India: Have Car…Will Travel…To Chaos?

The arrival of the “People’s Car” (equivalent US$2,421) — Nano – on Indian roads “is a symbol of the coming-of-age of mass consumerism in the developing world,” says Andrew Buncombe of The Independent.

“India’s roads are broken and inadequate, the country is overcrowded and there is a middle class of anywhere up to 300 million people who might be tempted to buy a Nano. The equation simply does not add up; the result would be chaos.

“Yet the roll-out last month of this neatly-designed 625cc vehicle has implications that go far beyond India’s roads. As much as any single event can do, the production of the Nano marks a potential tipping-point for the entire planet.

“In India, …the new car is just one example of a consumer revolution that is sweeping the nation. Shopping malls are being built at a dizzying pace, each targeting a different slice of the consumer market – from the decidedly utilitarian complexes that might house a very basic supermarket and an outlet of KFC to the positively luxurious marble-floored malls of high-end designer stores, restaurants and art galleries.

“In 2000 there were just three such malls in India; today the estimated total is 350.

“Whatever lingering image India may have as nation of ascetics, since the reforms of the early 1990s began to develop the economy, middle-class Indians have embraced consumerism with a rare passion.

“Take a weekend trip to one of these malls and you will see whole families, couples and young women spending the entire day in this clean, intoxicating environment and go home laden with bags from expensive stores.

“On their way home, such families may well stop at traffic lights where a malnourished child (an estimated 700 million Indians still live on less than $2 a day) will be hawking copies of Vogue.

“In their new book, Newspeak in the 21st Century, media critics David Edwards and David Cromwell cite American psychologist Tim Kasser, who says: ‘Existing scientific research on the value of materialism yields clear and consistent findings. People who are highly focused on materialistic values have lower personal well-being and psychological health than those who believe materialistic pursuits are relatively unimportant’.”