Gandhiji’s Trusteeship Has Better Tools To Promote Responsible Business

Responsible Business practices in India was first introduced in Mahatma Gandhi   through his concept of Trusteeship. Trusteeship exhorts business to operate ethically. It lays stress on the need for business to act as the custodian of peoples’ wealth. Gandhi said making money was not an evil if ethical means were used. He said businessmen should use the funds required for their wellbeing and set aside the remaining for the welfare of the poor and the needy.Trusteeship is a means to transfer capital to the less privileged people in society. It describes the social responsibility of business towards customers, employees, shareholders and society. Most economists agree that the Gandhian economics may not have many followers today but it is very comprehensive to deal with many of the problems faced  by Indian business today. One such issue is Corporate Social Responsibility which can be linked to Gandhiji’s concept of Trusteeship. Absolute Trusteeship may not be attainable. Yet if businesses behave as Trustees they will be able to build organisations which are viable and at the same time benign.Mahatma Gandhi’s Trusteeship is very relevant for business even today. There are some who would say that it is more relevant today than it was earlier. Gandhi was for distributive justice with business acting as a Trustee to its stakeholders. According to Gandhi “Economics stands for social justice, it promotes the good of all equally, including the poorest of the poor.”