A Fisherman, That Nut Gandhi, And Other Nuts I Hate

It was late last evening, and we were both tired, so instead of embarking on our regular stroll to one of the beaches, we decided to stop at a sheltered cove. There, sitting on the rocks, we watched the angry colours of the sunset reflected upon the calm waters of the Arabian Sea.

A man appeared – a man wearing nothing more than a ragged pair of shorts, carrying nothing more than a small fishing net bundled up under one arm. He stepped into the shallow waters and waded out a few metres, after which he cast his net. When he hauled it in, there was nothing in it, so he waded out a little further and cast it again.

“This is a fisherman with no Capital,” I commented, “all he has is a net – but no boat.”

She replied, “So what? He doesn’t want to catch too many fish – just two or three for himself and those he has to feed at home.”

And I said: “That’s what you call ‘self-sufficient’ – without any marketable surplus; producing for one’s own consumption, unable to perform any exchanges in The Market by which to obtain even a small portion of the surpluses of others. Thus, he is condemned to eternal poverty. This is Gandhianism for you.”

I  continued: “Actually, in reality, it is worse than that. It is Gandhianism combined with Communist-Environmentalism – for, on the one hand, the poor chap has no Capital; and, on the other hand, he has no Property either because of the Coastal Zone Regulation Act. Property by this shaded cove would be extremely valuable today and who knows which rich Western tourist would decide to buy it for Big Bucks and build himself a winter holiday home.”

“You and your eternal Economics,” she said, “Can’t you ever talk about something else?”

“It’s not Economics,” I replied in my defence, “It’s actually Anti-Economics. Economics is my Passion. Anti-Economics is my Hatred. I hate Gandhianism, Communism, and Environmentalism.”

“Talk of love, not hate,” she said, quoting the Cohen song.

"Men are from Mars and women are from Venus," I thought of saying, but didn't, for it is a cliche. But there might be some truth to it, to do with hormones. Chemicals matter - like good old THC, or alcohol. Ha ha.