The previous 4 parts of the article can be accessed here Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. This is the fifth part
Games rich countries play
It was a breezy evening, and Sahana and Anagha were seated beside me on a bench in the garden. “Thanthaanaa, how nice it would be if Srushti were here with us!” Sahana said. Srushti is their cousin.
“Very true,” I agreed, “but her parents are working in the US; so she can come here only once a year during vacation.”
“Why can’t her parents also work here?” Anagha asked.
“Her parents got high-paying jobs only in the US,” I replied.
“But why not here?” Anagha insisted.
“America is a developed country with many more high-paying jobs than in countries like India,” I explained.
“Why is America developed, and why is India not?” Sahana asked.
“I’ll explain it with the help of a story!” I said, smiling.
The mischief of mighty merchants
“Alright, girls,” I began, “there is a village called UnFair. This village has three main groups of people living in different neighborhoods: the Rich Quarters, the Middle Houses, and the Poor Shacks. In this village, in the Rich Quarters, there live a group of merchants called the Mighty Merchants.”
“What do these merchants sell, Thantheene?” Anagha asked, her eyes wide.
“They don’t sell items we buy normally, like sweets, veggies, or clothes. They sell something much stranger and more dangerous,” I said.
“Dangerous? What is it?” Sahana asked, leaning forward.
“They sell things like catapults, boomerangs, small arms, and light weapons like handguns – things which thugs and rowdies use to fight and show they’re stronger than others. The people in the Middle Houses and Poor Shacks don’t use these things. Their fights are usually verbal; at worst, they go up to blows, but they become friends again.”
“Then why would anyone buy these dangerous weapons?” Anagha asked, puzzled.
“Ah, that’s where the trick comes in!” I leaned closer. “The Mighty Merchants have a set of friends from the Rich Quarters who go around whispering into the ears of the villagers, saying things like, ‘Hey, did you hear your neighbor is getting stronger? If you don’t have some weapons, you’ll be in danger.’ Or, ‘Don’t you want to look strong too? Everyone else has these weapons already!’ And soon, even the peaceful villagers start feeling insecure and worried and start buying these weapons, just in case.”
“Is that how the Mighty Merchants make money?” Sahana asked thoughtfully.
“Yes, exactly!” I nodded. “Even though the villagers didn’t really want these things to start with, they end up spending some of their precious savings just to feel safe.
But here’s the clever part – the merchants don’t just sell these dangerous items. Once the villagers start fighting and their houses and their items like AC, fridge, and car get broken down, guess who comes around offering to rebuild or repair everything?”
“The same Mighty Merchants?” Anagha guessed.
“Exactly, but the builders and repairers among the Mighty Merchants! They come, observe, and say, ‘Oh, what a tragedy that your house is so badly destroyed! For a small fee, I’ll rebuild and repair it all for you.’ And this way, they make double the money – first by selling the tools of destruction, and then by rebuilding the destroyed homes and other property.”
Connecting the story to the real world
“Wait, Thanthaanaa,” Sahana interrupted, “what does this story have to do with developed countries like America and developing countries like India?
I smiled wryly and said, “In the real world, the Rich Quarters are the wealthy countries like America, the UK, Canada, some of European countries, China, and Russia.
“They have large companies that sell weapons, just like the Mighty Merchants in our village story. They make these sales sound good by calling them ‘defence exports.’ The funny thing is, that some of these countries are politically opposed to each other and sell weapons to their opposite sides.
“And when these countries fight among themselves and things get destroyed, the leading companies in these very countries get most of the big contracts to rebuild roads, schools, hospitals, and airports.
“They make money by selling the weapons and more money by rebuilding what was destroyed. So, they have a double business: first, they profit from creating conflicts, and then they profit from ‘helping’ with reconstruction. And they also make their customer countries feel grateful to them for their help.”
A history of power and influence
“How long have they been doing this, Thantheenee?” Anagha asked softly.
“Till about 100 years back, these rich countries fought the poor countries in Asia, Africa, and South America in wars, conquered, and ruled over them directly. But over time, the people in these countries fought back and freed themselves.”
“Then what happened?” Sahana asked.
“They wanted to continue to have control over these countries. Cleverly, instead of using their military might, they started using money and influence power. They exploit any enmity between countries or create new enemies and stir up fear so countries keep buying weapons. Their friends who run similar companies cite this purchase and sell weapons to the other side as well. This creates a never-ending cycle of arms purchases.
“Then they encourage wars among them frequently, so that they exhaust these weapons in the wars, and are forced to buy more weapons.
“For example, look at what happened between Russia and Ukraine – two countries that were once part of the same family. But now, they are at war, and guess who is making the most money by selling weapons?”
“The rich countries!” Anagha said, frowning.
“Yes, and they are also the ones who will offer to rebuild Ukraine when the war ends. Similarly, we also have the war between Israel and Islamic countries. These countries need to be rebuilt too. Even when countries like Iraq or Libya were destroyed, guess who got all the projects to rebuild?”
“Must be the same rich countries,” Sahana said quietly.
“The wars and the rebuilding not only cost lots and lots of money but also destroyed the lives of lakhs of innocent people including children, women, and old people. This keeps the rich countries rich, and the poor countries poor.”
The right way forward
“But isn’t there a better way?” Anagha asked earnestly.
“Yes, there is,” I said. “Imagine if instead of buying dangerous items, everyone in UnFair village started spending their money on seeds to grow beautiful gardens, building schools, colleges, hospitals, industries, and bridges.
“That’s what India tries to show – a world where people don’t listen to these dangerous whispers. Unfortunately, to an extent, to defend itself and to create jobs for its people, India is also forced to enter into the weapons building industry recently, though in a small way.”
“Why aren’t the rich countries doing it, if all they want is more money?” Sahana asked.
“Because there’s much more money in selling dangerous items,” I explained. “The profit in selling peace, like water purifiers or solar lights, is small. And the requirement of these items will be limited. Once this demand is satisfied, in order to keep earning more and more, the rich countries get into things like weapons making. With weapons, they can keep making loads and loads of money again and again, by helping destroy and re-building the properties in the poorer countries.”
“Thanthaanaa, do you think we can ever make Worldland like a garden?” Sahana asked, her eyes anxious for hope.
“I believe so. You girls and your friends are the future. When you grow up, you’ll have to remind people that peace, trust, and ethical trade are more important than weapons.
”As someone said, there is enough in this world to meet everybody’s need, but not enough to meet just one person’s greed.”
“Very well put,” said Sahana.
Utopia, again: The power of choice
“So, no more buying things just because someone says we need them?” Anagha asked, crossing her arms.
“Exactly! If the people stop buying, these Mighty Merchants and rich countries will have no choice but to change their business. They’ll be forced to start selling something useful even to the poorest.”
The girls giggled. “That would be much better,” Sahana said.
“And who knows?” I continued. “Maybe one day, we’ll see the real world become the garden village it was always meant to be. It all depends on how your generation of children choose to act when you all grow up.”
With that, the girls sat quietly, imagining a world where there were no rumors, no fights – only gardens and bridges connecting everyone.
“We’ll try to build that world, Thantheene,” Anagha whispered determinedly.
“Yes, please do,” I agreed, giving them both a hug. “One story, one step, and one smile at a time.”
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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