The future of Economics - 'Golkundi'nomics
WHILE climbing the steps of the
There was much laughter and applause. I was so pleased that when I returned to Mumbai I told the story to everyone whose attention I could grab for a moment. In my senile days someone will surely thrash me for telling it for the 500th time.
Obesity is not breaking news, of course. It's discussed in the general media and science magazines. There is scientific speculation on the biological consequences for the future of mankind. But so far the benefits of obesity have accrued only to the pharma industry, cosmetic surgery business, and gyms. The multiplier effects on other sectors of the economy have not been considered.
Obesity will provoke drastic changes in the transportation industry. Bus seats can't accommodate two passengers any more; the one on the aisle side can rest only one buttock. Cars meant to carry three in the back can't take more than two. Train seats and berths are inadequate now. In the low-class three- and four-seat parts of aeroplanes passengers sit in cramped positions. Will cars, autorickshaws, buses and planes have to be redesigned so that they are wider? Will train seats be reconfigured so that three seats are converted into two?
Then there are the toilet commodes which have to be re-engineered to accommodate excess weight. They will have to be wider and made of stronger materials. Else, an unusual malfunction that I read about on the Internet could become a common occurrence in homes, offices and transport machines.
An obese woman passenger had a horrifying and embarrassing experience in an airline toilet. When she pulled the flush, the vacuum system flushed out not only the woman's contribution but also all the air in the commode. The woman was stuck on the commode like the cap of a soda water bottle. She screamed for rescue, but it was impossible. The woman had to stay on the potty until the plane landed and engineers were called. They reversed the flushing system and pumped air into the commode, and the woman bounced off it. This could be a common problem soon and provides lots of opportunity for commode manufacturers, insurance companies and lawyers.
Interior designers and furniture makers will also have to reinvent. Chairs, sofas and tables will have to be stronger to accommodate excess mass. Beds will have to be wider, firmer and less creaky. Else, every home will repeat a scene from the 1991 French film 'Delicatessen' in which a couple is making love on the top floor of a house. Their bed makes a loud, rhythmic creaking sound. The people on the floors below adjust their routine tasks, like beating a carpet, to keep pace with the sound. The tasks speed up towards the climax.
Imagine this rhythmic creaking happening in homes in
Obesity is not a modern problem. It's been around throughout history. All ancient civilisations have stories about fat people. They got into stories and plays and into histories about the debaucheries of the ruling classes. But fat people were rare then. They did not have an impact on economies.
Today's widespread obesity will have economic fallouts, as in the few speculations I have given above. Widespread obesity will affect every aspect of human activity – from architecture (wider doors and windows, bigger bathrooms, stronger elevators, etc) to Zen (meditation, discourses, spiritual tourism, etc) – and transform manufacturing as well as service industries. To cope with the demand, there will be innovations and inventions that further stimulate needs and wants.
Interesting times are ahead. One linguistic change round the corner is about the expression "fat chance". Today it has the same meaning as "slim chance", or low probability. Soon, "fat chance" will indicate good opportunity, or boom time. Perhaps "boom time" will change to "bum time'. The new obesity-based economics may even be called ‘Golkundi’nomics.
