The laws of capitalism are strange. How else can you explain the following?
Monthly salary drawn by domestic help = Amount spent for a Sunday lunch buffet at a five star restaurant = Sum spent on a parlor visit for a pet = Amount given away as tip at a fancy restaurant
All the above scenarios are possible only in a market driven capitalistic economy, keeping the sum of money the same in every situation. While a market economy enables us (1) to have an array of choices (2) takes care of the fair price for every product based on the demand and supply forces (3) provides a market for every conceivable human need/want and for every economic class; I cannot help but ponder over the unfairness – given the fungible nature of money, given the innumerable possibilities money, spent by me, has; of fetching so many other utilities for people with far greater needs than mine.
Every time I spend money on something that is fancy and is a result of my want rather than a need – I cannot help but feel somber. But I am also guilty of forgetting that somber moment till I feel somber again after another extravagant purchase.
Should I be feeling guilty? Do people who belong to the higher income group than I, feel guilty every time they splurge on things/ services that could have been done without? Is it arrogant to splurge money in an economy when a significant percentage of the population lives below the poverty line? I am not too sure about the right and wrong anymore, but it feels odd.
I get these bouts of desire to live frugally. There are weeks when I spend money very carefully – only on things that I truly cannot live without as opposed to things that I cannot do without. And I know the feeling to be very nice and peaceful behind that kind of living. But again, I find it hard to sustain it.
Life is full of such paradoxes – is it really possible to stick to one corner throughout? Or is it more to do with making the right choice at the right time? And if that is so, who tells you what is right at what time?
I wonder if there is an answer to that question….
