Author: Prashant Modani

Today, I read my favorite book again… The Little Prince (by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) appears to be a simple children’s tale, but it is actually a profound and deeply moving tale, written in riddles and laced with philosophy and poetic metaphors. Every time I read this book, it changes me a little… a deeply moving book where the little prince magically makes you stop and think about life.

His innocent questions and conversations with the author, his rose, the fox, the snake and various inhabitants of planets he visits on his way to earth unlocks several answers for you…

The little prince speaks to you… if you let him!

Consider the cliché: “It is not the destination, but the journey that matters” and compare it with how we are programmed to live our lives and you’d immediately notice the paradox that exists!

To enjoy the journey one should learn to live and enjoy the present, something which may entail catching that much craved extra hour of sleep on a chilly winter morning or stopping to smell the flowers or reaching home early to surprise a loved one, But then again – would doing either of these on a regular basis be advisable for your destination “Successful career”? Conventional wisdom advises to focus on your goal (destination) and stay away from Instant gratification (enjoying the journey) which may delay or distract you from your course!

Being happy en-route your journey would require you to be content with what you have but once can not forget about the importance of “fire-in-the-belly!” to reach the destination of success! While it is said that one should have the drive to continuously strive for something better – I could not help but wonder, “Where does this drive end? If we are always aspiring for something better, how will we ever commit to, and enjoy what we have – right here, right now!

What makes this puzzle more complex is the paradox poised by our horizons that keep changing. Consider this: While in college X thought it would be best to focus on studies etc and to enjoy once he gets a good job etc… but now, having got a good job, the carefree days of college were no where to be seen! But then again… had X willfully enjoyed those times, he/she might have never reached where he/she stands now! Now X stands again to make a choice to focus on his work now, and enjoy with his family once he reaches a certain level or… What should X Do?

In the movie Bluff Master, when Roy (Abhishek Bachchan) is upset on learning about his in-evitable death, Dr. Bhalerao (Boman Irani) explains to him, how the person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences. We only live once, but if we do it right, once is enough! Why do we realize the importance of the present, the journey only when it approaches an end? Wouldn’t it be great if people could get to live suddenly as often as they die suddenly?

While both points have their own merits, are we increasingly finding ourselves unable to solve these puzzles and strike a balance? If we keep postponing the “enjoyment” till the next milestone will we ever be able to truly enjoy our present but then if we keep enjoying our present would we ever reach our milestones? Is it even possible to achieve this balance? What should one do?

Each month I look at my salary slip and sigh at the single biggest deduction – Taxes. Further, every necessity in my life has indirect taxes levied on it, making almost half of my income disappear! Leaving aside the debate of inefficiencies of government in allocation of funds – I could not help but wonder if we are all living in economies that are confused between the efficiencies of capitalism and empathic logic of socialism.

Socialism believes that while capitalism brings enormous economic progress, it is fundamentally unstable. Marx thought that wealth would become constantly more concentrated in the hands of a small number of capitalists, which would make the antagonism between workers and bourgeoisie ever clearer and sharper.

Capitalism, on the other hand favors the most efficient and thereby leading to fast growth of economies. It has an intuitive appeal that makes instant sense. Consider this – If your organization is not merit-driven, would you want to work for that company? In a capitalist economy, inefficient organizations (even people) would systematically go out of market (cease to exist!)

The classic Pareto’s 80/20 rule seems to apply in our world. Just 1% of the wealth owned by the 200 richest people in the world would pay for primary education for all. They should go right ahead and do that, shouldn’t they? Well, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet aside – most would say – Why? It is their hard work, which has lead them to be where they are today – and if the same is re-distributed where would be the incentive for innovation and hard-work?

Socialist thinkers would however argue that millions of people around the world live below the poverty line, often endangering their very existence and that re-distribution of wealth would be the only ethical thing to do. The provocative title of Ayn Rand’s “The Virtue of Selfishness” questions this very logic of “Ethical thing to do”. To quote her — “Self-interest, properly understood, is the standard of morality and selflessness is the deepest immorality.”

Back in the Stone Age, people were not much different from animals. The fittest ones survived and lived while the weaker ones got eliminated. It was the nature’s law which led to a natural balance. If you carefully observe, you may wonder – Is twenty-first century any different? But then again – should it really be any different?

Back in the twentieth century when the telephone started getting widespread acceptance, more and more people got connected; it was proclaimed by experts as a bad thing – the end of socializing as they knew it…

But now you can’t do without one, nor can you see a home or office without one… With the advent of the 21st Century, We’ve seen it all. Internet, Cable TV, Cell phones, WAP, GPRS, Wi-fi, Bluetooth… You can connect to anyone anywhere… But then again, are we really connected?

On my last trip to the super market, I saw a mother being instructed by her 5yr old kid on which detergent to buy, how Surf removes stains and not the color… I also noticed that the kid was wearing glasses… Later, I went on to chat up with my neighbors’ kid (Studying in class 4th) He told me how he broke-off with his girl friend since they weren’t compatible. Heck, when I was in class 4th I didn’t even know what compatible meant, and here the kid has used it in a complete sentence, about his life…

Is the connectivity producing super geniuses, whiz kids (younger and younger by the day) or is it robbing them of their childhood, leading to stunted development? I don’t see them playing hide and seek or cricket on the roads anymore… Instead they have online friends, Orkut profiles and sms buddies.

There are more reported cases of depression caused due to loneliness then ever before. When a blogger was told that he was addicted to net, and the possible reason for that is lack of friends, his reply was, “What rubbish, I’ve 1032 friends on Orkut.” Marriage counselors increasingly report couples distressed with lack of communication, which is ironical, as means to communicate are constantly getting better.

So is connectivity a bad thing?

The ability to be connected is one of the ten flatteners of the world (Thomas Friedman). It leads to true independence of speech. Everyone always had a view, now everyone has a medium to put it out there for others to read and react. The connectivity gives developing countries the ability to plug into the economies of the developed nations, benefiting both economies and leading to unprecedented growth. Premier institutes like IITs and IIMs can now extend their education to millions through video conferencing. Remote healthcare, allows someone in New York to be diagnosed by an expert in France, or India.

The benefits are everywhere, as are the “bad” effects. Connectivity provides “Means”. The same means are used for noble causes like generating money for earth-quake victims and also for evil ones like gathering support for perpetrating acts of terrorism.

While the means to communicate are becoming easier then ever before, are people are getting more and more distant, from each other and perhaps, even their inner self? Are we increasingly finding ourselves equipped with a cell-phone and e-mail but not having anyone to call or write to?

Is connectivity actually exposing how disconnected we all really are?