With God On Our Side

There has been a great big hullabaloo in their parliament over Baloochistan. The BJP and the Samajwadi Party staged a walkout.

A bit too much, isn’t it? – the walkout.

And that too over Baloochistan.

It costs money to keep the Lowk Sabha running. Why waste our tax money and disrupt parliamentary proceedings?

Anyway, while their parliament session ended in noise and confusion, our para-parliament is discussing a very lofty idea: God.

An editorial in Mint, written in the light of a new book by the Dalai Lama, The Leader’s Way, examines the relationship between capitalism and religion. It seems that in this new book, the Dalai Lama has strongly supported globalization and free markets. Unlike Nehru, to whom profit was a “dirty word,” the Dalai Lama has said that the pursuit of economic gain is a “fine aim.”

The editorial then goes on to discuss the relationship between Christianity and Capitalism, from Max Weber’s identification of the “protestant work ethic” – and the free European city – as critical for the growth of western capitalism, right down to Pope Benedict’s recent publication endorsing free markets.

I welcome this book from the Dalai Lama. I have always been an admirer of the Tibetans as traders – whether in woolen sweaters or in momos. I have also always advocated Liberty for chhung, their rice beer. Go to any Tibetan settlement – and I have seen both Dharamsala as well as Kushalnagar – and you will be fascinated by the vibrant market economy there, and the unique skills the Tibetans possess, which they seek to trade. A lot of what they produce is art. It is therefore a welcome development that a moral and spiritual leader of such a high stature has stood on the side of The Market.

Actually, all religions support free markets. Islam is but a morality of traders, not soldiers. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a trader, as was his wife Khadija. Mecca and Medina were both free-trading cities then. The Prophet famously said, “He who makes money pleases Allah.”

On Islam and free markets, I suggest you read the "mission statement" of the Minaret for Freedom Institute, an important Islamic think-tank, run by an Islamic scholar who knows his Austrian economics, Dr. Imad-ad Dean Ahmad. Read his fine paper "Islam and Hayek." pdf file here. Read another important paper by Ahmad titled "Islam and the Medieval Progenitors of Austrian Economics" here.

Hinduism, of course, said it all aeons ago, in just two little words: shubh laabh (profits are auspicious). For the west, this understanding that private gain coincides with social gain had to wait till 1776 and Adam Smith. Shubh laabh is a greater philosophical achievement than the discovery of the mathematical zero, of which we are so proud.

But we could take other important Indian religions: Take Sikhism. I have visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The outer courtyard of the temple is a market. There is even an ATM there. Sikhs are hard-working and entrepreneurial. Their religion encourages them to be so. It is a religion that looks down on dependence. And the community looks after those who need help – through the daily langar, where the poor are fed.

Or let us take the Parsees, who are invariably urban traders. Their surnames, like Daruwallah and Sodawallah, reflect the urban division of labour. Their ancient religion surely cannot have anything against trade, since they have always been traders, even before they sought refuge in India. And they too look after their own poor.

Further, very few Parsees and very few Sikhs are poor – because their religions encourage trade and enterprise.

And lastly, what about the Jains? Their religion, like Buddhism, is “non-theistic” – there is no God – and their way of life is based on non-violence. But see them in the practical world, and they are invariably businessmen. Usually fairly prosperous. Trade is Justice. Trade is non-violent. Trade is the Only Way for All. And I have visited Moodbidri, the “Kashi of the Jains,” and quite liked the place: peaceful, clean, orderly, and holy as well.

So take courage. If you are on the side of Liberty, you definitely have God on your side.