Is West The Best?????

[dolly2003]

Dear jatlanders,

Call it a colonial hangover or the third world mentality-------fascination for anything firang, be it an American degree or a foreign product-----is deep rooted in the Indian psyche.
As we celebrate 59 years of political independence, I wonder whether we are indeed free from a colonial mindset

For eg. The recent cola pesticide controversy has raised the question again--------are we being taken for granted by some’big brothers’? Is India ready to compromise on the well being of her citizens and take whatever is served to her with a ‘multinational’ tag?? Is this globalization or’economical colonisation’ as the Left liberals would have us believe??

Many believe Third world countries have become a dumping ground for developed nations.”Why isn’t stringent quality control maintained for foreign products?
Take the case of the colas.Nearly 90percent of what they serve us,is water.Forget pesticides,why should we pay so much money to have aerated water which is not even purified properly?
Be it colas,foreign clothes or educational degrees,everything with a firang tag is apparently ‘aspirational’.
A majority of youngsters today want to study,work and live in developed nations.And if they can’t do that,they want everything with a’made in’foreign countries tag. Its sad that 59years after 1947,we still look to the US for trends,products….etc.

SO WHAT JATLANDERS THINK ABOUT THIS?????????????
I want each n everyone to share their views!!!

 

[shamshermalik]

Dear Dolly,

First of all read what you have written. Before pointing a finger on others, look at yourself. If you call your country a third world country repeatedly then who else will not. Does not it show that you donot have a much different mentality either. First learn to respect your country. You could have used developing country instead of third world country.

As far Coca cola is concerned..I am not speaking in favour of Coca Cola...but they are using the same water that we drink. Our drinking and underground water contains lot more pesticide than that in a bottle of Coca Cola. In 2004-2005 a study was done in Punjab and I think around 40 different pesticides were found in the blood samples taken from volunteers and they all donot drink Coca Cola or pepsi. Those pesticide levels were very high and consistent in almost all samples.


I think our govt should also do a study to check the pesticide level in our drinking water. But it will never be done. Because then govt will not get a hiding place. In many villages in Haryana the govt water supply is from under ground water which has been declared unfit for human or animal consumption. Same was the case in my village and it took us months to get the problem fixed.


Now as far west is concerned then beyound doubt in development and facilities they are best. In west there is value of human life...and doctors cannot take is as lightly as you have seen during AIIMS strikes how the patient suffered. You will never see such cases in America that doctors suddenly go on strike.

Now for your surprise most of the clothes in America are made in south east asia or China etc. So just donot go on the brand name they are manufactured in asia.

As far as craze is concerned you are right there..I have seen lots of girls and boys wearing clothes with american flag..or american or europian country flag on their vehicle. And thats kind of strange.

As far foreign degrees are concerned then this craze started with the MNCs because these companies prefer these people and more over they know about these degree issuing institutes better than they know about any Indian university. So those who want good jobs try for these degrees...and i donot think you should have any problem with that.As far living in foregn country is concerned then no doubt there is better life and more money...and thats the attraction.


And Dolly one more thing..just check the brand name of your sun glasses and let us know(honestly).

Dear jatlanders,

Call it a colonial hangover or the third world mentality-------fascination for anything firang, be it an American degree or a foreign product-----is deep rooted in the Indian psyche.
As we celebrate 59 years of political independence, I wonder whether we are indeed free from a colonial mindset

For eg. The recent cola pesticide controversy has raised the question again--------are we being taken for granted by some’big brothers’? Is India ready to compromise on the well being of her citizens and take whatever is served to her with a ‘multinational’ tag?? Is this globalization or’economical colonisation’ as the Left liberals would have us believe??

Many believe Third world countries have become a dumping ground for developed nations.”Why isn’t stringent quality control maintained for foreign products?
Take the case of the colas.Nearly 90percent of what they serve us,is water.Forget pesticides,why should we pay so much money to have aerated water which is not even purified properly?
Be it colas,foreign clothes or educational degrees,everything with a firang tag is apparently ‘aspirational’.
A majority of youngsters today want to study,work and live in developed nations.And if they can’t do that,they want everything with a’made in’foreign countries tag. Its sad that 59years after 1947,we still look to the US for trends,products….etc.

SO WHAT JATLANDERS THINK ABOUT THIS?????????????
I want each n everyone to share their views!!!

 

[dahiyarules]

I have written on this topic over and over again. Each time, only difference is that my opinion is more refined that it was when I thought about it the last time over.

"West" is definitely the mother of modern civilization. Even though the oriental have made considerable contributions to mankind and its evolution, modern thought and philosophy definitely originated in the western civilization.

The "classical liberal" school of though was one of the main contributions of te west to th rest of the world. Classical liberalism gave rise to free societies and economies. However, the fruits of the economic boom of the Industrial Revolution were reaped by the greedy mercantilists backed by eruropean monarchies greedy for higher revenues. East India Company was one such product of "ugly mercantilism."

The unfair and unchallenged monopolies granted by the Europeanmonarchies to mercantilists like the East India company, exploited the colonies like those in North America and ofcourse India. This however did not benefit an average European citizen who had nothing to do with the mercantilists or the Monarchies.They were victims of the times just like those living in the Colonies. The unfair and unchallenged exploitation of the resources of the colonies brewed the American Revolution, followed by our independence along with hundreds of other countries. Great Britain; the empire upon which the sun never set, was left in dark confined to the tiny isles within a span of 50 years. Empires never last.

Some of the so called globalization is nothing but neo-mercantilism. There are some western entreprenuers who sincerely want to improve the way we live and work. Others are having a tough time getting over the mercantilist mentality left over by their forebears. Many corporate giants still prefer to operate hand in hands with the governments of the countries in which they do business. Coke and Pepsi are good example. Their operation need tremendous natural resources like water and land to setup bottling plants, along with subsidies and tax reliefs. Every local politician wooes such mega-giants to setup their operation in their constituency because they know that the giants will be padding their pockets really well to get unsupervized opportunity to do business the way they please.

In my article on my blog, I said that where were all the government labs for nearly 16 years. For nearly 16 years were sold dirty colas. And these labs didnt care. And now all of a sudden they tell us that we are drinking lethal coocktails of chemicals, fertilizers, water and corn syrup.

My thinking is that the cola giants had some behind the doors disagreement, and the government is just teaching them a lesson for being "naughty children."

The reason we pay so much for carbonated water is because we consider the utlity that we derive from the product worth the money we pay for it. No one puts a gun on our head and asks us to pay 10 rupees (Thats what it used to be 5 years ago, don't know what it is now) for a 300 ML bottle of sweetened carbonated water. We do it voluntarily. Those who do not consider it worth the money do not consume the products. The same logic applied to every other product we consume.

Coming back to the west. It is definitely a different world. There is no denial. Opportunities are abundant. Prosperity is in everywhere. However, it is just a mirage. For those who have read George Reisman's work (www.capitalism.net) they realize that the US government has created an impending economic crash by getting rid of the gold standard and running unprecedented deficits. The day the reality comes crashing on this country, every other contry that has peged their currency to the dollar (including Indian rupee) will have an economic meltdown.

Capitalism brought a lot of nice things to us. Mercantilism robbed us blind under the garb of capitalism. Mercantilism is not capitalism. West is responsible for both capitalism and mercantilism.

My thought is that India can be turned into a first world country in no time if we moved to strictly free markets with no connection between government and the economy. This would leave no space for mercantilism. Free markets help entreprenuers tap rising opportunities like demand for goods and services and they make it available to us at a price "that we are willing to pay and they are willing to business with us."

Ebay is the best example of free-markets. It is world-wide market that brings together buyers and sellers. It operates (so far) without government interference. the amount of business done on Ebay is more than the economies of the developing world put together. It has provided livelihood hundreds of thousands. At the end of the day, no one has grudges about Ebay. Those who use it are simply addicted to it.

Clsing note: Try doing business on Ebay just for the sake of it atleast once. I can bet my fortune on the factthat you will get 100 % satisfaction from the transaction. If you are unsatisfied by the transation, like for example you got a damaged product, or you never got the product, Ebay will go to extreme lengths to resolve it. You will either get a product replacement or your money back. This is what I call "free-markets."

Next time you are at the Police Station, local electricity office, water office or Post Office, try comparing your experience there with your experience on Ebay. You will get the point.

So do not fall for the propaganda against capitalism and free-markets;that "left liberal communists" throw at you. Just ask them a simple question: What was the government testing laboratory doing for 16 years that Pepsi and Coke did business in India?

Pepsi and Coke are not the representatives of Capitalism. We the people who believe in voluntary transactions for mutual satisfaction are the true representatives of Capitalism.

 

[deepakchoudhry]

Best of East and West.

Hi Dolly,

If you have asked me if West is better in technology, education, consumer products etc etc then of course they are..there is no doubts about that. They have worked hard for it and they deserve it.

But I think you are refering to the mind set we Indians have towards the west..then the answer is also "YES" we do have a complex. why ?? because of 1000 years of foreign/colonial rule has left has with infant mindset (dependent) and we have forgotten our own richness and potential.

But the dilemma is we cant progress without the help of the west.

After living in india and now in UK, I feel we dont have to shun east or west...we can find the best in the both.

I also feel in India people are doing the same adapting and changing, I think this colonial hangover is on its way out.

Deepak

 

[junnu]

Best of East and West

Hi Dolly,

I totally agree with Deepak. East is good in only so many ways.....but the confort and standard of living cannot be maintained in East as easily, as it can be, in the west.
We have a rich heritage and culture, so why not preserve it and also make the most of the Western culture that is offered to us?

I recently travelled to India to look at it from the point of view of retiring later, but was disappointed at the setbacks. What we take for granted in the west, is just not available to us back home. (

Hope you it answers your concern?

Junnu