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Abstract
To amass profit, industrialization was used by western countries to possess the whole world’s demand for goods. Innumerable ways, methods, strategies and techniques were adopted to undermine, destroy and erase the productions of small scale industries and artisans in countries of the world, especially the colonies. In a century’s time, the west became the only supplier of goods to the world. As N. Divakar writes in his article, “Capital investment and expansion was the main goal of capital countries rather than geographical expansion. They used the industrial technology as their main instrument to carve themselves as capital powers.” (Divakar 31) The western countries who adopted capitalism used democracy as an ideology to create the illusion of free and liberal citizens. According to Gandhi, Democracy promises individualism but it works not through individuals but individual representatives who holds all the power. Naturally the masses run behind power for survival making them servile for a few politicians. Capitalism channelizes the idea of freedom and individualism in economic terms. It infuses the idea that an individual can adventure, work hard to become a billionaire or laze around to become a pauper. It incorporates the idea that happiness is only material happiness and all other aspects of psychological well being and social well being are subservient to material pleasures. An individual in a capitalist democracy competes with the global capital set up for survival. He has to learn international legal system, knowledge systems, commerce, communication and international language systems to become competent in the system. He has to communicate with people who are alien to him – related only in business terms. In such a situation an individual need not have any acquaintance with people around him, relatives, neighbors, community and society around him. No sense of provincialism, nativity is essential to survive in globalized world. This is what Gandhi opposes in capitalism. He wants an individual to survive through his immediate environment.