The pursuit of happiness and pleasure is the fundamental goal of an American, which is a wrong approach and they should try to have a more systemic one. That is what Ramrajya will teach them, said BJP MP Dr Subramaniam Swamy, speaking on why Americans should follow the Ramrajya principle. He was speaking at The New Indian Express' series of webinars called the e-expressions.

Responding to a question from TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla on what he would tell Americans about setting up and following the principles of a Ramrajya, Swamy said, "I will first tell them to give up their pursuit of pleasure. The pursuit of happiness and pleasure is the fundamental goal of an American. That is a wrong approach, they must have a more systemic approach to this. You should have many dimensions and then have a synthesis of those dimensions. That is what Ramrajya would teach them. If I were asked by teachers and economists, I will not say maximisation of profits for business and utility, of consumption, or the consumer but I will rather say harmonisation of resource allocation in society. It will be a different objective function, we could call it, and not the maximisation of profit, or your individual pleasure. But to be thinking about the social maximisation of the various angles and to see how it can be blended together for maximum growth."

Adding to this, Swamy also explained why India had been a Ramrajya and how it benefitted them, he added, "India was the richest country in the world until 1750. The environment was an integral part of why we were so prosperous and that's why so many people came from abroad to loot us."

As the foundation is set for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Prabhu Chawla debated the origins of the deep-rooted issue and how it will impact our culture with Dr Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP, Prof Kapil Kapoor, Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies and Dr Kuldeep Ratnoo, Director, India Policy Foundation.