20 SOCIAL SCIENTIST more egalitarian economic order, the answer utiimately lies in the reform of social norms. Even where inflation has been turned back and a reasonable degree of price stabilization brought about, savings will continue to be heavily dependent upon the so called demonstration effect. It is pointless to urge the nation's majority, who are either on the verge of or below the level of subsistence, to augment savings. The effort has to be concentrated elsewhere, among groups who are relatively better off. Given the structure of time-preference, and the ready availability of a wide range of consumer goods in the economy, these groups on their own are unlikely to restrain consumption. No glamour attaches at present to a high rate of savings. Unless the pattern of production is overhauled, little will therefore be achieved through exhortations per se. It is only if those who declaim from the pulpit show, by their own examples, the way to higher savings that the rest could be expected to follow suit. The supreme determining element in social behaviour is what one economist had once referred to as the Isolation Paradox. In isolation, no group will be willing to do the dull job of saving more; but in case an example is set by the leaders of the community, others might be persuaded to fall in line. Isolation Paradox Irrespective of whether the capability to save on the part of this or that social group has remained constant or has shrunk because of inflation, and irrespective of whether the position will be changed with price stabilization, it is therefore the ability of the political leadership to inspire confidence and thus persuade others to save which will be crucial. This ability will be a function of what the leaders themselves are bent upon doing, upon whether they believe in the culture of five-star hotels and in that of nepotism and featherbedding, or in honest, frugal, open and above-board existence. Exactly the same issue will come to the fore on the question of eliminating the grosser inequalities in the structure of distribution of assets and incomes. The eradication of inequalities will call for a programme of taxation and subsidies across the board. Those currently enjoying more will have to be taxed at steep rates and those currently not so fortunately placed will have to be offered greater subsidies and other forms of assistance. These can be done through the fiscal and monetary mechanism but can also be done through investment, licensing and other administrative policies. A frame of policy measures consistent with the general objectives is not difficult to evolve in this area, but much more relevant and important is to implement the measures, which depends exclusively upon the institutional mould. If those in charge of the instrumentalities of the state are also the ones to be most adversely affected by redistribu-tive policies it will demand immense perspicacity and generosity on their part to enforce these. Unless an example is set here by the most privileged groups, the other groups will not be forthcoming either. Here too, the question is one of moral persuasion and reordering of social norms.