Economics of Mahaveera

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Adarsh Sahitya Sangh

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ECONOMICS OF MAHAVIRA
Prosperity should increase. But after all how much? In this context, it was said that appropriate and reasonable prosperity be achieved, but there has to be a limit to what is reasonable or appropriate. And what is, on the other hand, inadequate prosperity? For a person, even ten houses may not be enough. There should be a mansion in Calcutta and also others in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. One should have one's own house wherever one goes. At how many locations will one go on building mansions. Somewhere some limit will have to be observed. If amassing of wealth knows no limits, it is difficult to imagine what it may lead to.
Problem of Modern Economics
The biggest problem of Modern Economics is the absence of any consideration or thought about the purity of means. Without purity of means, we cannot think of non-violence and peace. Are not the material possessions at the back of the wars being waged in the present times? If the issue is probed deeper, the truth will reveal itself. Big factories exist for the production of arms and ammunitions. The armament industry has today gained dominance. Whenever wars stop and peace is established, then the powerful nations producing armaments ignite war in one or the other corner of the world. The objective is the sale of their weapons. This industry directed at annihilation gets decimated in times of enduring peace. It is the armament industry which keeps the wars to be frequented. Indeed these industries involving millions and billions of dollars owe their existence on the foundations of violence.
Let us analyse the global economy in this context. One would be aghast to find the amount of expenditure being made globally on the manufacture of weapons. One of the most basic needs of India is education which builds personality and improves the quality of life. If the money being spent on education and defence is compared, a wide divergence will be found in favour of defence. While hardly two or three per cent is spent on education, huge budgets are provided for defence. Globally, a major part of the world's income is spent on defence. If these resources are used