Economic Divide: Understanding the Causes and Solutions
A one-hour session on the gap between rich and poor as we actually live it: the lift rules in our buildings, the haggling at the vegetable cart, the weddings nobody can scale down, the English that opens some doors and shuts others. Where does the gap come from, and what would actually close it? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
When you think about where you are in life today, which deserves more of the credit: your own effort, or the start you were given?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Separate Lifts In Housing Societies
Your building has two lifts. A notice says maids, drivers and delivery staff must use the service lift. Some neighbours clap.
- 2
Bargaining With Street Vendors
At the mall, you pay whatever the price tag says. At the vegetable cart, you fight hard over ten rupees. You walk away feeling clever.
- 3
Paying Your House Help
The woman who cleans your home asks for a raise.
- 4
Who Counts As Middle Class
You have a car, a phone you like and sometimes a holiday. Someone calls you rich. You laugh and say, “No, no, we're just middle class.”
- 5
Calling Yourself Self-Made
Someone tells the story of building their business from scratch. Then you learn their father lent them the first lakh. The room goes a bit quiet.
- 6
Giving Money At Traffic Signals
The light turns red. A child taps on your car window. You have a ten-rupee note in your pocket and about forty seconds to decide.
- 7
Friends With Different Budgets
Your friends pick a fancy restaurant for a birthday. One friend goes quiet when the menu arrives.
- 8
Judged By Your English
Two people give the same answer in a job interview. One speaks smooth English. The other speaks slowly, with a strong accent.
- 9
Big Spending On Weddings
A billionaire's wedding is all over your phone for months. A week later, your cousin's family takes a loan to feed 800 guests.
- 10
Rich And Poor Classmates
In your child's class, some kids arrive by car and some walk from the slum behind the school. They share a bench.
- 11
Paying For Someone's Education
Your driver's daughter tops her class. Your family offers to pay her college fees. Everyone says it's a lovely thing to do.
- 12
Why Some Inequality Is Fine
Maybe the gap matters less than whether the poorest are rising.
The line to leave with
Of the comforts in your life, which did you earn and which were you simply handed, and would you have known the difference if nobody had pointed it out?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.