"Man's economic and social activities have always. been conditioned by his physical geographical environment. " Discuss this statement.

It is very difficult to say exactly what is covered by the term 'economic and social activities'. The term has to be understood in the context of man's economic activities and of his social activities. That is to say, though economic activities and social activities impinge on each other and are interconnected, those two types of activities have to be considered separately for the purpose of discussing whether they have always been conditioned by the physical geographical environment.

The term 'economics' is derived from the Greek oikwnene - 'household' - and every housewife performs an economic act when she decides how to spend her family budget. Even Robinson Crusoe on his desert island had to allocate his time between fishing, planting crops, or building his house and how to ration the limited supplies he had salvaged from his ship. Robinson Crusoe, however, lived in a very simple economy. Until Man Friday appeared, he had to do everything himself. Today economic activity is specialised and co-ordinated through markets in all but the subsistence economies in the least developed parts of the Third World where families grow their food and make what else they need.

In economic terms a market is not only a particular place where people buy and sell, such as a fish or fruit market, but also includes all those who are in contact with sellers and buyers of particular goods and services and can bring them together.

What is important to note is that any economic activity aims at production of wealth to meet man's needs. In his primitive days man hunted and found food for himself; food to him was wealth, and that was what he needed. He depended on his environment for the kind of animals he could hunt for food. Later, when man began to till the soil, he cultivated only those plants that the soil of the region in which he lived was suitable for. So, he grew rice, wheat or other cereals, depending on the nature of the soil where he pursued his agricultural activity.

As years passed by he found that certain items which he did not have he would be able to get from other places through a system of barter. That is to say, his economic activity got linked with the economic activity of people from other regions because of the scarcity of certain items he was in need of. The barter system gave way to selling and buying for money.

From what is said above it is clear that man could pursue his economic activity in his early history only with the help of what was available or what could be made available to him from his environment. This is by and large true today too. The resources available in a country determine its economic activity. For example, in the Gulf countries the main economic activity centres round production of oil. India which has extensive land remains primarily an agricultural country; this is so with countries like China and Russia. In India itself, depending on the environ- mental conditions that vary from region to region, the agricultural activities present a diverse spectrum. For example, in Bengal and Kerala rice is produced whereas in the Punjab wheat is grown; so also, in many parts of Maharashitra and the Uttar Pradesh sugar cane is grown. This variety is due to the differences in climatic conditions and the character of the soil.
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How could a scientist defend the view that science has failed mankind in view of the large number of problems created?

Science has created problems for mankind. Science is a blessing all right, but it is not an unmixed blessing. Science has made life easier and more comfortable. Science has made it possible for us to communicate with each other readily and quickly and it has made travel easy and fast. Machines have enabled man to save hours of manual labour. But science is responsible for the present-day arms race and the threat of nuclear war under which mankind exists today. In view of the threat of total annihilation of mankind posed by nuclear advancement, there is the fear that science has failed mankind. How can a scientist defend this view?

It is a fact that science has given us the spirit of objectivity and positivism that is necessary for the development of human knowledge. But it is also a fact that this spirit, when carried to unreasonable lengths in an unimaginative manner, militates against the original intentions. The scientific method thus becomes misused. The spirit of positivism is exaggerated to such lengths that anything that is not proved by crude laboratory experiments is dismissed as superstition. A complacent world believing in the creation of man by God was shaken when Darwin came out with his theory of evolution and the origin of the species. Science makes us forgot that there is "much in philosophy than dreamt of in heaven and on earth."

The scientist would say that the most diabolical use of science has been in the cause of promoting the baser human instincts and that it is politicians and statesmen who are to blame for this. Man uses science and technology for purposes of aggression; he uses the discoveries of science to win wars. In the past men used only bows and arrows and swords to fight with one another. But today thanks to science, he ha. at his disposal guns, planes, ships, submarines, missiles, etc. The race for weapons has led him to the discovery of nuclear weaponry. He can even carry on biological and chemical warfare. In the Vietnam War harmful bacteria were used among peasants to spread diseases. Chemicals were used to destroy acres of food crops. This is an instance of how scientific knowledge can be abused.

The monopolisation of knowledge and machines has led to the subjugation of one class by another and of a poorer nation by a richer nation. The mass-produced consumer items have captured the market, thanks to machines. This has resulted in the craftsmen and weavers going out of job.
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"Material progress is meaningless if it does not go hand in hand with moral and spiritual progress." Comment.

The word 'progress' generally unfolds before our mind's eye worldly achievements in terms of money, prosperity, physical comforts and amenities. Worldly achievements constitute our material progress. Usually every one of us aims at material progress - economic prosperity, professional success and more money accruing from it, etc. But is it enough that we achieve only material progress? Has material progress any meaning if it is not accompanied by our moral and spiritual progress?

Most of us crave for progress and work for it. But the kind of progress that we work for is only material progress and worldly success. We are over-enthusiastic about repeating spiritual slogans and doctrines, but are not keen on practising them. We pray to God, not for spiritual regeneration, but for worldly success. We are like Claudius in Hamlet; our souls remain below; our words go up. Our feet are on the rungs of the ladder of worldly success with our eyes turned upwards and with our mouths watering for the bunches of ripe grapes. Actually, our religious protestations, prayers and practices are only a means to an end; we seek God's intervention to help us in our worldly success - in our material progress. We do not pray for the betterment of our souls. We are down- right hypocrites even when we pray. We do not pause even for a moment and ask ourselves: "What does it matter if we gain the whole world but lose our souls?"

Material progress alone is not enough; it should go hand in hand with spiritual progress. Then only can we become developed, well-integrated individuals. As Carl Jung says: "Out of the fullness of life shall you bring forth your religion: only then will you be blessed."

It is not that material progress is not at all necessary; it is not that we should take to asceticism, austerity and poverty, and live like sages. We should achieve material progress; we should enjoy the fruits of science; affluence and prosperity should be achieved, and we should work for prosperity. But prosperity should not blind us to 'the fruit of the spirit'. Our prosperity should help us evolve ourselves into spiritually mature persons.
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What qualities, in your opinion, make a book a "Best Seller"?

A 'best seller' is a book whose copies are sold in thousands. There is an inner urge in the reading public to buy such a book. The general reading public are normally averse to spending money on books. As a result, most of the books just gather dust in the shelves; they do not sell at all unless the sales are pushed up through advertisements and other forms of media publicity. But there are exceptions; those exceptions sell like hot cakes as soon as they are published and continue to sell for years to come. The question is: Why do these books, just a few in number, sell well?

The Bible is one of those books that are sold in large numbers. What is the reason for the Bible to be a best seller? The Bible is sacred to the Christians, and there are many Christians in the world; every Christian home will generally have a copy of the Bible. The Bible tells the story of the Jews, and of the birth and death of Christ, the Saviour. Besides, the Bible contains holy teachings which, though more honoured in the breach than in the observance thereof, are sacred to the Christians. If the reason for the abundant sale of the Bible indicates anything, it is this: a book whose content is sacred to thousands and thousands of people becomes ipso facto a best seller.

If the religious character of a book boosts up its sales, it may so happen that the non-religious, blasphemous character of a book also can increase its sales. We have the classic example of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. To the devout Muslims The Satanic Verses is an irreligious book written with the obvious intention of attacking Islam and its founder Prophet Mohammed. The devout Muslims raised a hue and cry against the book and its author; the book, they say, is for burning. A top religious leader made a call for the 'liquidation' of the author of the book. All this arouses the curiosity of the reading public; everyone who hears about the book desires to have a copy. The book becomes a best seller. It is the controversial nature of the book that makes it a best seller.

It is not religion alone that makes a book controversial; political commitments, socio-political compulsions and prejudice and perceptions arising from loyalties to one political system or the other also do. For example, Pastermack's Dr. Zhivago and Alexander Solzhenitayn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch gained popularity enough in the West to become best sellers because of the controversial nature of the books and of the implicit criticism of Stalinist Russia contained in them. In other words, the controversy generated by the novels was primarily responsible for the sale of the books soon after they were published. The international recognition won by the books also accounted for their popularity.
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"Reading is seeing by proxy" (Spencer). Is reading a substitute for experience?

Robert Southey has written a poem in which he speaks about the companionship books have given him. He says:

My days among the dead are past,

Around me I behold,

Where'er or these casual eyes are cast,

The mighty minds of old:

My ne'er failing friends are they,

With whom I converse day by day.

The poet says that books are his never-failing friends; in their company he derives delight, and seeks relief and solace while in sorrow. The poet's words in praise of books show that reading is a panacea for personal ills as well as for empathetic understanding and for vicarious pleasure.

Wise men all over the world have extolled the value of reading. Bacon has this to say: "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man," Lamb loves to lose himself in other men's minds. That is to say, he likes to enjoy himself in the company of books, which as Milton has described, are 'the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life." In the words of Emily Dickinson

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

Spencer's observation, "Reading is seeing by proxy", underscores the importance of reading in a man's life. He sees the value of reading as a means to experience what the writer of a book has experienced himself. That is to say, the reader sees what the writer has seen personally from the book written by the latter.

Books are of different kinds; some give us useful information and knowledge; some give us the personal experiences of their authors; some are imaginative renderings of experiences. What we call creative literature belongs to the third category. When we refer to reading, we have invariably in mind the reading of imaginative literature. In other words, by `reading' we mean reading novels, plays, poems, short stories, travelogues, autobiographies, etc. Imaginative literature is certainly different from books that are intended to pass on matter-of-fact, useful information and knowledge. The second category of books dealing with personal experiences such as autobiographies and travelogues is more akin to imaginative literature; for the books belonging to this category are 'the precious life-blood of master-spirits'. Both categories of books, namely, imaginative literature and literature based on personal experience, give us what the writers have 'seen' for themselves.

The word 'seen' is placed within inverted commas because seeing is experiencing not only through our physical senses but also through our mind's eye. What the poet imaginatively conceives is his experience; perhaps what he imaginatively conceives is based on personal experience. Wordsworth's poem on the daffodils or his sonnet, "Upon Westminster Bridge" are imaginative renderings of personal experiences. The point is when we read imaginative works we are lost in the worlds created by the writers and experience with them their experiences. Our own experiences are only second-hand, and therefore, vicarious. This is what Spencer means when he says, "Reading is seeing by proxy'.

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"In order that economic development and progress can take place, a country must industrialise". Discuss

Industrialisation is the application of scientific knowledge to man's economic, agricultural, and other wealth-generating activities. In other words, it is the conversion of the 'know-why' of science into `know-how' for industry; it is the practical application of man's inventiveness in the improvement of his well-being and the increase of his wealth.

Industrialisation depends on four essentials: the right idea, the right method of putting it into effect, the right moment in time, and availability of the right materials. Machine invented with the help of scientific know- how are used for quicker and easier production of wealth. Therefore, it is only sound commonsense to say that the economic development and progress of a country are dependent on its industrial growth.

There was a time when countries depended entirely on agriculture. Before the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain too was an agricultural country. Had it not been for the wealth she was able to amass from her colonies, she would not have become a wealthy nation depending on agriculture alone. America at first had an economy rooted in agriculture. With the invention of machines and with the advent of industrialisation, she made use of machines even for her agricultural activities, apart from setting up factories and manufacturing articles for sale.

Before machines were invented, the articles required for use by man were handmade. These articles were not produced in bulk. But machines helped man to produce articles in large numbers.

Today machines are used virtually in all spheres of life. Agriculture, especially in Western countries, is highly mechanised. There are machines to plough the land, sow seeds, hoe and weed. Pesticides are often sprayed by aeroplanes and helicopters. Fertilisers produced in bulk in factories are used for the healthy growth of plants. All these facilities afforded by mechanisation double our agricultural production; this means increase in economic wealth and prosperity.

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Work is the only route to happiness. Discuss.

The ideal put forward to young people has, traditionally, been 'mens sana in corpore sano', and this implies a proper balance between work and play. Yet to achieve happiness, that coveted but elusive state of total fulfilment, requires more. It is true that mankind in general, though with exceptions, has a built-in instinct for work. The vast gulf separating humanity from its physical origins, the animal world, is due to millennia of cerebral and physical activity. Yet there are other equally powerful instincts in the human make-up. The desire, in most cases, to form life-long emotional attachments; the instinct, again in most cases, to start a family; the making of friendships; the search for a fulfilling occupation, to name the most obvious.

In some countries there are a privileged few who are born into possessions, money and position, so the need to work in the normal sense does not apply to them. Yet it is noticeable that these people generally find some worthwhile occupation. This may be anything from estate management to patronage of some charitable institution to participation in the pop scene. This again indicates that to follow some kind of occupation, whether useful or not, is a genuine instinct.

History supports this view, and literature has produced many sayings expressing the value, perhaps the necessity of work. 'Satan hath some mischief yet for idle hands to do'; 'our best friend is work' (Collin d'Harleville); 'to youth I have but three words of counsel - work, work, work' (Bismarck); 'sow work and thou shalt reap gladness' (Proverb); 'work won't kill but worry will' (Proverb).

For most of us work is both a necessity and source of fulfilment. We need a regular income, just as our country needs part of the wealth we create and claims through taxation. The fulfilment of the instincts mentioned in Paragraph 1 cannot be achieved without money. The right use of money is of course important; Charles Dickens made the point that to live sixpence below one's income led to happiness; to live sixpence above led to misery.

The definition of work is wide, ranging from manual labor to the highest forms of intellectual activity. We are not all suited to every kind of work. I would be of little use as a manual worker, since my skills in that direction are limited. Conversely, not all manual workers could do my work. Among other things, I write a little. I was once asked 'What motivates you to write?', the questioner expecting some high-falutin answer. I was tempted to answer 'Money!' In fact the best writers have all taken this view. Only the second rate prattle about artistic fulfilment .

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