The Illusion of Solutions: How Problems Are Manufactured to Sell Products
- Madhukar Dama
- Jun 11
- 7 min read
Introduction: A Trap Hidden in Plain Sight
Not every solution is born out of a real problem. Many are born out of factories, marketing meetings, and profit plans. What follows next is not healing, but harm. The product is made first, the problem is introduced later, and the solution is sold last. This is the standard cycle of modern industries: Create a solution first. Then invent or exaggerate the problem. Finally, sell the solution as urgent.
This cycle has repeated across time — in the West and in India, in villages and cities, in homes and schools. The result is the same: people become dependent on outside systems, forgetting their own capacity, wisdom, and balance. This essay explores this trap with examples from agriculture, health, education, environment, and technology — with scenes from both ancient India and modern global life.
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1. Farming: From Soil to Slavery
Before: In India, farming was once deeply tied to nature. Soil was alive. Farmers knew how to use compost, cow dung, crop rotation, neem, and pulses to keep the earth healthy. Yield was not high, but life was balanced.
Then came fertilizers. After World War II, chemical industries had excess stock of nitrogen-based explosives. That nitrogen was turned into synthetic fertilizers. This was sold as a gift to farmers. But over time, it destroyed soil microbes, increased water need, and locked farmers into a cycle of buying more and more chemicals.
False Problem: "Your soil is weak."
Hidden Truth: The soil was fine until chemicals disturbed it.
Real Problem Created: Long-term soil damage, debt, and cancer zones.
Scene: In Punjab, many once-rich farmers are now in debt, their children migrating, and land poisoned. The same land that fed five generations is now sterile.
Objection: “Fertilizers increased food production.”
Reply: Yes, temporarily. But it also destroyed long-term soil health, pushed seed control to companies, and replaced food quality with quantity.
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2. Medicine: Selling Sickness
Before: Traditional healing systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, or Unani focused on balance — not on names of diseases. Food, digestion, rest, and herbs kept people well. Doctors were guides, not gods.
Now: Every natural experience — sadness, aging, tiredness — is a disorder. There is a pill for everything. Pharmaceutical companies run awareness campaigns, not to warn, but to create demand. Fear is the salesman.
False Problem: “You are not normal.”
Hidden Truth: Human life includes mood swings, fatigue, and pain.
Real Problem Created: Drug dependency, side effects, mental fog.
Scene: A teenager in Delhi is prescribed 3 medicines for anxiety and poor concentration. No one asks her about diet, sleep, or sunlight.
Objection: “Medicines save lives.”
Reply: Yes — emergency drugs and surgeries are important. But daily medicine for lifestyle diseases caused by diet, stress, and pollution often worsens things if root causes are not addressed.
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3. Education: From Learning to Labelling
Before: Learning in India was gurukul-based or craft-based. It was life-integrated. Children learned by doing, observing, and practicing — farming, weaving, cooking, or astronomy. Knowledge was lived.
Now: Learning means passing tests. Tuition centers promise “success.” Degrees have become tickets, not tools. Private schools advertise smart classrooms, but rarely teach common sense or emotional strength.
False Problem: “Your child will be left behind.”
Hidden Truth: Children thrive with guidance, not pressure.
Real Problem Created: Burnout, self-hate, lifelong insecurity.
Scene: In Kota, Rajasthan, students preparing for IIT-JEE die by suicide each year. Their dreams were hijacked by an education market.
Objection: “Education gives opportunity.”
Reply: Real education gives inner confidence and adaptability. But most modern systems produce stress, debt, and blind obedience — not true knowledge.
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4. Technology: Tools Turned into Chains
Before: Tools were used when needed. A radio was turned on to listen. A camera was used for a photo. Devices were outside you, not inside your life.
Now: Smartphones, social media, and apps run people’s attention. You are made to feel incomplete without upgrades. If you’re not online, you’re invisible. This is not a service anymore — it’s surveillance mixed with addiction.
False Problem: “You’ll miss out.”
Hidden Truth: Most of what you miss is junk.
Real Problem Created: Anxiety, distraction, family disconnection.
Scene: A child in Bangalore throws a tantrum when his screen time is reduced. His parents have no authority, only gadgets.
Objection: “Technology connects people.”
Reply: It connects devices, not hearts. Relationships, sleep, attention, and thinking have all declined in the name of ‘connection.’
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5. Environment: Profiting from the Poison
Before: Indian life was naturally eco-friendly. Pots were clay, bags were jute, milk was local, and food was seasonal. Waste was composted.
Now: Companies first pollute the air, water, and soil — then sell you bottled water, air purifiers, and organic food at 10 times the cost. Climate change becomes a business model.
False Problem: “You need premium eco products.”
Hidden Truth: Simplicity was already sustainable.
Real Problem Created: Greenwashing, elitism, false hope.
Scene: In Delhi, a rich home has 3 air purifiers and imported organic quinoa. Just outside, a waste worker burns plastic to survive.
Objection: “At least some green is better than none.”
Reply: Not if the root cause is untouched. Real change is not in green products, but in reducing unnecessary consumption.
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6. Historical Parallel: The Opium Example
In the 1800s, British companies sold opium in China. When demand fell, they didn’t stop. They created addiction and defended it as “free trade.” Similarly, East India Company destroyed Indian handlooms, then sold British cloth as modern.
This is not new. What is new is that now we are the ones selling poison to ourselves, convinced that it is honey.
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Conclusion: Real Problems, Real Freedom
Many modern solutions are traps. They fix nothing. They create dependency. What was once normal is now labelled sick, backward, or outdated. And what was once free — soil, sun, food, thought — is now priced.
We can break this pattern only through awareness and return to our roots.
Grow something, even a pot of herbs — it reminds you of natural time.
Use castor oil or coconut oil instead of cosmetic creams.
Walk barefoot, sleep early, eat local — this is rebellion today.
Teach children through life, not just exams.
Buy less, repair more, borrow often.
Every act of returning to simplicity is an act of freedom.
Let us stop asking: “What product do I need?”
And start asking: “Was this ever a problem?”
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THE ILLUSION OF SOLUTIONS
They sold me a pill before I even knew I was sick.
And by the time I swallowed it,
I was convinced that I had a disease.
They told me my soil was tired.
But the soil had fed my ancestors.
It fed me too.
Until they gave it something "better" —
and made it forget how to breathe.
They whispered in my child's ear:
“You’re falling behind.”
Behind what?
A race where the finish line keeps shifting
and the prize is a lifetime desk
under blinking lights
solving someone else’s panic.
They gave us noise
and told us it was connection.
Then they sold us silence
in the form of mindfulness apps.
They made us lonely
and sold us dating platforms.
They broke the village
and gave us group chats.
They made me ashamed of my body’s smell,
so I bought sprays.
They made me doubt my cooking,
so I bought junk.
They made me fear death,
so I bought vitamins,
insurance,
calcium supplements,
pension plans,
blood tests I didn’t need,
and a coffin insurance plan
for a grave I never asked for.
It was all clean, branded, and scented.
They called it modern.
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And I asked once —
just once —
to the man in the tie behind the counter:
“Was this ever a problem?”
He blinked.
Paused.
Smiled.
And said,
“It is now.”
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They made sure we believed
that pain is a defect,
that emotion is disorder,
that slowness is failure,
that old is expired,
that simple is stupid,
and that doing nothing
means you’re worth nothing.
They didn’t just sell us lies.
They built temples around them.
Air-conditioned temples
with plasma screens
and EMI options.
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They broke my legs,
then sold me crutches.
Then mocked me for limping.
They poisoned the river
then sold me bottled water.
Then told me I was lucky
to afford it.
They paved over my garden
then sold me organic spinach
wrapped in plastic
from California.
They called it development.
I call it daylight robbery.
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You know the worst part?
We begged for it.
We lined up for it.
We clicked “Accept All Terms.”
We liked, shared, and subscribed.
We told our kids
to study hard,
so they too could become
a cleaner cog
in a more polished machine
that grinds everything
into salary slips,
performance reports,
and mild depression.
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They told me my skin was too dark.
Then they sold me fairness cream.
Then they sold me confidence.
Then they sold me the bill.
They said my cow-dung floor was dirty.
Then they sold me tiles
that needed acid to clean.
Then they sold me gloves
so my hands wouldn’t feel
what real things feel like anymore.
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I am not angry.
I am tired.
Tired of buying back the things
that were once mine
for free.
Tired of proving
I am modern enough to suffer like the rest.
---
There’s a small plant growing
outside my broken window.
No app made it grow.
No packet instructed it.
It just did.
Like we once did.
Before they sold us
our own shadow
as a symptom.
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So now,
every time I see a new product,
I ask:
Was this ever a problem?
And more often than not,
the answer is no.
But the price tag says yes.
