FREE MARKET AND SOCIAL VALUES
Market as a tool for increasing productivity is valuable, market as a tool for generating money is effective but after that when market enters into the arena of ethics, values , humanity and social life it has constraints and may even be destructive. When social values and individual's reality as a human being become a commodity to be bought and sold in open markets cracks start appearing in social identity and solidarity.
From 1990s India entered into a some sort of market economy and the trend is continuing and will probably be continuing in future . This market economy has generated a lot of opportunities and money in the society but can we conclude that this sort of economy , along with monetary affluence could bring more social cohesiveness, more social equality, more social good, more individual's satisfaction in life? Of course answer is not in affirmative and we have been seeing more social, moral and legal crimes for money . Take example of dowry . Earlier the level of girls' education in India was not a very favourable idea and even if a girl was being educated that was mainly for the purpose of giving some sort of knowledge for raising and running her future family as wife, mother, etc. But from 1990s motive behind girl education has started changing. Girls are being seen as an economic asset too for their families. They are seen as potential breadwinner of their families and they actually do in many cases. This is true from poor to middle class to higher class . Because of this education and employment status of girls have been continuously increasing. But has this trend succeeded in lowering the demand of dowry? Of course not. Despite increasing education and economic status of girls in India demand for dowry has been continuously increasing and has become a symbol of social status. Values related to marriage have been monitized and so family relations and conjugal relations have its bearing. Post marital crime rate increased many folds. This shows infusing market values in social relations has devastating results.
This leads us to think alternative way for increasing prosperity in which productivity is in sync with values. This will lead us to make society a better place.