son for the millions in India who have just risen into the middle class. Successes of capitalism produce over time enervating influences when a generation committed to saving is replaced by one devoted to spending. Ferocious competition is a feature of the free market and it can be corrosive. But competition is also an economic stimulant that promotes human welfare. The choice is not between the free market and central planning but in getting the right mix of regulation. No one wants state ownership of production where the absence of competition corrodes the character even more. The answer is not to seek moral perfection which inevitably leads to theocracy and dictatorship. Since it is in man's nature to want more, let's learn to live with human imperfection, and seek regulation that not only tames crooks in the market but also rewards dharma-like behaviour. 

A person who lost her job because of troubles on Wall Street, insistently asks, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" Draupadi asked the same question in the Mahabharata. "When everything was going well for us, why was our kingdom stolen in a rigged game of dice?" She wants her husband to raise an army, and win it back. But Yudhishthira says that he has given his word. "But what is the point of being good?" she asks. To which he replies, "I act because I must". It is the uncompromising, compelling voice of dharma. This is an answer that the investment bankers might ponder.