Views expressed are personal

Rivals of communism and socialism often present numerous arguments against them, which is fair enough. However, the same people rarely discuss the problems that monopolies bring to the people in a capitalist system.

I remember in an interview, Ruchir Sharma (an economist and investor) said, capitalism need not be pro-business but pro-competition. Capitalism is about competition, allowing people to have numerous choices and access to good services at a better price, due to competition, which is beneficial for consumers. However, when we examine India and abroad, it is evident that capitalism has now been reduced to monopolies. Does capitalism really provide good options to consumers, or for the State a good excuse to get free from its responsibilities?

In my economics class in school, I learned that India is a mixed economy where it follows a capitalism+socialism model, where both the private sector and the Government sector co-exist. Well, it does exist, but in a moribund condition. And I would say that post-2014, it has almost died and is dying after every parliamentary session, as during almost every session, the government passes a bill to privatise this or that. The latest gift to the people of India is the Shanti Bill, 2025. Well, ofcourse it has number of benefits that how it will help fulfilling the energy needs of India. Still, I see this as how it will fulfil the money needs of the party in government and their loyal donors and how it will help India make one more new monopoly or duopoly, as it has successfully been doing so with Jio and Airtel, Indigo and Air India. Ambani and Adani.

The recent Indigo crisis showed us how we cannot rely on one or two companies, as once they fail the whole system disrupts together. Every now and then, both Jio and Airtel keep raising prices. How did they manage to capture the market when BSNL existed even before them? Due to the government's failure to serve the people, capitalists claim that the government can't run companies effectively. Oh, really? The government is running the decade's best Indian innovation, courtesy of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India). This shows that if the government has the right intent to work for the people and serve the country in an egalitarian manner, it can do anything.

Monopolies have become a bitter and deeply concerning truth, but most Indians do not even give a damn about it, and why would they when they are busy fighting so many things? Well, I am not an economist or advisor to tell you which model is good or bad. In fact, I hate studying economics, but I always try to understand it because it affects me and you as well. Economics and politics both significantly influence our lives, so it is essential to stay informed about them. While reading this, some may think I am a communist, but I am not; in fact, I never fully understood it. However, whatever I have understood is its impracticality and implementation problems, as well as its flaws.

Every economic model has its pros and cons, but capitalism is one such thing that I feel has more cons than pros. I still don't hate it, nor do I love it, but one thing is for sure, capitalism has one end that is– Duopoly and monopolies, which we don't want. We need to rethink our economic model to cater the needs of the people of India.

See you next month. I hope I'm able to convey my point. The objective behind writing this is to highlight the pressing issue and increase debate and discussion over it. If you agree with my point and enjoyed reading it, consider hitting the like button and sharing it, as we don't want monopolies.

Thank you for reading

P.S. Thank you so much to all my regular readers who have motivated me to write every single month, and with this year coming to an end, this is the final and 12th piece of the year 2025. And next year I'll try to deliver you even more, keep reading and keep learning. Wish you all a delightful, prosperous new year, full of growth and peace✌️ :)