LIMITS  OF  WEALTH
                                                                                                                                                                                       
                           

                          Presently, ' to become rich by any means'  has perhaps become a craze or mad pursuit, especially in cities. This
uncontrolled clamour for riches, modern comforts and pleasures are driving urbanites, in special, to extremes of hard work, stress,
illegal activities etc. Undoubtably money, job, land etc. are needed for safe living with securities of  house, food, education and medical
care. But controversies exist on, (1) how much one should earn or possess, (2) how many in a city or village can aspire to be rich, and
(3) how can this popular aspiration for riches and luxuries be controlled by governments. These questions are of high importance in any
society or country and many nations are divided on these points.     


                          In the page ' learn from nature'  it is shown that, 'different private properties and possessions and methods of acquiring
and managing them' are the primary causes behind evolution of different habitats from forests to urban areas. In forests private
properties are practically nil. All are fed by nature and subjected to the vagaries of weathers. In rural areas, farming, rearing,trading etc.
prevail and people are organized into families and other groups on the basis of occupations and possessions. In cities situations
change very much in relation to types of jobs, properties,trades, services, incomes, accumulation of riches, pleasures etc.

 

 

 

                          Many types of private properties, riches, shares, bonds and other possessions make many citizens wealthy. Once rich or
brought up in riches, the views,ways and aspirations of persons change. They make many walls (familial,behavioural and social)
around themselves. Next  follow walls of law and security forces. Some walls or security forces become an administrative  necessity
since accumulation of riches causes social unevenness. (See the photograph for glaring contrasts.) The most fundamental aspect of wealth is that, some sort of organization, group work and monitoring  is necessary in any type of wealth generation activities, in  farms, buildings, businesses,
factories etc. Take a village; a landless farmer strives for a livelihood. His only chance of acquiring land or farms is by having many
workers (mainly sons and daughters) in his house organized well to earn and save. The rich farmer  has vast areas of fertile lands. He
employs many workers in his farms. He trades his farm produts for profits. Thus he grows richer. The rich village trader has helpers to
buy, sell, stock etc. The rich farmer and trader are organized for more profits and riches. The situations are same in cities, except for big
crowds, super markets, numerous jobs, many opportunities etc.. Hence accumulation of possessions or wealths is always  associated
with group work and its management. The situation becomes very complex and costly in the cases of industries and their townships
involving thousands of employees. Presently some of the big industries have become centers of pollutions and over-productions
leading to consumerism. Consumerism leads to misuse and waste on a mass basis. Some estimates say that present global
consumption level is about 40% in excess of sustainable limits and this is increasing alarmingly. Is there any need for a factory which
produces cars to work in shifts and then arrange loan schemes for buyers?  So companies and industrial productions and profits
should be controlled taking into account sustainability and social integrity.  Then why many governments are ineffective against
over-productions, pollutions and consumerism? What are the limits of growth and wealths?   


                          The answers at fundamental levels are, (1) governments' policies and programmes  are not  based  on  sustainability
and social integrity, (2) health care comes second to freedom, not the first, (3) polluting or destroying atmosphere, lands,rivers and seas
are not controlled and stopped and (4) wealth generations and accumulations are not controlled taking into consideration social
evenness and order and sustainability.


                          It is stated above that human social evolution from forests to cities is only a journey with different types of professions,
possessions and properties and organizations to accumulate various profits and riches. Upto village levels, with predominance of
agriculture, social and environmental changes were smooth and healthy. With the prolifeation of science and technology,  wealth
generations and accumulations became huge and corrupt and out of any social control. (Click here for  'green life'  for more on urban
mess.)  So monitoring and controlling generations, accumulations, and distributions of wealths are unavoidable in any nation or system.
 Hence the primary function of a government is to monitor and control wealth generations and accumulations  taking into consideration,
natural resources, human resources,  public health and environment, social evenness and order and overall  welfare. So what are the
ways of controlling wealths at personal, social and governmental levels?  


  (1)  Do not accumulate wealth beyond one's needs, considering life-long needs also. One natural norm (see 'learn from  
         nature' for details) is, "to each as individual needs are and from each as abilities allow".

  (2)  Do not allow weath to be inherited spoiling inheritor's merits and  values. (Click here for 'green values'.)

  (3)  One sure limit of personal wealth is, ' what could be acquired honestly maintaining good health'.
  
  (4)  Freedom is not the first thing but health is, at personal,social and national levels.  

  (5)  Organizations of wealth generation, from farms to factories (e.g., big farms, financiers, companies), should be based on  
         sustainability and they have to uphold natural values(e.g., environmental health), human rights and laws of the land.

*  (6)  Social and governmental controls of wealth generations and accumulations  should be in force in villages and  cities,
         especially  for multinational companies.
          
  (7)  Scientific and technological research by private and government agencies should be monitored and controlled by
         ethics/basic values  committees of knowledgeable/competent citizens. ( It is well known that unethical/uncontrolled
         applications of scientific research and profiteering led to the present mess of consumerism, pollutions and destructions).

# (8)  Technological innovations and changes (e.g., new models) should be screened by committees of ethics/basic values, for
         relevance/necessity, pace of change, profiteering by companies and waste of raw materials/natural resources.

  (9)  Governments should not encourage or aid organized luxury. Individuals'  luxuries should be controlled and taxed taking into
         account social evenness.

(10)  Self-destructive or disintegrative pleasures should be discouraged and barred. ( 'Right to life' is an inalienable right and
        hence governments can not encourage self-destruction.)    







                    *   When marxists and socialists implemented, decades back,  social or state controls at government
                        levels  on  wealth  generation and accumulation,  it  was basically a  transliteration of  natural
                        interdependence and controls existed at ecosystem level.

                    #  For example, if the increase in number of cars in New Delhi, as now,  were to happen in 200
                        years, not in the last about 50 years, the emissions etc. might have gone absorbed harmlessly.   

                                           


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