[Reader-list] What Determines Our Standard of Living?

[Madhavi Bhasin]

*What Determines our Standard of Living?*
http://thetrajectory.com/blogs/index.php/2010/06/what-determines-our-standard-of-living/

My family from India recently visited me in the U.S. I was excited to show
them around the beautiful beaches of Northern California, my adopted home
for the past few years.  Parents of young Indians exhibit a great sense of
pride when their children migrate to the more developed countries,
especially the U.S. A sense of delight characterizes their conversations
about how their sons or daughters were enjoying a higher standard of living
in the most developed country of the world. The lovely weather, wide
freeways, smooth traffic, the combination of clam chowder at Fisherman’s
Warf with the greasy Indian food at Naan and Curry, cherry picking at
Brentwood Farms, the game of Black Jack at MGM Grand in Vegas, breath taking
shows at Universal Studios and sprawling Berkeley campus, I thought these
would be enough to reinforce their sense of pride. However, the reaction was
much contradictory to what I had expected; reaction which reflected the
widely dominant social perceptions of a majority of Indians.

Though the specimens of technological progress and opportunities to make
merry did impress them, there was something that negated the advantages of
living in the most developed country: non-availability of ‘subordinates’. I
use the term subordinates loosely to refer to domestic and professional help
available to a large section of the Indian population. From mopping the
floors to cleaning utensils, from taking care of laundry to rearing your
toddlers, from washing your car to carrying your groceries at the store,
from cooking food for you to uploading new playlists on your ipod, from
mailing your official letters to filing your taxes. Given the availability
of cheap labor it is possible to hire people in India for almost anything at
very little cost. The fact that irrespective of socio-economic status most
people living in the U.S. have to do these tasks by themselves appears
surprising to most Indians.  How can someone claim to enjoy higher standard
of living while continuing to personally undertake little chores? Their
sense of better standard of living is measured by the number of
‘subordinates’ one can afford.

Majority of Indians can express surprise at the notion of self-help because
a large segment of the population, reeling under abject poverty, is readily
available to service them. Mahatma Gandhi had started a national movement
premised on the notion of self-help. From cleaning personal bathrooms to
spinning yarn the Mahatma emphasized on the dignity of labor in every aspect
of the individual’s activities.  In the Hindu holy scriptures, the
Vedas, there are numerous injunctions encouraging self-help and dignity of
labor. According to Rigveda 1.117.23
the King and minister should sow seeds and do farming from time to time to
set right examples for others. Rigveda 10.104.4 and 10.101.3 states that
scholars should plough land.

Even by the simple logic of mutual existence why should some people claim to
enjoy a better standard of living when several others are forced to serve
them? Rationalization and enjoyment of socio-economic inequality by many
Indians goes against their civilizational roots and also their claim of
being ‘morally superior’ to the ‘materialistic Western’ people. It is not
impossible to hire people for domestic and professional tasks in the U.S.
You can appoint a nanny to take care of your little ones, call in people for
household cleaning on a regular basis, use turbo tax to file your taxes and
even ask for help to carry out groceries from the store to your car. But the
people who render these services are not looked down upon as subordinates
and are paid appropriately for their services. You don’t sympathize with
them for doing these chores but respect the service they provide. Here comes
in the difference in the Indian and Western understanding of the term
service. In India subordinates serve you while in the West you have service
professionals.

Why do Indians need scriptural injunctions or national revolutions to
understand the concept of self-help or dignity of labor? How should I
measure my standard of living? By how free I am to pursue my personal
interests or by how bounded others are to serve me?

-- 
Madhavi Bhasin
Visiting Scholar
CSAS, UC Berkeley