Conclusion

Equality of opportunity and consideration is what we should all strive to attain. When comparing wealth, we should also, factor in the value of leisure, family time, and security we have chosen. Not doing so leads to dissatisfaction with our lot and wrongful envy of those who chose differently and are more successful, while also calling form empathizing with others who are not even as successful as us. Happiness arises not only from wealth, but also, from a sense of achievement at work and the regard of your colleagues and friends and contentment with what you have. We all must learn the value and meaning of having ‘Enough’.

Finally, remember that it is not at what strata of the Society you are that counts. It is whether you have the opportunity, though your effort and enterprise, to better it or not, that counts. In today’s democratic environment the churn or change evident in the strata above you prove that such opportunity exists for you, as also, for everyone. After all, do remember that Dhirubhai Ambani rose from being a gas pump attendant to becoming India’s richest man in his own lifetime by his own efforts. So also, all the cases of all the I.T. billionaires.

Annexure – I

Distribution of Benefits

The Pareto principle states that roughly 80 percent of the benefits/capabilities are shared by only about 20 percent of the people and in that 20 percent only by 20 percent of them and so on. All people seek to belong to that 20 percent and most become unsatisfied when the reality hits them that this is not possible. We all have a propensity to compare ourselves only to those we see as our betters and be unhappy, then to compare ourselves with those not as successful as us and be content and thankful for what we have.

We need to recognize that the Pareto principle also, applies, though perhaps not in the same ratio, to the output or productivity of people, and naturally those more productive earn more.

As Dean Keith Simonton notes: there are enormous and well documented differences between the best and worst performers in any endeavour. The accomplishments and contributions to the credit of the top 10 percent is much more than that of the remaining 90 percent e.g.:

• 50 percent of the books in the Library of Congress have been written by about 10 percent of the authors.
• A mere 16 out of 235 (only 7 percent) composers have produced about 50 percent of today’s classical music.
• Of the professional computer programmers, the most productive are about 10 times more productive than the least productive and five times more productive than the average.
• Workers at the 84th percentile, in jobs requiring low skills, produce about 19 percent more than the average workers at the 50th percentile; in jobs requiring high skills they were 32 percent more productive and for professionals and managers they were 48 percent more productive than the average performers.

The dowry problem too perhaps arises out of the desire of the girl’s parents who, seek to position their daughter at a higher social / financial level than she really could otherwise get into and so stretch themselves and their resources even beyond prudential limits aiming to get for her a match which otherwise should not have been in consideration at all.

It is worth noting that Dowry system did not exist in Ancient India, it is something introduced into India by the Europeans

For a better understanding of what counts in marital relationships see – “Fair or Dark and the Measure of Beauty” and “Personal Choices-Making each right?”).

Annexure – II

Inequality of Recognition and Compensation

Why are some people, such as Actors and Cricketers, orders of magnitude more widely recognized and financially rewarded then the many good Teachers and Doctors etc. whose work is so much more seriously important and who do so much more to benefit those they teach or treat? This does not seem fair or equitable.

However, this too is a function of economics. An exceptional Teacher or Doctor may greatly benefit say 1,000 to 10, 000 people in their lifetime and each of those affected may value such benefit at say Rs 1,000 /- to Rs 10, 000 /-, even if they may not have actually paid that amount. Hence, the total value of the benefits would range between Rs 10 Lakhs to Rs 1.0 Crores over such a Teacher’s or Doctor’s lifetime, again even though they may not have actually received even a fraction of that.

On the other hand, though the benefit accrued to each of the spectators of the exceptional actor or cricketer, may only be valued at Rs 10 /- or Rs 100 /- by each spectator, as reflected as a percentage of the ticket value of the event, as the number of such spectators would easily be from 10 Lakhs to 10 Crores or more per event, the benefit accrued to such an actor or cricketer would be between Rs 1 Crore to Rs 100 Crores per event, a notable fraction of which is actually received by them. Also, such wide recognition would lead to further income from product endorsements etc. giving them many orders of magnitude more income over their career span than that of the Teacher or Doctor even though the actual span of such a career may not be comparable.

Hence, compensation is a function of the value of the benefit, (the individual benefit multiplied by the number of benefitees). However, it should be borne in mind that compensation need not necessarily be only financial and that the nature of recognition and regard of the few may also, be more meaningful than the casual recognition and superfluous regard of the millions and that therefore there is thus no valid measure of comparison.

Also, the number of such teachers and doctors as a percentage of all teachers and doctors will be many times more than that of the superstar actors / cricketers as a percentage of all ‘WANNABE’, unsuccessful or even failed actors / cricketers. Also, the career of such teachers / doctors will be far longer than that of even the best of the superstar actors / cricketers and their recognition exists long after that of the actors / cricketers is mostly forgotten. Again, there is no valid measure of comparison. Exceptions only prove the Rule.

Once again equality of circumstance or regard or remuneration is also, not enforceable as the scales of the measure are different.

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