Enough has already been said about FDI in Retail. I will not talk about any pros and cons or about the number of jobs created vs. jobs lost. This post talks about a much more fundamental issue - our refusal to accept (and respect) the principle that only productivity and performance should decide winners and losers in the marketplace. Unfortunately, we as a people, find it hard to understand that it is all right to have winners AND losers. We endlessly keep debating about potential job losses or fall in incomes, not realizing that this is an important and inevitable part of 'development'.
The what-will-the-'poor'-shopkeepers-do-after-retail-FDI issue reminds me of a short story -
My family was traditionally part of the goldsmith community. When my grandparents got married, being a goldsmith was a good career option (There was no option really, you simply did what your ancestors did).
Those were the times of made-to-order gold jewelry. Customers give you some gold, their requirements and you deliver for a set fee or commission. Goldsmiths would often work-from-home or from small shops and could earn a decent living too. Education was never a priority in this community. Beyond the age of 13, kids would often quit school, and start working with their father/relatives. Worked out well for everybody.
But the market evolved. Businessmen/Goldsmiths with deep pockets started opening showrooms that offered a wide range of readymade gold jewelry with guaranteed quality. Customers were now spoilt for choice and could buy jewelry off-the-shelf. The goldsmiths, on the other hand suffered the most. Within a span of one generation, the once-prosperous goldsmith community could barely make ends meet.
So what happened to the goldsmith community? Remember they had no other skills whatsoever, no education, nothing. Some continued with their sinking business, some worked as poorly-paid-skilled workers for larger gold jewelers/retailers, some started doing odd jobs (like shop attendants).
Today, most of their families are nowhere close to being well-off. However, they are now making a conscious effort to educate their children. They are trying to adapt to the new environment, trying to change. I am certain that within one generation, the former goldsmith community will more or less disappear and move to other sources for their livelihood. I am also certain that some of them will do exceptionally well, some will barely survive and most will just about manage.
So what's the point?
Did traditional goldsmiths suffer because of more organized gold retail? Yes. Were consumers happy with the change? Yes. Did consumers end up getting better quality, certified products? Yes. Did India, as a country, gain anything from this? Don't-know-don't-care.
The point is, we must learn to accept that along with winners, there will always be losers - sometimes more, sometimes less. Let the efficient, innovative, productive players flourish. Let there be brilliant profitable companies. At the same time, let there be bankruptcies, let there be job losses. No one (read big brother) must have the right or the obligation to protect the 'weak' using biased, discriminatory laws against the 'strong'. Please realize that we are all on our own. The sooner we accept it and take responsibility for our own fate, the better off we will all be.
The what-will-the-'poor'-shopkeepers-do-after-retail-FDI issue reminds me of a short story -
My family was traditionally part of the goldsmith community. When my grandparents got married, being a goldsmith was a good career option (There was no option really, you simply did what your ancestors did).
Those were the times of made-to-order gold jewelry. Customers give you some gold, their requirements and you deliver for a set fee or commission. Goldsmiths would often work-from-home or from small shops and could earn a decent living too. Education was never a priority in this community. Beyond the age of 13, kids would often quit school, and start working with their father/relatives. Worked out well for everybody.
But the market evolved. Businessmen/Goldsmiths with deep pockets started opening showrooms that offered a wide range of readymade gold jewelry with guaranteed quality. Customers were now spoilt for choice and could buy jewelry off-the-shelf. The goldsmiths, on the other hand suffered the most. Within a span of one generation, the once-prosperous goldsmith community could barely make ends meet.
So what happened to the goldsmith community? Remember they had no other skills whatsoever, no education, nothing. Some continued with their sinking business, some worked as poorly-paid-skilled workers for larger gold jewelers/retailers, some started doing odd jobs (like shop attendants).
Today, most of their families are nowhere close to being well-off. However, they are now making a conscious effort to educate their children. They are trying to adapt to the new environment, trying to change. I am certain that within one generation, the former goldsmith community will more or less disappear and move to other sources for their livelihood. I am also certain that some of them will do exceptionally well, some will barely survive and most will just about manage.
So what's the point?
Did traditional goldsmiths suffer because of more organized gold retail? Yes. Were consumers happy with the change? Yes. Did consumers end up getting better quality, certified products? Yes. Did India, as a country, gain anything from this? Don't-know-don't-care.
The point is, we must learn to accept that along with winners, there will always be losers - sometimes more, sometimes less. Let the efficient, innovative, productive players flourish. Let there be brilliant profitable companies. At the same time, let there be bankruptcies, let there be job losses. No one (read big brother) must have the right or the obligation to protect the 'weak' using biased, discriminatory laws against the 'strong'. Please realize that we are all on our own. The sooner we accept it and take responsibility for our own fate, the better off we will all be.
