Effective governance will remain a distant dream unless our public servants as well as politicians are trained to be selfless in the delivery of administration
Public finance is an amalgam of economics and politics. It is broadly concerned with the Government's fund raising capacities, money spending activities, and the consequences affecting the welfare of the society. Economics is the study of scarce resources, which is manufactured or rendered in the form of valuable products and services amongst various societies. Politics is the practice of administration of power and resources within one or more community. Economist philosopher, Chanakya, expressed that “political stability is a prerequisite for economic development, and fairness is essential for political stability”.
Governments across the globe have mobilised funds through levying and collecting taxes from the public and India is no exception to this. Government officials and politicians, who are commonly referred to as the ‘custodians of public money’, are entrusted with the mandate to spend the taxpayer's money in public interest. The public in return expects them to maintain high standards of public conduct and deliver favorable results. But what makes India exceptional is the common man's perception of the way public money is seared. Milton Friedman once said, “Nobody spends somebody else's money as wisely as they spend their own.”
Recent events and scams in the country demonstrate a depressing story. Public money is being abused and manipulated for deriving personal benefits. Currently, the areas where finances arouse public interest is bribery, misappropriation, diversion of funds, financial scandals, embezzlement of public money, facilitation payments, etc. This erodes public faith in the legitimacy of economic-politico governmental set up. Consequently, people develop a feeling of distrust in the bureaucrats and politicians. They believe ministerial power, money power and even muscle power induce such people to indulge in corrupt practices, leading to appropriation of funds for private gains at public expense. We often come across instances where personal desires and greed to amass wealth, through unfair means, hinders efficient dispensation of financial resources for public good.
How can we stimulate and influence these officials and politicians to work for the greater goodIJ Theanswer lies in integrating spiritualism for the management of public finances. There is a myth that economics and spirituality cannot go hand-in-hand. In reality, true values lie at the core of economics. Social values must be a priority for all who manage public money. Spirituality embodies values of honesty, integrity and exceptional work. Studies in corporate set-ups show that embracing spirituality can lead to increased competitive advantages.
Experts opine that spirituality can inspire passion and commitment. It builds a sense of trust and greatly increases the moral of people entrusted with managing public money. Integrating spiritual values with public finances could be of ultimate political advantage to the Government in power. However, it does not guarantee complete eradication of corruption in an economy as temptation to make easy money supersedes the attribute of morality. Aligning spirituality with management of public money is still a debatable issue.
With a shift in the paradigm of the society, moving from a ‘regulated regime' to a ‘welfare state', the importance of public finance has changed considerably. People need transparency in Government spending. Spiritual growth requires using head and heart at the same time. Officials controlling public resources must realise that it is the primary duty of the state to promote welfare of the public through provision of productive economic activities. They should ensure that public services are carried out within the boundaries defined by law.
In a country where money is synonymous with lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, it is disheartening to see that the guardians of public money suffer from other-people-money disorder. Public servants tend to exploit public money for personal benefits, and keep rationalising statements for their actions. People of this nature want grub, which is easy to grab but hard to earn.
Therefore, there is a need to create spiritual capital among the custodians of public money. Spiritual capital is a concept that involves the quantification of values to individuals, groups and society. Proponents liken to other forms of capital, including financial capital, intellectual capital, and social capital. Management consultant and philosopher Danah Zohar defines it broadly as, “The value of personal, social or cultural beliefs and meanings that stimulate creativity, encourage moral behavior and motivate individuals”.
Politicians and public administrators in India can draw an inspiration from Abraham lincoln who advocated that, “The legitimate objective of a Government is to do what needs to be done for the people, but which they cannot achieve by individual efforts, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities. If all the people could do as well for themselves individually, then the Government must not interfere.” This drives the point that the real purpose of managing public money is not to control processes and operations of public revenue, public expenditure and public debt, but to ensure it actually stimulates the economic growth and improvesliving standards of the common man. In essence, public servants as well as politicians need to be trained in selfless delivery of administration, servant leadership, disintermediation and treating public as customer who pays taxes and needs to be served in return. Till then, effective governance will remain a distant dream.
(Vinay Dutta and Shilpi Jain are professors with FORE School of Management, New Delhi)