The need of the hour is an alternate global economy which would be value-oriented and viable unlike the current system which is vulnerable to the risk of shocks and crises, a social scientist has said.
“This new economy needs to be defined by real values which are not virtual or speculative, moral values that exclude greed but include sharing, fairness and justice and survival values that involve care for the planet through mitigating climate change concerns with green growth, renewable energy and adaptation,” Dr Ranjit Nayak, Principal Development Specialist with the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia Region, said while addressing a two-day regional seminar on “Bottom up Economy: The Economy of Tomorrow” here.
Dr Nayak juxtaposed the global economy against the context of three key objectives of eliminating poverty and inequalities, addressing the challenge of climate change and fostering economic growth.
“lessons should be learnt from the economic downturns over the last century, overarching political, social and governance realities, knowledge from successful local experiments on sustainability and values derived from alternative social and political thinkers,” he said.
He said there is a need to address vested interests and collusion between political leadership, economic regulations and the elites in corporate and influential domains by shifting their interests to the above three areas through a series of instruments including evidence-based policies, effective institutions and strong partnerships.
The seminar was jointly organised by the National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWASS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
FES country head Dr Rajeshwar Dyal said the policy decision of one country affects the interest of many other countries, and his organisation has initiated a global debate of which the regional seminar at NISWASS was a part. This would be followed up by similar regional seminars in Bangalore, Pune and Delhi.
Pointing out that India has 53 of the world’s billionaires after four decades of “Nehruvian Socialism”, he quoted a former Union Finance Minister as saying that 80 per cent of India’s wealth is accumulated in the hands of 8,043 families while 19 per cent of the wealth is with the upper middle class and middle class families. An unbalanced distribution of income has led to the country’s poverty.
FES resident representative in India Dr Felix Schmidt focused on democracy and educational activities. NISWASS founder Dr RK Nayak welcomed the guests The other speakers included Prof Panka Toppo of Kolhan University, Jharkhand, Prof Anup Dash and Prof Samson Moharan of Utkal University, Dr Bikram Sarkar, former MP from West Bengal and Dr Amar KJR Nayak.
