SUSTAINING AMBIENCE FOR BUSINESS

As the world prepares for its first trillionaire a basic question arises – is all this affluence sustainable? A very valid question as the affluence and development has not percolated and misery and poverty still continue to be major challenges. With corporate greed and materialism that go with the capitalism already under stress scholars are predicting the impending collapse of capitalism under its own contradictions. Sometime in 2009, The Wall Street Journal carried an interesting article,”Will American children be better off than you?” and concluded that they will not, given the jobless statistical growth of the first decade of the 21st century, with stagnant wages, rising poverty, crippling household debt and 90 per cent of the income growth going to the top of 10 per cent . The protest at the Wall Street are definitely an indication of increasing hostility towards the cooperation between the government and big corporations. When world economies are at crossroads and corporate greed is at its peak, the global financial architecture requires revisiting certain new paths. There is need to think that the integral humanism as prophesied and practiced by our ancient seers aiming at reducing the gulf between private affluence and public poverty can provide the impetus for corporate responsibility towards public good. And this corporate responsibility has to be different from the much touted Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in vogue these days.

It is against this backdrop that we need to look at a model of sustainable business. As debates over 25 years of globalisation do not seem to come to any conclusion we need to search for a new paradigm.

Why corporation exist is a question that needs to be answered in a much wider perspective. The conventional view that the very purpose of corporate existence is to create value for the shareholders and maximising their profit may not be prudent. Ancient Indian wisdom of the Vedas emphasise that wealth has to be earned only through fair means and one should put in his best efforts to acquire wealth through ethical and moral practices only . One has to acquire wealth righteously.

In his famous treatise Artha Shastra, Kautilya regarded the state as an institutional necessity for human development. He outlined all the principles that the state should do for the happiness of the people. Kautilya’s Arth Shastra has described the following ideals for the king:

Prajasukhesukhamrajnah, prajanam ca hitehitam

Nattmapriyamhitmrajnah, Prajanamtupriyamhitam

Which means that the monarch should seek happiness of his citizens, his welfare is in their welfare and his good is not in what pleases him but what pleases the citizens. Ancient Indian literature never talked of renunciation of the wealth. But the emphasis was clearly on maximising profits only through righteous means (Dharma) and use it generously for social cause. There are verses in the Upanishads that suggests that wealth should be maximised so that we can take care of those dependent on us. (Annambahu Kurveta Tadvratam -Taittiriya Upanishad). It also says there is need to take care of our wealth as well as welfare of others. (Bhutyai Nappramaditavyam Kusalanna pramaditavyam – Tatittiriya Upanishad.) The wisdom in the Upanishad encourages us not only to possess wealth but also enjoy the same. Rig Veda Samhita says that the rich have to satisfy the poor.A sustainable business environment can only be created if businesses become conscience driven.