Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Gandhian economic thought (1)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) (1869 –1948) – was the preeminent leader of Indian independence movement.

Gandhiji’s views on economics have usually been termed as utopian by many socio-economic thinkers.

This characterization has tended to evoke two diametrically opposite reactions among policymakers and the general population:

The majority respects his views in so far as they are a reflection of his deep spirituality but tend to be extremely skeptical about their applicability to the real world.

A small minority, however, see in this utopian view the only alternative available to a poor country to correct an economic situation distorted by a history of colonial exploitation.

There is no such thing as the principles of Economics of Gandhiji.

With Gandhiji economics is a part of a way of life.

There are no governing principles as are applied in the case of ordinary laws that have been enunciated in text books on Economics.

Only two life principles govern all Gandhiji's economic, social, political and other considerations: Truth and Non-violence.


Used from Wikipedia and the papers of  D. M. Nachane and J. C. Kumarappa

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