Mainstream economics tends to overlook the Gandhian model because it may not generate the magical 8% GDP growth a year. However, it will certainly have the capacity and vision to empower India’s poor
The globe is facing an unprecedented health crisis at present and India is no exception. There is no denying the fact that recession and unemployment are beginning to hit nations across the globe. Besides, we are also facing the problems of fake news and communal hatred along with Covid-19.
The coronavirus crisis has raised serious questions about the appropriateness of the capitalist structure of society. There is a vigorous debate on the mortality rates due to the pandemic and starvation in developing and developed nations. It seems that Covid-19 will outpace hunger on the death toll but the debate itself shows the failure of the market-oriented economy in India. It is feared that in the current economic system a huge number of the poor will lose their lives to starvation due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
The ruthless capitalist market offers no free lunch. The state is also indifferent to people’s plight, but we, as a society, can pressurise the Government to help the vulnerable sections of society. Chances are we may succeed. There are many who endorse the argument that “higher choices for consumption means higher welfare”.
It might be true in some cases, but the vast majority of Indians do not benefit from economic growth; rather, they struggle to buy even the essential goods for survival. For example, some people are spending the lockdown in their farmhouses with plenty of food and facilities, while others are barely managing to get one square meal per day. Just imagine a situation in which people behave only in their self-interest, not thinking about others while making decisions during such a crisis. What will be the outcome? Probably, you know the answer. The neoliberal ideology encourages such behaviour.
As a set of economic practices, neoliberalism represents an advanced form of capitalism with several indicators that privilege widespread economic activities over all other aspects of human life. The proponents of neoliberal economy hold that the highest human good can be achieved through liberal entrepreneurship aided by private property rights, free markets, and free trade. They also advocate that the state must serve to safeguard the interests of the market by creating and maintaining support systems such as infrastructures, legislating market-friendly laws, and practicing non-interference in markets.
Endorsed by most political establishments around the world, neoliberalism today greatly influences not only international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, but also the way in which individual nations conceptualise and run their economies.
However, the pandemic unleashed on the world by the novel coronavirus has brought neoliberalism’s triumphant march to a grinding halt. The sudden and indefinite shutdown of all economic activities at both the national and global levels has adversely affected many Third-World countries. India has suffered from the economic downturn, caused by the nationwide lockdown since March 24. Unfortunately, those hardest hit are the daily-wagers, the migrant labourers, owners of MSMEs and the small farmers. Abruptly deprived of their livelihood during the lockdown, they are staring in the face of a grave economic crisis. To its credit, the Government has announced a 1.7 trillion-rupee financial package and urged the State Governments to provide the basic necessities to the poor during the lockdown, but our economic policy seems to have victimised the poor. India’s neoliberal-capitalist model of economy has failed to uplift the poorest of the poor. The Covid-19 crisis has only exposed this sad reality.
People need entertainment through socialisation. We are not saying that people are happy at their homes, consuming essential goods and services only. But the corona pandemic has once again compelled the world to find a strong alternative to the neoliberal model of economy that offers better opportunities to the rich than the poor. In the Indian context, the Gandhian model of economy needs serious consideration as a better alternative.
Mainstream economics tends to overlook the Gandhian model based on limiting the wants of the people because it hampers the GDP growth. This model primarily depends upon three ideas: Gram Swaraj, Decentralisation, and Sarvodaya. The concept of Gram Swaraj is associated with self-efficient villages that have the minimum facilities to live a decent life. The magnitude of migrant workers and students in the cities indicates the failure of necessary facilities in rural India. Decentralisation of political and economic power is needed to give Swaraj to villages. In India, the Centre must provide more rights to local governments, urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions to develop their regions.
Sarvodaya means “upliftment of all”. Gandhiji coined this term from Ruskin’s famous book “Unto This Last”. This ideal is based on the following three principles: the good of an individual dwells in the good of all (First law of Sarvodaya), no inequalities in remuneration between physical and mental work (Second law of Sarvodaya), and the life of a farmer (creative production) is worth living (Third law of Sarvodaya). We may not agree with all the ideas propounded by Gandhiji and it may not generate the magical 7-8 per cent growth rate a year, but they certainly have the capacity and vision to empower India’s poor, especially those in the BPL category. It can also engender a more sustainable and equitable economic growth and promote peace and nonviolence in society.
(Atman Shah is lecturer, Department of Economics, and Sunil Macwan is lecturer Department of English; both at St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad)
