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ECONOMICS OF MAHAVIRA
Question: The times are changing. What route shall one follow under its conditionalities? Why should there be limitation of needs?
Answer: A fan can be a necessity. There is nothing special in this. But in the name of convenience, superfluous things should not be made necessities. Why is it necessary to apply lipstick on lips, and to wear the skins and hairs of animals after killing them? There are many non-essential things, which have been converted into necessities by the advertising world. Stimulated, these artificial needs have become our passion. It would be good for all if we live on the basis of realities, accept all the basic needs up to a limit and reject the rest. There was a time when man used to live in open courtyards, open air and natural light. Today everything has changed so much. The electric light and the fan have become necessities. This shows how we have removed ourselves from nature, how these non-essential things have become necessities. But think for yourself whether these things have given gain or loss? If we ponder from this point of view, we will understand the value of real freedom from artificial necessities of life.
Question: Is decentralisation of power necessary for decentralisation of the economic system? Is it possible that power may be centralised and economic system may be decentralised?
Answer: If the economic system is decentralised, political administration will also be decentralised. The organisation of the whole society will be decentralised. It is not possible that while the administration is centralised, economic management remains decentralised. If decentralisation is to be achieved, it will have to be introduced in administration, in economic management, in the life system, indeed, in everything. Social management and economic management, both go hand in hand. When a poweroriented economic system developed, dictatorship took birth in the form of communism. On the contrary, the pledge of communism was a stateless society. We have now to accept that social system and economic system both would change together. One of these alone cannot be changed in isolation.
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