There is an interesting theory of economics. It is about contraction and expansion of economies. In an economy where everyone is trying to loot and save, general spending decreases which brings down the demand for commodities. Then supply surpasses the demand and production of commodities no more remains profitable and this results in decrease in the activities of the economy in a country. With this comes decline in production and earning by the workers and investors. When income of the people decrease, it further worsens the demand and thus there will be the process of contraction or shrinkage in the economy. Contrary to this, when some amount of money is injected into the economy, it increases the demand. This rise in demand of commodities increases the revenue and profit of the producers and thus they give expansion to the means of their production. At the same time, it increases the amount of money available at hand to be spent by the workers and the factory owners and thus they make more purchases and thus this cycle further galvanizes the overall process of supply and demand in the economy. But it should not be forgotten that it is a classical theory and if the conditions associated with this theory were not met, there can disparity between the ideal and actual conditions of the economy of a country.

Anyhow, the above formula was successfully experimented during The Great Depression of 1935 by the American government. In this economic recession, demand had almost died out, supply was decreased and overall performance of the economy had greatly decreased. Then American government intervened by making purchases from the private sector. Luckily, Second World War was on its peak and there was great demand of arms and ammunition. Government not only increased general purchases but also established a number of factories where thousands of unemployed were enrolled. This at once increased the demand, production and supply of commodities increased and the wheel of economy started running briskly, brining overall prosperity for all the stakeholders of the economy.

Same secret lies behind the Islamic Zakaat system. Once a year, when a large amount of money comes out of the safes of rich and reaches to the hands of poor, demand increases resulting in the expansion in the economy. We can discuss in detail this unique system in another column but today, it would be our topic to beam our attention on a special area of the economy.

Keeping in view the above view, I would like to shed light on the approach of business by the traders and shopkeepers of our country. Their approach comes as a live example of the famous story of which we are all well aware that once a man had a hen that laid a golden egg every day. Although a golden egg was more than the needs of the person but his increasing greed blocked his eyes and also the streams of logic and understanding and one day he decided to slaughter the hen and take all the eggs out of the belly of the hen to become rich in the earliest. But when he slaughtered the hen, it was a heart-shocking discovery that there was not present a single golden egg in the belly of the hen and he had himself chopped down the stem that he used to stay on.

Here, when one establishes a factory or starts a business (if it is on a large scale or if it is a small cigarette seller), first and foremost aim of a person becomes to make more and more profit. In this regard, first of all we kill our conscience and keep aside the rules and guidelines. As far as government and its accountability are concerned, their eyes can be blinded by a small share of this illegal and unfair profit. If a business is running, it is making huge amounts of profit, ripping and whipping the public from the top and the bottom. This setup of profitability also works due to the fact that with the exception of a small number of people, everyone is following the same track and thus people are left with no other option. It is same to them if they get looted from the first person or the second. But as the theory mentioned in the beginning of this column states, such a setup cannot exist for long and it will be eaten away by a stronger and greedier crocodile of the lake. It is the reason why we see that we don’t have any established brand, product or even small shops that could have completed 50 years or more.

In 1847, when Werner von Siemens founded a small company of telegraph in a workshop in Germany, he aimed at providing quality service to the customers and there was no intention of making large amounts of profit. With the passage of time, the company acquired a name and fame for providing quality and also won the trust of customers. With this, company started flourishing and then there was no looking back. Starting from a small workshop of telegraphs, company entered into a number of diversified fields like energy and power, microchips and computers, trains and transportation, home appliances, health care, cities and infrastructure and many more. As per 2011 statements released by the company, Siemens is operating in almost 190 countries of the world with more than 360,000 employees and posted revenues of approximately 73.5 billion Euros for the year of 2011.

Such a trust is a true asset; be it of a business entity or of a member of a society. This trust is not easy to be won but once acquired; it makes the works easy for its owner. This also brings into light another fact that if you try to win the trust of the people and provide them with quality service or product, their trust also brings profit and growth to you.

At times, I wonder when our traders and industrialists will understand this and work to serve the people. This phenomenon of serving others is so interesting that, in this way, you serve yourself as well. When you will serve the people, they will trust you and with this trust, your expansion and growth will start and continue. The day our traders and industrialists understood this reality, the fate of the nation would also change.

In the end, I would like to extend my apologies to those who are working honestly and sincerely in our country. My above comments may be of the general majority but definitely our society is also not void of those sincere and hardworking shopkeepers, industrialists and investors who are in the field with the aim of service to their fellow beings.