Economics of Mahaveera

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

Page 95

Mahavira, Marx, KEYNES AND GANDHI
disciple of Acharya Bhikshu, was only a seedling. It reached Shrimad Rajachandra and through Shrimad Rajachandra, the concept reached Mahatma Gandhi.
We have thus a complete series discovered of links on the purity of means. Shrimad Rajachandra and Mahatma Gandhi were firm believers of the primacy of purity of means. Marx was, however, a different economic personality. Where thinking is limited to economics only, the thought of purity of means becomes secondary. It is not that Marx was a basic believer in violence or war, but the question before him was not of purity of the means, it was limited to an economic objective. Gandhi said, "If freedom is achieved only through good means, it is acceptable to me; if achieved through war or violence, then I am prepared to give up my struggle rightaway. I do not want such freedom. I want freedom through non-violence; it does not matter if it is achieved even after a hundred years." Marx and Keynes did not have such a firm belief in the purity of means. It was because both of them were not spiritual but only economic personalities.
Thoughts of Keynes Marx, in fact, considered the thought of purity of means of secondary importance. Keynes said, “Right now we have to increase prosperity. That is why at the moment we have no time to think about non-violence, moral values, etc.” He said, “Economics is a science". As a science, it was not concerned with morality or immorality. To reckon with them is the concern of ethics, the science of morality. The subject of the science of morality cannot be made the subject of economics. As a result, he never agreed to give importance to morality, non-violence, purity of means or any such aspect.
Motivation The fifth parameter is motivation. There has to be a guiding motive. With regard to motivation, Mahavira opined that we should only do work which does not create impediments in the way of others and which does not generate unhappiness. There is one kind of happiness which is followed by sorrow and there