WHAT if there was a little green being on Mars that sneaks by and throws a rock at ‘Curiosity’ -- the $2.5bn capitalist toy made to find life on the red planet. Will the next Curiosity edition be equipped with a weapon? Imagine if Curiosity sends back pictures of a pool of diamonds, surrounded by little green beings who do not welcome ‘foreign’ machines on their landscape. Will the next mission include a drone cover?

Whereas the presence of this little green being on Mars, throwing a rock, living by a pool of diamonds may sound like a far - fetched and hilariously childish imagination. The $2.5bn figure spent on this project is a fact, good for what?

How many lives could have been saved here on earth with this figure? How many starving beings could have been given another morsel, to keep them alive? How many taps could have provided water that doesn’t stench?

What makes the desire to chase an answer to a query worth more than the lives which could have been saved or improved?

What is it that justifies, legalises, obliges pride, and fans competition for such endeavours that billions are spent on it in utter disregard of the fact that the same amount could have been better spent elsewhere?

The answer is capitalism, and man's opinion that he can exclusively legislate best for himself and the rest.

SHARIQUE NAEEM Lahore