The Eternal Dilemma (Part2)

Let us look at society today. There are very clearly, blue collar and white collar jobs. While us white collar folks have five day weeks, desks , A/C, paid vacation, and any other perk that we fancy for ourselves, there are some labourers who are paid wages on a daily basis. And more often than not, in a country where labour is exploited, like ours, they are paid for an entire day less than what we make in half an hour.

And then there are employee benefits, retirement schemes, promotions, and so much scope for betterment still. The other side shows us jobs which are mostly handed out by flimsy contracts under cut throat contractors. These jobs are mind numbingly repetitive. They are bound to it for the rest of their lives until they

1. Are killed by an accident on the job
2. Die/Retire due to some occupational disease
3. Are phased out, fired and forsaken when they can be replaced by machines.

The ideal society is supposed to provide equal opportunity for every individual to pursue his dreams. The staggering contrast between that and reality is depressing.

This is seen first hand in a place where manual labour is found in plenty, like process plants. I used to attend classes for half a day in an A/C environment, the other half with Google Reader and Facebook and managed to make more than a thousand a day. I looked into the slip of a labourer who toils all day under the unforgiving Vizag sun and saw 154Rs/day.

So are we better than them because we are more educated? Or is it because we have the systems and the nonchalance to thoroughly exploit them?

The Eternal Dilemma (Part 1)

While reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, I was struck by this thought.

Everyone knows that globalisation is good for the world and is here to stay. Let me focus on one aspect of globalisation that has contributed to its emergence- sourcing labour/ services from where they are cheapest. This is a continuosly increasing trend and this is what has seen so many Indians land good jobs from across the oceans and at the BPOs.

This will mean that given a wage, somebody who can give you maximum output will be employed. There is a catch here. Has anybody looked into what kind of people that gives rise to?

Enter the concept of "hard working" individuals. On the one hand, we are always told all round development is paramount for a good life and on the other, we are told to slave away till we are bathed in sweat at the lowest wages possible. These two worlds are at a constant conflict. To be successful in this scenario amounts to working like typical Indian or Chinese people- work atleast 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. All your life should revolve around work and the occasional social function. These functions are supposed to be where you "unwind". The idea is to meet as many people as possible who are slaving away at their jobs and discuss which firm is the best to slave for etc. Let me remind you that these people have almost no hobbies, are terrible public speakers and have unidirectional ambitions- to excel at their jobs.

Have you noticed the particular dearth of good public speakers from India? Where is there intelligent humour here? Where are our creative pursuits appreciated? Instead anyone pursuing a career in art or aesthetics is thoroughly snubbed. At the same time, we lack knowledge of the world around because we don't travel all that much. We tend to look at people through judgemental eyes and are percieved as narrow minded and disagreeable. At the same time, our rich cultural heritage is taking a beating. How many people realise the value of our monuments, our history and our festivals?

This kind of orientation is happening as early as possible in an Indian's life what with IIT classes from Std 6 and the like. Is this the essence of life? Slaving away till you retire and spend the rest of your life plagued with senility, eternally devoid of any interesting activity?

Nobody can criticise globalisation and hold it solely responsible for these dreary consequences. However, now that our country has moved on from harbouring an image of the poor country where people starve and cows are well fed, we need to rethink on these lines. India and China, which have a similar orientation towards developing career driven citizens, are the leaders of "development" in today's world. What defines development is highly debatable here.