How Religion and Socialism create disincentives for people to become wealthy.

One of the most important principles of psychological science is that for a person to be motivated to achieve a particular goal, s/he has to be assured that the achievement of that particular goal would bring in rewards that the individual desires. However, in the Indian society, shaped by the two great evils - religion and socialism, many of the desirable rewards are either in short supply or simply not available.

After liberalisation , Indian markets are flooded with all sorts of desirable , superior-quality consumer goods- air conditioners, LCD Televisions, computers , internet connections, and what not. But being wealthy doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to enjoy these comforts and entertainment-- these devices run on electric power , whose distribution , in India of circa 2010, is still controlled by state-run companies ( for example , the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation , UPPCL, run by the state government in UP ) . These " discoms " are the relics of india's socialist past, and enjoy complete monopoly with little accountability -- they have little to lose if they are not able to supply uninterrupted power-- there is no competition, so the consumer has no freedom to switch to a better alternative, simply because there is none. They need not fear heavy transmission and distribution losses ( including thefts ) , because they know even if they incur heavy loss, they will still be bailed out by the benevolent socialist indian state.

The ultimate result of this semi-socialist setup is that an ambitious person can work hard to become wealthy , but earning huge amounts of money would still not be able to provide him with the desirable comforts of life. You can buy Japanese and Korean air-conditioners and refrigerators , would would still have to rely on power supplied by state-run indian companies to run them . Another similar example is that you can buy Japanese and Korean cars, but still would have to drive them on potholed indian roads and mismanaged traffic conditions. Such a situation can lower a person's motivation to work hard and become wealthy ( why work hard if all you can buy with money are devices that don't work during Indian power failures? )

You can work hard and earn a lot of money , but huge wealth would still not set you free from the archaic norms of indian society . No matter how wealthy you are, you still would have to tolerate the outdated traditions of a religious society. Hinduism seeks to impose restrictions on perhaps all aspects of a person's life-- what a person eats, whom does s/he marry . Even if you are a billionaire , you would still not be able to eat anything containing beef , and sometimes even other kinds of meat... Most international cuisine is simply not commonly available in india, due to all sorts of archaic food taboos imposed by hinduism. even hamburgers and steaks , common foods in the west , are not available for the indian middle class. Sausages sold in india are almost often made of chicken , unlike in the west, where they are made of beef or pork.

You can buy a computer and internet connection , but when you log on to www.shaadi.com ( online matrimonial service ), most of the marriage or dating proposals would be restricted on the basis of caste and even subcaste . Indeed , the caste system of hinduism has elaborate and complicated rules for determining whom a person is permitted to marry-- I once overheard a conversation in an internet cafe in which a marriage candidate was rejected because " Tamil Nadu Brahmins are permitted to marry Kerala Brahmins, but not the other way round " . Indeed , almost all the entries in the " caste no bar " category of matrimonial services is from westernized indians settled abroad. You can earn a lot of money and become wealthy, but still not marry or date the person you like , if you are not of his/her caste. And if you are an atheist like me, you can't marry anyone.

So why work hard to earn a lot of money ? Neither will you be able to buy useful devices and appliances , neither would you be able to eat as per your wishes, neither marry or date as per your wishes .

Indeed , most individual choices and freedoms have been restricted in the holy name of Hinduism and Socialism .

This article was composed in an internet cafe as neither the electric power not the broadband internet connection- both provided by state-run companies - were available at my home at that time.