The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Economic system blamed for downturn

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Tuesday, Jun 23, 2009
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Economic system blamed for downturn

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

Swami Dayananda Saraswati delivers a talk in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: The global economic slowdown is a consequence of the absence of a common currency for the world, Swami Dayananda Saraswati has said. He made this observation as he began a series of lectures on ‘Turning adversity to one’s advantage,’ organised by AIM for Seva, here on Sunday.

He blamed the economic system, which he said was “designed to be defective,” for the economic downturn.

The monetary system encouraged the rich to get richer by flouting the rules. “The economic slowdown is an avoidable human error. The economic system turned out to be a disaster when the people for whom the system was built were forgotten,” he said. The concept of outsourcing jobs to other countries also contributed to the economic failure. The economy needs to be rebuilt on strong foundations.

The country’s population should be utilised resourcefully instead of seeing its size as a hurdle to fast economic growth, he said.

Terming the philosophy of relinquishing desires as ‘reductionism,’ Swami Dayananda Saraswati said desire is an inborn quality in humans and any philosophy that goes against what is bestowed on mankind constitutes ‘non-thinking.’

There is a stark difference between desire and greed and the distinction lies on the path one takes to attain the goal, he concluded.

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