Today there is very large demand for status goods : Top end cars, gleaming houses, expensive holiday homes, private planes and boats, IPL teams , EPL teams and even islands . In this blog will not go into the right or wrong of it. In this blog we will see the positive side of this need for status goods and see how it can be used for the betterment of the nation.
Status goods serve a real need for many people. The need to be looked up to by other in society. This has been there since time immemorial. People are going to be doing things that can give them a higher status. In the current context most of all the above mentioned status goods are private goods
Status goods are demanded by people of action: those driven by Rajas. Such people are capable of doing the work of ten men and sometimes even a hundred. Many of them have an inner desire to be acknowledged for their strength and capacity for action. Many do not even begrudge, if their fruits are taken free by others. This concept of free rider problem which ails public goods is alien to our Indian mindset. If the man of action, the hero is celebrated in society, he goes on to even greater deeds as long as enough is provided for his physical and psychic well being. At least from the Indian point of view, I believe that Ayn Rand got it wrong. The man of Rajas does not want all the fruits of his action to be his. He wants the credit to be his.
So instead of bemoaning the need for status goods, it is better to find a way of harnessing this. This could be done by creating public goods which are status goods.
Why should we create status goods which are public goods ? We need to create them to reduce the in your face class differences which arise from private goods. Creation of public goods also reduces the experience of life of a rich and poor man without deducting from the experience of each.
Let me give an example: if a large temple in Chennai takes a donation from a wealthy donor and makes him Guest of Honour for a important festival - the gap in the experience of poorest and richest in this status good is much lower than if the patron had bought the costliest German car in the market. Such public status goods while at the same time giving a boost for joint social participation in society. In some ways, one car argue that the Hero has actually won a more genuine status symbol - something he can enjoy with all his heart.
It is my surmise that a lot wasteful expenditure is going into private goods because the avenues for putting them into public goods is lacking. We need to create status goods tout of public goods. This will take the need for status and make them sublime out of it.
The lack of status goods is leading people to do crazy things like buy Rajya Sabha nominations, "influence" awards such as Padma Shri etc. In fact one can go little farther to say that since there is shortage of public goods that give status people are going to the extent of trying to corner whatever public goods are there ie we have a supply side problem with public goods.
Here are a few public goods that the government could create that will help create public goods that could also be enjoyed by one and all
Last but not the least - this is a very old idea. I am just refreshing them as it is not active in the thought process in society.
This blog is meant to be an interactive forum for development of ideas. If you have any ideas, criticism, please write in the comments section.
Status goods serve a real need for many people. The need to be looked up to by other in society. This has been there since time immemorial. People are going to be doing things that can give them a higher status. In the current context most of all the above mentioned status goods are private goods
Status goods are demanded by people of action: those driven by Rajas. Such people are capable of doing the work of ten men and sometimes even a hundred. Many of them have an inner desire to be acknowledged for their strength and capacity for action. Many do not even begrudge, if their fruits are taken free by others. This concept of free rider problem which ails public goods is alien to our Indian mindset. If the man of action, the hero is celebrated in society, he goes on to even greater deeds as long as enough is provided for his physical and psychic well being. At least from the Indian point of view, I believe that Ayn Rand got it wrong. The man of Rajas does not want all the fruits of his action to be his. He wants the credit to be his.
So instead of bemoaning the need for status goods, it is better to find a way of harnessing this. This could be done by creating public goods which are status goods.
Why should we create status goods which are public goods ? We need to create them to reduce the in your face class differences which arise from private goods. Creation of public goods also reduces the experience of life of a rich and poor man without deducting from the experience of each.
Let me give an example: if a large temple in Chennai takes a donation from a wealthy donor and makes him Guest of Honour for a important festival - the gap in the experience of poorest and richest in this status good is much lower than if the patron had bought the costliest German car in the market. Such public status goods while at the same time giving a boost for joint social participation in society. In some ways, one car argue that the Hero has actually won a more genuine status symbol - something he can enjoy with all his heart.
It is my surmise that a lot wasteful expenditure is going into private goods because the avenues for putting them into public goods is lacking. We need to create status goods tout of public goods. This will take the need for status and make them sublime out of it.
The lack of status goods is leading people to do crazy things like buy Rajya Sabha nominations, "influence" awards such as Padma Shri etc. In fact one can go little farther to say that since there is shortage of public goods that give status people are going to the extent of trying to corner whatever public goods are there ie we have a supply side problem with public goods.
Here are a few public goods that the government could create that will help create public goods that could also be enjoyed by one and all
- Creating more government educational institutions and universities and auction the rights to be named after individuals: Imagine getting Rs 100 crores for setting up a Petroleum and Energy institute named after Dhirubhai Ambani.
- Creating chairs at government universities
- Temple events: They offer tremendous scope for creating public goods. Cultural and religious events dot the calendar through the year and each of these could be opportunities for creating public goods. The Jain temples still have this practice and the Hindu temples need to re-incorporate these practices. This will bolster art, take it to every person in society and also provide tremendous vitality to the temples. But for this temple should be managed by right people and not bureaucrats.
This blog is meant to be an interactive forum for development of ideas. If you have any ideas, criticism, please write in the comments section.
The reason why you even consider writing this is the old middle class value of keeping life simple. That value in practice has been discarded and why should we even discuss this? If you come across fellows who condemn status goods, I can assure you that it is just reverse snobbery from someone who cannot afford them and does not have the gumption to go after a better life style and make them affordable.
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