In the old days, many from my generation would have been familiar with the term Joint Stock Companies. I believe, in some countries, even private joint stock companies exist today.

Some of us are aware of the differences between public limited and private limited companies. Naturally, a private company is a close-knit group, often made up of family members or close acquaintances. Unlike public companies, private ones cannot go public easily, and their promoters can't alienate their shares as freely. Their resources are usually more limited, and they may operate on a smaller scale, making it difficult to employ the full range of skilled people needed to run a larger operation. Public limited companies often enjoy this luxury.

But I’m not here to talk about Joint Stock Companies. Instead, I want to reflect on the Joint Family System, which used to function quite successfully in our country. So, why the reference to companies? Because in my view, a Joint Family was like a private company, yet it enjoyed some of the benefits of a public company. How so?

Typically, a Joint Family would consist of grandparents—sometimes, if lucky, even great-grandparents—their children and their spouses, and then the grandchildren. Like any company, various aspects of life had to be managed by the group, such as finances, income, expenditure, budgeting, cooking, health, education, and child-rearing.

And in most Joint Families, there were people who could handle these areas with expertise.

The success of a company is usually measured by its profits, but in the case of a Joint Family, the profit was not monetary. Instead, the family’s success and progress were based on how well they managed their expenses within their income, how well the entire family was fed, how the children were educated and disciplined, and how love and affection flowed through everyone. Could all of this really be managed?

Continued in 196. Broken Joints - Part 2