|
The
Sacred Cow |
| Aug
23rd 2010, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
| The
bourgeoisie argument that development of infrastructure
is in the interest of society and investment for it
must be encouraged at all costs ignores the fact that
infrastructure has a class character as well. Essentially,
we must distinguish between ''infrastructure'' that
is in the interests of the people at large and ''infrastructure''
that uses social resources for the benefit of the few.
|
|
|
Private Corruption and the State |
| May
15th 2010, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| Private
actors can use the power of government agents to facilitate
profit-making just as public servants can try and skim
off a part of the surpluses earned by private players
in areas where government intervention can influence
outcomes. But, instances of private corruption do not
get half the importance instances of public corruption
receive in the media. |
|
| What
Small Government Means |
| Mar
1st 2010, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| Against
the backdrop of the debt ‘crisis’ in Greece and growing
cries around fiscal "profligacy", this article
argues that those demanding austerity of governments
that have built up large fiscal deficits and accumulated
debt, are not ideologically committed to minimal government.
The so-called "backlash" against the state
is a demand for governance of a particular kind, that
favours the already well endowed at the expense of those
who have not shared in the benefits of development. |
|
|
The Political Economy of the Enabling State |
| Mar
10th 2010, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| While
this year's Economic Survey identifies the basic goal
of economic policy as inclusive growth, this is to be
delivered by a change in focus to an enabling government
from an actively interventionist one. This vision excludes
the possibility that the process of market-driven economic
growth itself generates greater material insecurity
and impoverishment for a significant section of the
population. |
|
| G20
and the Global Power Balance |
| Oct
5th 2009, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| When
the 19 heads of state and a representative of the European
Union declared that from now on it would be the G20
and not the G8 that would be responsible for managing
global capitalism they were merely recognising the unavoidable.
However, if expansion of the club responsible for managing
global capitalism was unavoidable, the G20 reflects
the combination which would be preferred by the leading
powers. |
|
| How
Expensive is Food Security? |
| Sep
9th 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| The
poor monsoons and prevailing drought conditions mean
that ensuring genuine food security to the population
is the most important task before the central government.
The maximal possible estimate shows that providing subsidised
food to all households is actually not too expensive.
Therefore, if the central government is actually serious
about ensuring real food security in the country, it
has to consider certain necessary and also eminently
doable measures. |
|
| The
Public and the Private |
| Sep
4th 2009. Prabhat Patnaik |
|
| The
fact that the agrarian crisis or the current raging inflation
in India has not evoked major spontaneous struggles is
linked to the country's transition from a dirigiste to
a neo-liberal economic regime. As Indian capital becomes
increasingly integrated with global financial capital,
and the State increasingly represents the exclusive interests
of the bourgeoisie, the interests of the people are sacrificed
for the sake of the ''nation's'' emergence as an economic
power. Further, the capacity for resistance in our society
is also closely linked to the balance between the public
and private sectors, which too undergoes a fundamental
shift under neo-liberalism. |
|
| Socialism
and Welfarism |
| Aug
27th 2009, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
| Unlike
welfarism, Socialism consists not just in building a
humane society. It is of course that; but it is also
something more. Its concern is with human freedom, with
the change in the role of the people from being objects
of history to being its subjects. Even though conceptually
distinct, there is a dialectical connection between
the two, that of contributing to the process of sharpening
of class struggle - the vital reason of bourgeoisies'
opposition to Welfare State. In today's context in India,
the stiffening of the will to resist among the people,
which Welfare State measures can bring about, has to
be made practically effective through the intervention
of the Left. |
|
| Sharing
Profits from Gas |
| Aug
18th 2009, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| The
ambivalence in government position in the long-drawn
out conflict between RIL and RNRL, on the issue of the
pricing of gas, reflects the changed relationship between
the state and private capital in India ever since ''reform''
began. In the new world order the state works to rescue
and strengthen private capital, even while it declares
that the rest of society including the poor and the
marginalised have to learn to deal with a world of market
mediated relationships. |
|
| Securing
Food for the People |
| Aug
18th 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| Food
security is currently one of the most important policy
areas which call for a wide range of government interventions.
The government's approach to the problem should be multi-pronged
and has to extend beyond a legal promise. A food security
law would be meaningful only when it guarantees universal
access and meets every citizen's nutritional requirements. |
|
| Reflections
on the Left |
| Jul
1st 2009, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
| The
results of the recent Indian election suggest that the
Left needs to pursue its resistance to imperialism along
with an alternative approach to ''development'', which
defends the interests of its class base. If the Left
abandons anti-imperialism, it will not only erode its
existing class base, but also push the ''basic classes''
into the arms of extremist ideologies.ologies. |
|
| The
Left and Elections 2009 |
| May
22nd 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| Undoubtedly
the result of the general elections of 2009 has been
a major setback for the Left Front but it can be turned
into an opportunity for its revival and expansion if
it draws the right lessons from this defeat and changes
strategy accordingly. |
|
| The
2009 Lok Sabha Election: a Storm in the Teacup? |
| May
18th 2009, Mritiunjoy
Mohanty |
|
| The
2009 Lok Sabha election has opened up an important space
that was closed in the Yadav-Palshikar hypothesis. Even
though there are conditions under which their hypothesis
about ideological convergence in policy making might
hold, in the current conjuncture with the breaking-up
of the ideological convergence around neoliberal economic
policy following the global financial crisis, the democratic
upsurge might play a role in shaping policies. |
|
| Alternative
Perspectives on Panchayati Raj |
| May
8th 2009, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
| Panchayati
Raj should not be viewed either as a mere ''governance
arrangement'' or as an end in itself. It is a means
of social transformation that derives its legitimacy
exclusively from the perspective of how far it facilitates
this process of social transformation. If we miss the
transformational role of panchayati raj, then we may
end up condoning and even accentuating caste and class
oppression in the countryside and also weakening the
State structure. |
|
| Control
Frauds |
| Jan
29th 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| The
Satyam fraud incident is not a unique case of corporate
malfeasance. This kind of financial crime, which is
persistent under capitalism, has been developed as the
concept of 'control fraud' by the American academic,
William R. Black, where the CEO of a firm uses the firm
itself, and his/her ability to control it, as an instrument
for private enrichment. |
|
| The
Fraud at Satyam |
| Jan
27th 2009, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| As
the Satyam story unfurls gradually, the magnitude of
the scam does point towards the total failure of corporate
governance at all levels in combination with individual
greed. But, it is also the product of the celebration
of profit making irrespective of magnitude, of the belief
in markets and the discipline they impose, and of regulatory
dilution and regulatory failure. |
|
| Love
in a Cold Climate: Business and politics in Gujarat
|
| Jan
20th 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
With
their sudden loss of confidence amidst an increasingly
uncertain world, corporate leaders turn desperately
to leaders who they think can provide them protection
and discipline the rest of the society to ensure their
own profits. This may be the social psychology behind
the extraordinary chorus of praise by Indian industrialists
for the Chief Minister of Gujarat recently. |
|
| The
Economic Geography of Recession
|
| Jan
6th 2009, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
With
the slowdown imminent in the Indian economy, the Government
has announced policy measures to counter it. However,
while interest cuts and easy loans will benefit some
large banks and people like developers and exporters,
the fate of two important and vulnerable sections of
the population, farmers and migrant workers remain precarious.
This negative impact will permeate geographically. |
|
| Pirates
and Panic
|
| Dec
8th 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
recent attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somalian
coast provide enough evidence of the increasing number
of pirate attacks across the globe. These clearly indicate
the growing risk and uncertainty in international economic
transactions, which are not only financial but geo-political
as well. |
|
| The
Financial Crisis and the Developing World
|
| Oct
25th 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Violent
fluctuations in stock prices along with other factors
witnessed in emerging markets in the past two weeks
have made it clear that the developing world is not
insulated from the financial turmoil raging in industrial
countries. The crisis will have different impacts in
different places, depending on, in particular, the extent
of integration of the capital market of the concerned
developing country. An important positive fall-out of
this financial crisis is that it has created an opportunity
for replacing the economic model of neoliberalism with
more progressive and democratic alternatives. |
|
| The
Loss of Development Finance
|
| Oct
23rd 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
financial tsunami that is now threatening to engulf
many developing countries as well, makes all the more
clear the dangers posed by unregulated financial markets.
As is known, in addition to creating the conditions
for greater fragility, financial liberalisation generates
a bias towards deflationary macroeconomic policies and
forces the state to adopt a deflationary stance to appease
financial interests. In fact, financial liberalisation
in developing countries has even worse consequences,
because it can retard or even reverse the development. |
|
| Capitalism
in Transition?
|
| Oct
22nd 2008, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
takeover of major private banks by developed country
governments is a desperate attempt to stall the financial
meltdown in these economies, which resulted from the
decision to allow private financial players unfettered
freedom to pursue profits at the expense of all else.
This threat has forced governments to drop their neo-conservative
bias against State ownership. |
|
| The
End of Neo-Liberalism
|
| Oct
21st 2008, Prabhat Patnaik |
|
The
solution to the crisis that the triumph of neo-liberalism
has precipitated is increasingly being seen to lie in
the part-nationalization of financial institutions in
the capitalist world. This represents a negation of
neo-liberalism's basic premise. |
|
| A
Perspective on the Crisis
|
| Oct
18th 2008, Prabhat Patnaik |
|
After
the demise of the Keynesian policies, the world economy
has been dependent upon private expenditure for boosting
aggregate demand. The consequent boom causes deterioration
in the conditions of people in the third world, while
the crash also adversely affects them. The present financial
crisis also will have a similar impact on the masses
of the third world. |
|
| The
Global Financial Crisis
|
| Sep
29th 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
bailout worked out by the US government to save the
financial system is not a progressive nationalisation
but the socialisation of the risks of capitalists, and
one that is to be borne by taxpayers in the US and by
developing countries. The hugely expensive gamble, instead
of helping the US government buy its way out of the
crisis, would weaken its position as the dominant imperial
power in future. |
|
| Implementing
the NREG
|
| Sep
24th 2008, C.P.
Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh |
|
Despite
many problems, the enormous potential of the NREGS to
generate more employment directly and indirectly as
well as to transform rural economic and social relations
is already evident in some states and districts. In
this article, the authors examine the official evidence
on implementation thus far. |
|
| Land
Reforms in West Bengal and Public Perceptions
|
| Aug
28th 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
ground realities of the turmoil surrounding Singur and
Nandigram in West Bengal are very different from what
has been portrayed by the media. Ironically, it is the
same media that chooses to remain silent on compulsory
acquisition of land by other states and far worse treatment
meted out to the peasantry. |
|
| Mid-Course
Deviation
|
| Aug
11th 2008, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
withdrawal of support for the UPA government by the
Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear deal is justified
since they had always opposed any attempt to forge a
strategic relationship with the US, since there remains
an inherent contradiction between US imperialism and
the interests of developing countries like India. This
problem was compounded by the fact that the UPA had
in any case been deviating widely from the CMP agreed
on by the UPA and the Left, especially in implementing
the pro-poor programmes. |
|
| The
Coup D' Etat
|
| Aug
4th 2008, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
The
Indo-US nuclear deal is not an isolated issue, but a
part of a larger process of attempts at changing the
character of the Indian State to a neo-liberal State
integrated with US imperialism. Given the objective
economic conditions leading to further shrinkage of
the already miniscule political constituency in favour
of "reforms", such a change in the character
of the Indian State can be effected only through a coup
d'etat as was witnessed on July 22. |
|
Diamonds
and Blood
| Jul
23rd 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
new spurt in demand for diamonds among the Indian elite
only feeds into the fact that the world diamond trade
is substantially based on the most gruesome violence
and terror in Africa. This is more reinforced in recent
times which is characterised by an even more cynical
exploitation and reinforcement by multinational processing
and trading companies, of vicious local conflicts in
the sub-Saharan region. |
|
The
Nuclear Deal and the Priorities of the UPA Government
| Jul
21st 2008, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Instead
of initiating a wide public debate and a detailed debate
in central and state legislatures backed up by full
information on the Indo-Us nuclear deal, a veil of secrecy
has surrounded the negotiations, and the little information
that has been available has come mostly from media sources
that have behaved like pliant publicists for the government
rather than independent observers. |
|
| Capitalism's
Democratic Deficit
|
| Jul
14th 2008, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
one-point agenda of clinching a nuclear deal with the
US that the current Indian government is following serves
the good purpose of diverting attention from the damage
wrought by neoliberal economic policies. But the undemocratic
political wrangling in an election year over the nuclear
deal or communal politics distort the results of a much
needed second referendum on the kind of economic policies
that the previous NDA and the current UPA governments
have followed. |
|
| The
Social Composition of Panchayats
|
| May
19th 2008, Jayati Ghosh |
|
The
implementation of land reforms makes the West Bengal
Panchayat system a much more egalitarian institution
from both a class and a caste point of view, which
the rest of India has not been able to replicate in
general. This progress in West Bengal is noticeable
even in the high participation of women in the Panchayat
system.
|
|
Neoliberal
Discomfort
| Apr
15th 2008,
C.P. Chandrasekhar |
|
Globally,
evidence has been growing that markets are just not
working, precipitating crises that requires bringing
the state back in. The high oil prices, financial crisis
putting government regulation back in vogue and the
crisis in global food markets show that markets cannot
deliver without regulation. But there have been many
areas where apparently successful outcomes of free market
have turned out to be more of a problem that an economic
gain, the foreign reserves issue being a case in point. |
|
| Caste
and Discrimination in Higher Education: Evidence from
the National Sample Surveys |
| Apr
8 th 2008, Jayati Ghosh |
|
|
The
issue of reservations in higher education in India has
been a volatile issue which also has direct implications
not only for public policy but also for the administration
and functioning of academic institutions, not to mention
the fate of a large number of students. This note is
an attempt to add to the currently meagre empirical
literature by analysing the available evidence on the
actual extent of marginalisation and discrimination
apparently faced by different categories in the population,
based on the results of the most recent large National
Sample Survey |
|
| The
New Enclosure Movement |
| Mar
15th 2008,
Jayati
Ghosh |
|
|
A
large part of the rural area around Delhi and other
big cities has been converted from farmland into more
pieces of attractive real estate in a portfolio of land
holding. In the process, the attributes of the villages
of these formerly completely rural areas are changing
fast, not only in terms of ownership and cultivation
patterns, but also in terms of the material means of
support of the local population and their lifestyles.
This also implies significant changes in the nature
and options for employment for the local population.
|
|
| Addressing
Social Concerns |
| Mar
10th 2008,
Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
main issues in this year's economic strategy of the
government, especially the intentions as signalled in
this year's Budget proposals remain the same as that
of 2004. These are employment, the agrarian crisis,
nutrition and food security, education, health and social
security. In each of these areas, the UPA government
promised much. However, the delivery has not only been
far below the promises, but in some cases even worse
than the previous government. |
|
| Farmers'
Suicides in India: Magnitudes, Trends and Spatial Patterns |
| Mar
3rd 2008, K. Nagraj |
|
|
Given
the very large number of suicides by farmers in various
parts of India over the last decade, there is a need
to probe the issue by utilizing a data source which
would provide a comprehensive, nation-wide picture.
This paper is a modest attempt to fill that gap. Its
basic objective is to put together, and carry out a
preliminary analysis on, the secondary data that are
available on farmers' suicides in the country. The paper
studies, first, the magnitude and trends in farmers'
suicides in India over 1997-2006; and second, the regional
patterns, if any, in the incidence and trends in these
suicides. |
|
| The
Farce of "School Choice" |
| Jan
28th 2008, Jayati Ghosh |
| In
India, apart from the factors of poverty, gender and
other inequalities in basic infrastructure, a wide range
of various forms of social discrimination operate to
exclude children from school education and this is even
more pronounced under the private schools. The proposed
voucher system will further strengthen this discrimination
by weakening the public school system. |
|
| Difficulty
of Growing Tails Again |
| Jan
25th 2008, Prabir Purkayastha |
| There
has been a recent parting of the ways between the Left
parties, particularly the CPI(M) and various sections,
which had earlier appeared to be a part of a larger
coalition of forces against imperialist globalisation.
Obviously, Nandigram and Singur are symptomatic of a
much larger difference that existed and which has now
surfaced. This current divergence reflects several issues;
the role of development, the role of the state and the
issue of imperialism. |
|
| The
CPI(M) and the Building of Capitalism |
| Jan
17 th 2008, Prabhat Patnaik |
| This article
argues that the reaction of certain sections of the
media and the younger generation to certain statements
made in the West Bengal CPI(M) political circles which
was read as the CPI(M) having abandoned socialism is
misplaced on three counts. Their arguments do not distinguish
between socialist and people's democratic revolutions;
between working within a system and working not to transcend
the system; and between the Party and Party-led governments.
All of this point towards the complexities of the Indian
revolution and require an in depth understanding of
the political situation. |
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