When we are entirely defined by economics!
We are passing one of the most arduous periods in our lives. For two years we were beaten by an invisible enemy, COVID-19. We were trying to bounce back but were smacked on the face by economic hits. Problems do not end there, now we are anchored at civil unrest, riots on roads, and a surge of a civil revolution demanding better economic standards for everybody. Governments bring reforms for better economies, and civilians bring revolutions for the same reason. The government expects system change from civilians; civilians rally together to change systems of government. But revolutionary reforms are hardly seen here in this country. These days our popular social media platform,Facebook is showered with posts of people who want to change the system of government. I am amazed to see most posts popping up from known public servants who do not dare to move their files for days from one place to another, and unanswered official emails are resting in the mailboxes forever. They rarely speak at meetings to build better systems for the organisation but are so busy invigorating others to riot for a better government for a better economy. I wonder is it that government decisions on the economy affect our individual pockets, but our decisions on economising our organisations would not affect our pockets.
In a recent article, a writer ponders as to why Sri Lanka slipped down the economic status that it inherited from Britain? In the same article, he quotes the late Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew had then said that Ceylon in the 1960s had more resources and better infrastructure than Singapore. Singapore moved from a third world country to first world in a short period. Sri Lanka which happened to be a model for Singapore’s success, now heading towards the worst kind of stature. Where have we gone wrong?
Are we not paying enough attention to strengthening our economy? We are proud to have so many economists in our country who are glittering in the country and abroad with their economic wits and wisdom. We talk of the economy more than anything else now. You return home after shedding your energy for economic gains during the day. To shift your focus switch to television, but the news dominates with the economic crisis, inflation, deflation, and accusations of economic mismanagement until you add more stress to your nerves. Next, more than the news, advertisements pop up promoting various products making us crave to earn more and gain more… we become restless. A plethora of programmes is on air with heated debates between politicians, and the general public that talk of the economy and the way forward and way backwards. Thanks to COVID-19 and the webinars online, you can join numerous conferences to hear what has happened to the economy, and how to regenerate it. You scroll down Facebook, Whatsapp groups, Twitter… all talk of economics… You turn to friends to have a cosy chat, the grievances are non-stop; no gas, no fuel, no electricity… inflation, no savings… economics again. The economy is number one in everyone’s life.
When we watch the other half of the news on television, what do we see? Suicides, murders, robberies, drugs, rapes, a school teacher has abused a student… mother was selling her teenage daughter for prostitution for five years…devastating, disappointing news that questions the morality of the society. I recall someone in history has recorded that in this country, a woman could walk alone at night wearing jewellery, without any harm even at night. Alas, today women are scared to walk even 500 metres in the lane adjacent to their house in the dark. Fear, and lack of trust are everywhere, surging now than ever …
When we were in the grip of the British, they framed us, disciplined us, plundered us… because of fear of punishments, a culture of conformance was created, and we were forced to be disciplined. When the British loosened their grip in 1948, the same generation, disciplined, conforming to rules that were there. But, when Sri Lanka opened its economy, the people who were in tight ropes loosened all their threads and embraced whatever came from outside. The discipline in consumption and serving gradually declined. Lee Kuan Yew had said that the success of Singapore depends on the quality of men in charge, in charge of the government, in charge of corporates, public service and your house. The success of Singapore depends on confidence, the confidence they earned internationally. Trust is a key to success. The discipline, confidence and trust in people and our systems are fast fading away. Our generations young and old are acting on temptations. We always seek bigger solutions to problems, we often excuse our mistakes and blame the system. So we end in an unhappy state of not being able to satiate our economic desires.
When we were heading to the power crisis we face today, did we as individuals get ready to find solutions? We wanted the government to find solutions. Of course, that is why they are elected. But, our responsibility as citizens? I remember the electricity authorities were pleading with the public to use electricity with care. But, how many heeded the plea. When I walk along the corridors of the office, I always switch off the lights that shine during the daytime, unnecessarily. How many would do that? I see people keeping the fans and lights on even during their absence at the place, even during this crisis, until we had to remain in sweat and darkness for long hours. An act to save energy by a single individual would be negligible, but what if everyone does it? Hundreds of photocopy papers are wasted as drafts in our corporations, thousands of papers are wasted on form-filling exercises, distributing unessential items like greeting cards and calendars during the new-year season amounted to paper waste, energy waste. But, we do not count. We look at big figures and big decisions. What we do in organisations, in our own silo divisions is rarely compared with the big problem. If every public servant, every corporate employee, every citizen reflect on their own consumption pattern, their own behaviour, together we would have done some changes to the system, which would enhance our economic standards.
What we need today is holistic healing to our problems. Focusing on economic standards is not enough. This is where we have gone wrong, and experience a deterioration of socio-cultural values much faster than ever. We have become unhappy, competitive citizens today, who fight for basic economic needs. The horses in the race are covered in their side views to keep them on focus and avoid distraction, what they see is the winning post, they don’t see their surroundings, no stopping to enjoy the background, run to the winning post and some die before reaching the winning post. Isn’t this what is happening to us? When you run a race, you soon forget virtues and forget one’s own duties and reasons to be happy. You find reasons to complain and suffer. According to the World Happiness Report 2020, Sri Lanka rests in 130th place among 153 countries in the world. An unhappy nation!
Bhutan, a South Asian less developed country four decades ago in 1972 declared, “Gross National Happiness (GNH) is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” They focused on a better way to define life than economic development. Economic development is only one petal of life, equal importance to non-economic aspects of well-being is required for a happy life (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative). The GNH index consists of nine domains; 1. Psychological well-being, 2. Health, 3. Education, 4. Time use, 5. Cultural diversity and resilience, 6. Good governance, 7. Community vitality, 8. Ecological diversity and resilience and 9. Living standards. Do we pay adequate care about these domains of happiness? When we talk and work as responsible citizens do we care about the psychological well-being of us and others, health and education? Happy citizens would cater more to the economy, contribute well to society, and foster a culture of prosperity in the long run. The hardest times of life teach us the greatest lessons, we who call for revolutions for better systems individually and collectively shall nurture petals of happiness index in our lives. A well-balanced mind and body could contribute more to economic development, happy hearts would not make another unhappy, diversity and resilience would bloom in prosperity. This is the time that economists start preaching how to strengthen economies through other aspects of life. Media should give space to talk about the mind and healing, not only money and dealings.
On Facebook, I recently saw an anonymous post that says; “The planet doesn’t need more successful people, the planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds”. We miss them…now more than ever…
(The writer is a holder of a senior position in a state University with international experience and exposure and an MBA from Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), Sri Lanka and currently reading for her PhD in Quality Assurance in the Higher Education Sector at PIM. She can be reached at cv5imbulgoda@gmail.com)
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