“Neither capitalism is perfect nor socialism solves world’s miseries,” Vijay Shekhar Sharma backs market-based economy

A debate over capitalism versus socialism is going on social media as India’s leading startup founders are trying to defend the role of markets in driving growth, innovation, and opportunity.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of fintech major Paytm, has said that neither capitalism nor socialism offers perfect answers, but a market-driven economy surely remains the most effective framework for building value and sustaining progress.

In a post on X, he said entrepreneurs themselves are a product of the market economy, arguing that rigid ideological positions often fail to capture economic realities.

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Vijay Shekhar Sharma bats for a market-based economy

“Neither capitalism is perfect nor socialism solves the world’s miseries,” he wrote, adding that it is the market-based economy that “gives the opportunity to serve and build to everyone equally.”  

The Paytm founder remarked amid an ongoing exchange among business leaders, policymakers, and political figures on the role of private enterprise, regulation, and state intervention, specifically in sectors where gig work, digital platforms, and rapid commerce are involved.

Sharma noted that whether half-hour deliveries or even shorter timelines succeed is something “the market decides the winner” on. 

The entrepreneur credited India’s economic transformation over the past decade to this approach, describing it as “the modern India, we see being built in last 10 years.”

According to him, attempts to “pause or kill” market forces risk slowing down the economic momentum that took years to gather pace. “That will stop the economy growth which took so long to start,” he warned.  

“When capital decides policies, it is capitalism. When collectivism prevails, it is socialism. When the market decides, it is a market economy,” he added.

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has also defended capitalism’s role in value creation. Goyal wrote that while capitalism is imperfect, it remains “the only engine we’ve seen that creates value.” 

Concluding his post, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “I am for a thriving Indian market, which attracts its own best talent to build world-class companies in India and then expand to rule global markets.”

Goyal later replied to Sharma’s post and wrote, “Great nuance. Thanks for correcting me, @vijayshekhar.” 

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