lacks competent mathematicians: PM

On second thoughts, I feel India lacks competent anybody in any field. We don't traditionally have a culture which promotes passion for any area. So while we develop capabilities, we don't develop competencies that are world class, although our education system does great job in imparting what is sought. If there is passion, one would never have dearth of resources, support or prospects.

So, how can we create an ecosystem that promotes passion in individuals for their areas of interest? What fundamental changes do we need to make in our society, institutions, beliefs and values?