3. Trusteeship is a socio-economic philosophy that was
propounded by Mahatma Gandhi. It provides a
means by which the wealthy people would be the
trustees of trusts that looked after the welfare of the
people in general. This concept was condemned by
socialists as being in favor of the landlords, feudal
princes and the capitalists, opposed to socialist
theories.
Trusteeship
Trusteeship essentially means having faith and
confidence in a process of taking responsibility for
assets and social values, and administering their
rightful and creative usage for the benefit of others-
now, and in coming generations.
4. Trusteeship of Gandhiji
"Supposing I have come by a fair amount of
wealth – either by way of legacy, or by means of
trade and industry – I must know that all that
wealth does not belong to me; what belongs to me
is the right to an honorable livelihood, no better
than that enjoyed by millions of others. The rest
of my wealth belongs to the community and must
be used for the welfare of the community."
5. Trusteeship of Gandhiji
• In the first instance, everything must be surrendered to
God and then out of it one may use only that which is
necessary for the service of God's creation, according to
one's strict needs.
• When an individual had more than his respective portion,
he became a trustee of that portion for God's people.
• Gandhi suggested this doctrine as an answer to the
economic inequalities a kind of nonviolent way of
resolving all social and economic conflicts.
6. The Trustees
Typical types of organizations with trustee boards
include
• Nonprofit organizations
• Civic organizations
• Hospitals
• Museums
• Educational institutions.
7. Dharma or ethical & moral values
contrasted by “seven sins”:
1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Business without Ethics or Commerce without
Morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle
8. Gandhian Principle of
Trusteeship
• The Gandhian Principle of Trusteeship is closely
related to the “Social Responsibility of Business”.
According to the Gandhian Concept of Trusteeship
“All business firms must work like a trust.”
• All assets of the firm must be held by a ‘trust’ and
must be used for the welfare of the social .The firm
must keep only a small part of its profits for the
honorable livelihood of its owners .The remaining
part of the profit must be distributed equitably to all
sections of society
9. Reduce Inequalities :
• This concept tries to reduce inequalities.
• It tries to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.
• It tries to reduce exploitation.
Change of Attitude of Businessmen :
• According to Mahatma Gandhi, businessmen should change
their attitude.
• They have no morale right to accumulate unlimited wealth
while most of their countrymen live in poverty and misery.
• Each businessman should take enough wealth to live
honorably.
• He should distribute the remaining wealth back to the society.
Gandhiji advised the rich businessmen to voluntarily
surrender their surplus wealth.
• If not done so, the poor masses may revolt (fight) one day and
plunder their entire wealth by force.
Principles of Trusteeship
10. Social Pressure :
People must put social pressure on
businessmen to follow the principle of trusteeship.
They should boycott (not purchase) the products of
those who do not practice trusteeship.
Legal Pressure :
If voluntary measures and social pressure do
not work, legal pressure must be put on the
businessmen to follow the principle of trusteeship
Socialism :
This concept gives more importance to
socialism. That is, the society is given much more
importance than an individual. So, the wealth of the
society should be distributed equitably to all its
members.
11. Consider Social Needs :
Businessmen should produce only those
goods and services which are useful for all members of
the society. They should not produce goods and
services, which are used only by few individuals
Equal distribution of wealth :
According to Gandhiji, all the wealth of the
society should be distributed equitably. There should
not be concentration of wealth in few hands.
Earn money by Hard work :
A person should earn his living by doing hard
work. Earning money without doing hard work is just
like stealing
12. No Right to Private Ownership :
This concept does not give the
right to private ownership except when it
is necessary.
Government Regulation :
The Government should regulate
trusteeship. No Individual should be
allowed to use his wealth for selfish
satisfaction or against the interest of
society.
13. Limitations of Principles of Trusteeship
• This concept is not relevant in today's
competitive business world because every
businessman tries to earn maximum profits and
accumulate huge wealth
• It demotivates the hardworking businessmen. The
businessmen will loss their creativity, and they
will become lazy. This will slow down the
economic development of the country
• This concept is based on the concept of
Socialism. However, today socialism is outdated
14. • Businessmen feel that the welfare of the society
is not their responsibility. It is the responsibility
of the Government.
• This concept is not accepted by shareholders who
invest their money to earn the highest dividend.
• This concept is against capitalism. Today,
capitalism is proving very successful all over the
world. Poverty levels are very low in capitalist
countries when compared to the poverty statistics
of socialist nations.
15. FEATURE
Trusteeship; a hammer for capitalism:
Trusteeship aimed at reforming the
capitalist society. It advocated that rich people
should change themselves and should come forward
to use their property for the betterment of society.
State regulation of trusteeship:
The State should come forward to regulate
the system. In that case there would be no
discrimination. The wealth or the rich will be
appropriated by the State and regulated by the order
of the State. It will be done in the most peaceful way
so that violence will not occur.
16. No use of wealth for self-satisfaction:
Under trusteeship, any rich man can use his
extra wealth for his satisfaction. He also cannot use
the wealth for promoting anti-social activities. The
State should guide the rich how to utilize the wealth
for the benefit of the State.
No private ownership:
The wealth should not be won by any
private fellow. It can only be done by the consent
of the people in the society at large. Further, social
welfare must form a part of this programme which
the State or the people in the society will direct.
17. Fixed maximum income:
Under this system, a maximum income will be
fixed by the State. A fair wage should be fixed for the
working class people. The State should see that there
exists a reasonable balance between the maximum
income and minimum living wage.
Social welfare:
The trusteeship system should aim at social
welfare. Under no circumstance, the welfare of the
society will be hampered. The rich people should
come voluntarily to join their hands with the common
people and decide measures for the welfare of the
society by the appropriation of the extra wealth
possessed by the rich people
18. Production as per social requirements:
The production should cater to
the need of the society. No personal choice
of the rich should guide the production
pattern. On the other hand, keeping in view
the necessity of the large bulk of Indian
population, things will be manufactured.
19. Mahatma Gandhi's Concepts and
Quotations
Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by Ancient Indian
Philosophy and teachings of holy Bhagavad Gita.
Gandhiji gave importance to following two concept:
Aparigraha i.e. Non-Possession
Sambhawa i.e. Equitable Distribution.
Gandhiji also gave importance to following two
quotations:
"Enjoy the wealth by renouncing it.“
"Excel in your work, produce wealth, take the
minimum which you need, leave the rest to the welfare
of the community.“
20. Few richest men in the world, especially, Bill
Gates and Warren Buffet are practicing the
Gandhian Principle of Trusteeship. These noble
philanthropists are distributing a huge
percentage of their wealth for social causes like
public health improvement, funding AIDS
research and higher education, running
programmes for poverty alleviation, etc. Their
willingness to solve community's problems as a
moral responsibility is quite remarkable and
deserves admiration
