| Non-Rationalised Civics / Political Science NCERT Notes, Solutions and Extra Q & A (Class 6th to 12th) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chapter 7 MARKETS AROUND US
Weekly Market
Weekly markets are temporary marketplaces held on a specific day of the week. Traders set up shops for the day and close them in the evening, often moving to different locations the next day. They are characterized by cheaper rates due to lower overhead costs (no rent, electricity, or hired workers), reliance on family labor, and intense competition among sellers offering a variety of goods like vegetables, groceries, and clothes. This competition, along with the option for bargaining, makes them attractive to buyers.
Shops In The Neighbourhood
Neighborhood markets consist of permanent shops and roadside stalls, offering convenience as they are accessible daily and located near homes. Buyers and sellers often know each other, and these shops provide goods on credit, allowing customers to pay later. These shops sell a range of items, from milk and groceries to stationery, medicines, and household appliances. The goods are often costlier than those in weekly markets due to the overhead expenses incurred by permanent shop owners.
Shopping Complexes And Malls
Urban areas feature shopping complexes with multiple shops and large, multi-story, air-conditioned buildings called malls. These markets offer both branded and non-branded goods. Branded items, often promoted through advertising, are typically more expensive and cater to consumers who can afford them. The presence of shops selling various items like food, clothing, footwear, and books, along with amenities like lifts, makes malls attractive, although the prices are significantly higher than in weekly markets or neighborhood shops. Kavita and Sujata's experience highlights the disparity in purchasing power, as they could only browse expensive branded clothes in a mall before moving to a more affordable shop.
Chain Of Markets
Goods travel through a chain of markets from the producer to the final consumer. Producers, such as farmers or factories, sell their goods in bulk to wholesale traders. Wholesale traders then sell these goods to other traders or retailers, who in turn sell them to consumers. Roadside hawkers and neighborhood shopkeepers would typically buy goods from wholesale traders in the city. This chain ensures that goods produced in one location reach consumers in distant places. The entire process involves multiple transactions and intermediaries, often unseen by the final buyer.
Markets Everywhere
While we commonly recognize markets as physical places like weekly markets or shopping malls, buying and selling also occur through other channels. Orders can be placed via phone or the internet, with goods delivered directly to homes. Sales representatives in clinics and nursing homes also engage in selling medical products. Furthermore, markets exist for goods not directly consumed by us, such as fertilizers bought by farmers from city shops or components like engines and gears purchased by car factories from other manufacturers. These indirect markets form an essential part of the broader economic system.
Markets And Equality
Markets offer opportunities for both buyers and sellers, but they do not provide equal benefits to everyone. Shop owners in weekly markets, often small traders with limited capital, earn far less than owners of shops in shopping complexes, who can invest more and generate higher profits. Similarly, buyers' purchasing power varies significantly, with some unable to afford even the cheapest goods while others shop in malls. This disparity in earnings and purchasing power highlights how the market, while offering opportunities, often reinforces existing economic inequalities. The chain of markets, from producers to consumers, shows that those with more capital and power, like merchants and exporters, tend to gain more than those with less capital, like small farmers and weavers, who often toil hard but earn very little, leading to exploitation.