Many customers derive extra satisfaction in discounts and
marginal gains from bargains. My friend who worked as a sales person for a
clothing company in New Delhi told me this incident happened many years ago.
One such customer was looking at a pair of shorts which used to be called ‘half
pants’ colloquially. Of course, these were on sale and the price tag was quite
attractive with probably about 50% less than the normal sale price. Yet the
customer wanted further discounts which my friend politely declined. The
customer quickly made a comparison with the price of trousers lying on the
adjacent table and found that the price of a trouser made of similar material
is hardly 20% higher than the price of the half pants and argued that the price
of the shorts should be 50% of the trousers. At this point my friend realized
that there was no point arguing with this customer. He told the gentleman,
‘Sir, absolutely no problem, but would you mind picking up the bottom half?’
The customer walked away with a grin.
I am not concerned about the economic behavior behind this
true story. Who doesn't want to maximize benefit from an economic transaction? The
utopia of equality is a more relevant concept behind human transactions.
‘Two equal halves’ is a pure mathematical concept. In real
life there are no equal halves. When we consider two things as equal there is
lot of tension, confusion and often conflict. A lot of arguments and conflicts
happen over the concept of equality. Many people think that all human beings
are equal. Really? Everyone came to the world to be unequal or in other words,
unique. Accepting every other person as unique is much better than a lot of
slogans for equality. The concept of equality may even arise from selfishness-thinking
that there cannot be anyone better than me or there should not be anyone lesser
than me! Can there be a more arrogant position than this?
How do you recognize the better half in your choices? Are
you ready to pay a premium for the better half? Or do you doggedly fight for
equal price for both halves? How does this manifest in the workplace? Will
equal opportunity make everyone perform at the same level? Will treating
everyone the same way lead to same output from everyone?
Respect for every individual is a good principle for
nations, societies and organizations. True respect usually doesn't come from
treating every one equal. Instead treating every other person as uniquely
talented or differently endowed is a more potent reason to respect others. If the
other person is exactly equal to me what is the reason for admiration? I admire
the other person because he or she is more than equal to me.
Some of us believe in the myth that there was a time in the
past when everyone was equal. That is not supported by empirical data. Some others
advocate an equal world some time in future. That is a nice and very boring
dream. The French Revolution did not make everyone equal; nor will the Aam
Aadmi Party make everyone equal. Instead everyone working to achieve one's own
potential and everyone supporting everyone else in this pursuit may create a beautifully
unequal world for all.
Aristotle said: ‘The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.’
Hey Joseph,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this blog my mind somehow kept associating it with the concepts of secularism and socialism. I personally am not a believer of socialism. I am more of the concept of Objectivism where each to it's own and should be rewarded and regarded based on individual potential.
While I agree with your concept that we cannot all be equal but would be interesting to know your thoughts on equality when spoken of in reference to rights for women .. I hope this is not to do with those aspects?
"Thoughts become things". I think this is true with the concept of equality also. There is enough for everyone in this world, but there is a big lie that there is scarcity all around.
ReplyDeleteCaste system is said to be abolished in our society, but it is deeply engraved in the DNA and every areas of modern life in different forms. Colonization, and all the looting of the country based on that. was possible not because British were strong, but because we already had a social structure that affirms inequality. Even in modern times societies that accept inequality as a standard are open for exploitation. While others who reject that concept lives a better life at the expense of the former.
In an unequal society a large amount of personal and social resource and time is spend on handling the "imbalance", and people set their end goal as food shelter and housing. This keeps them for their entire life away from the real goals of human existence.
But in societies there food shelter housing, health and education is assured by law, people are surprisingly and immediately freed from the worries related to matters of basic existence. And that is the starting point of human creativity that allows them to search and find the higher goals of human existence.
Who makes most of the innovations and the profits out of that? A society that believe in equality of inequality? Society who believe in inequality spend their entire time of existence, solving basic existential issues of life, while the unequal system constantly drain them out of the fruit of their own labor with out they noticing. Societies who believe in equality, reaps the benefits of the equality. (at least I wish to believe it that way :) ) : Isaac P Thomas