Ideology and Development

Economic ideology has been causing grief since the beginning of the twentieth century.  There has been two epic wars and tensions between the superpower states for over fifty years.  Without sound economic ideology, it is difficult to coordinate the demands of large populations.  In the past, when our ancestors lived in mud huts and hunted possums, it would have been a lot easier to distribute the catch of the day.  With the industrial revolution, our daily chores has turned into a commodity which we can sell and purchase the goods and services we want.  The problem is that our small community of a dozen hunters and gatherers has turned into seven billion people.  Without sound organisation, it is not possible to provide for seven billion.  According to Maslow, there are certain things like air, food, water, shelter and security that everyone requires as a minimum requirement to be happy.  The seven billion people in this world do not have the basic necessities as per Maslows hierarchy.  The problem in providing seven billion people with employment to sustain his basic needs is this concept of competition.  Apparently when you pit individuals against each other, the welfare of the entire society improves.  This is just nonsense.  The financial crises that is being felt in the west is proof of the strength of capitalism.  

Now that we have seen capitalism fail on a global scale, we need alternate economic ideology.  Personally I would like to see communism applied to the entire globe, however that might be irrational as there are liberal extremists who might not like to hand over their hoardings.  Hence I propose that a fragment of our global society be used for a study of communist ideology.  Using the Chinese model, we can bring the successes of China to the billion people in India.  It is not possible to provide for a billion people if they are competing against each other for a piece of bread.  I propose that the government take control of all its resources and provide the planning required to generate employment and develop the economy.  If we were to organise the state like a business, coordinating our resources to produce the maximum, we would be able to provide the basic needs Maslow prescribed to the masses.  I would like to see the one billion people in India with a bed to sleep in, three square meals a day, clean drinking water, electricity, health care and education.  This is possible through central planning.  If we are able to successfully implement communism in India, I propose that we use our study to eliminate human suffering through the globe.  I propose that India be a welfare state, where those that are young, disabled and elderly are able to enjoy a free ride  For all those able, the state will place into government employment.  Our GDP is developed by our people and our people are not being used effectively.  

I believe that it takes the resources of an entire planet to satisfy the masses.  I propose that India endeavour to manufacture all the goods that they need, however it is not feasible to do so when India is in such a backward state at the moment.  Hence free trade between states against state protectionism will be the favoured foreign trade policy.  Allowing free trade means that we will end up with a trade deficit.  Our currency which is already weak will weaken even more, making our labor more attractive.  Investors will be lured into joint development projects with the government as they are unable to see a return on their investments in the developed west.  Instead of being consumed in foreign debt, I propose that the government initiate joint ventures for development in the Indian economy.  Companies like Suzuki have been manufacturing small cars in India for the Indian market for quite some time now.  This could be called neo-Marxism.  The state owns everything and sells 49% to foreign companies to invest their money and knowledge into a developing state.  In return, the state share the profits of commodities like cars and computers.  Capitalism and Communism have had their fight for over a century and now we have no choice but to meet in the middle.

As for the democratic system, I think it is a sham.  It is not possible for the illiterate masses of India to be able to know who or what to vote for.  They are not in a position to vote.  I propose that India's government be selected from academia.  I believe it is only sensible to choose those who are able to govern.  Instead of having elections of a star personality, I think we should have a selection process of the best minds available for the job of governing.  I think it is irrational to have one man call all the shots for an undetermined time.  I think we should have a republic.  A council of qualified men and women who each are able to contribute to governing and planning.  A meritocracy.

As for the nuclear problem, which is the biggest issue in current policy making, I believe India would serve its’ people best by disarming.  However, India has a large population and a large demand on energy.  As we are approaching the end of coal and oil, I propose that India be geared for the future with nuclear electricity.  It is the only way forward.  As India surrenders its’ weapons, it should be granted the freedom to pursue nuclear power as a means of economic development.  As India has no enemies and has Gandhi’s non-violence preaching in recent history ingrained into the minds of the people, India does not need nuclear weapons and would be open to any international agencies inspections.

Economic Development

The issue :  Indias’ economic liberalization

“Prosperity is the ability of an individual, group, or nation to provide shelter, nutrition, and other material goods that enable people to live a good life”.  According to this definition, India is not prosperous.  India has tried to follow socialist ideology in economic policy since independence which has proved to be detrimental to the welfare of its population.  There are several million homeless, and those with shelter are even battling to get electricity and clean drinking water.  Since the early nineties, India has had some change in economic policy enabling companies like Suzuki to manufacture cars in India.  Even though India has taken steps to liberalize its economy, capital has not flown into India as per predictions and assurance from the western liberal school.  

Prosperity is achieved by economic liberalization, however there are other factors to be considered when making policy.  India has poor infrastructure, which makes it difficult to conduct everyday business.  Government, even though treading down the path of a liberal economy in recent times, still has in place some restrictions that hinder investment.  A lack of sound organisation limits the flow of capital and finally, there is a lack of a skilled workforce.

India has proved unable to attract foreign investors because of its’ poor infrastructure.  There is a lack of roads and the ones that do exist are pitted with holes and ridden by cows and pedestrians.  The electricity, which hasn’t been privatized does not supply twenty fours hours a day, making it impossible to establish heavy industry.  The water is filthy and undrinkable.  The sewerage system is dubious.  The are several shanty towns making the morale low.  These factors contribute to the inability of India to attract foreign capital.

India has some restrictions in its’ policy which deter investors.  Large industries are not allowed to come into India, establish operations and take all their profits out of the country.  People can sell dollars to get rupees, however rupees do not buy dollars.  Money exchange is strictly controlled.  The government wants the foreign technology to come into India.  It is by no means anti-innovation.  It is by no means restricting foreign capital from pride.  India just wants the profits to stay in India, because it needs the money to stay in India.  India is offering a 51% to 49% partnership to the favor of herself in order to have control over its economy.  India does all this so that Indians will prosper, however it has scared away the investors as they feel the government is unstable.

India is not well organized which is a deterrent to investment.  There is no supply chains organized for efficient logistics.  There is no well organized marketing that establishes the environment where trade is easily conducted over the communication network.  As there is low education within the country, it is difficult to get competent staff to manage complexity effectively.  India is failing to attract foreign capital precisely because of the lack sound organization.

As there are over a billion people in India, it has been difficult to educate everyone to an adequate standard.  It is extremely difficult to ensure that one billion people are educated as there are a range of other problems that have to be addressed too.  There is a lack of a common language to communicate with.  India’s population is diverse and there is a lack of English speaking people.  As people are homeless and hungry, it makes it difficult to make English proficiency a priority.  As there is a lack of a skilled workforce, investors have been reluctant to invest.

The reading addressed property as the core issue around economic development, however there are several other factors that need to be considered.  Poor infrastructure, legitimate government protectionism, inability to use the slave of technology to connect investors with traders, entrepreneurs and local industry and finally a lack of an adequate workforce ready to capitalize are all issues that haven’t been addressed effectively by a failing leadership.  It is not about changing the mental model, as the reading suggests, but more about the inability to recover from Imperialism!

Hindustan

INTRODUCTION

India was industrialized by the British during imperial times for over two centuries.  Industrialization did wonders for India, however after independence, India proved unable to manage the large and diverse population.  A major problem is that a large portion of India’s population is illiterate (McCullough, 1965).  The people of India, although happy with independence were ill-equipped to govern effectively.  The government, although not explicitly communist, is one which controls all major utilities.  Its’ counterpart, China, with a greater population, has managed its’ people very effectively and is considered a superpower today.  India suffers from great poverty.  This is purely a fact of poor management in the government.  It is actually very simple: there is a population of approximately 1 billion with certain demands which have to met; Centralize command like the Chinese did and provide the goods and services to the 1 billion.  It’s not like there is a shortage of labor.  Labor is a commodity that has to be utilized in every society and in India it is being wasted.  India has restrained from privatizing major utilities, a reason many see as the major policy problem in India, however I disagree.  I think communist thought is the only option for India to prosper.

THE SCENARIO

Less than 5% of India’s billion are well off and are enjoying luxuries available in the West.  The rest of the population, the middle class and the extremely poor have to suffer the misery of a lack of the basic necessities taken for granted in the West.  There is a lack of electricity (Pachauri,1982), (Anonymous 1, 2 & 3).  The water is not drinkable and is not supplied 24 hours a day (Cullet, 2013), (Truelove, 2011), (Kurian, 2000).  There is not even enough food as some go without two square meals a day (Bajaj, 2012), (Mehta, 2003).  There is obviously not enough housing and the erection of slums dwellings has created unsanitary living conditions negatively impacting on health (Loughhead, 2000), (Sen, 2011).  India has not privatised its’ utilities.  Electricity and water is still managed by the government and they are doing a poor job at it.  Property is privatised and a large percentage of the population are unable to access housing.  “... a major part of the poverty in rural and urban India is due to the unequal distribution of the basic factors of production especially, land and capital” (Mehta, 2003).  Agriculture, food processing and distributing is privatised.  The government do have food rations for the poor, however it is not enough.  Health care is privatised and unavailable to the poor.  The poor do not even have access to a toilet and have to do their business on the streets and the whole country has to suffer!

STAKEHOLDERS & POSSIBLE RESPONSES

I have worked out a plan where I start a non-profit organisation for charity.  The following outline are the steps to be carried out by the organisation:

• organise some volunteers to help with the administration
• contact religious groups and work out a coordinated effort to raise cash and free goods - hare krishna and the vatican
• contact the world bank and international monetary fund for cash grants for development programs in India
• contact governments in the G8 to help with cash grants and help with professional and trade  labor services
• gather core design group to design the overall big picture of restructuring infrastructure - planning of housing, transport (air, rail and roads), power, agriculture, sewerage, water, recycling
• with the redesign of the country, we automatically create jobs, hence we can utilize our billion people
• eliminate money and coordinate a census and identity card program where all activities of debits and credits, extraction and deposits of commodities of the economy are monitored - indian computer engineers to design and satellite owners (US, Russia?)
• ascertain all demands at census
• ascertain all skills available at census
• ascertain all means of production and export demands
• limiting the amount of imports, avoid a trade deficit
• crunch the numbers
• for immediate demands:
• establish  distribution centres for rationing
• establish soup kitchens
• establish temporary toilets
• establish dormitory hostels
• establish training centres
• for long term demands
• implement urban design!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Anonymous 1, “An area of darkness; India’s electricity problems”, The Economist (US), 404.8796, August 4, 2012
• Anonymous 2, “The future is black; energy in India”, The Economist (US), Jan 2012: 78(US)
• Anonymous 3, “Electricity in India: Providing power for the millions”, International Energy Agency, 2002
• Bajaj, V., “As Grain Piles Up, India’s Poor Still Go Hungry”, The New York Times, June 8, 2012
• Cullet, P., “Right to water in India”, The International Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 17, Iss. 1, 2013
• Kurian, N. J., “Widening Regional Disparities in India: Some Indicators”, Economic and Political Weekly, 35 (7), 2000
• Loughhead, S., Mittal, O., & Wood, G., “Urban Poverty and Vulnerability in India”, 2000
• Mallah, S., “Nuclear energy option for energy security and sustainable development in India, Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 38, Iss. 2-3, Feb. - Mar. 2011
• McCullough, C. M., “Illiteracy in India: Problems and Progress”, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 19, No. 2, Nov. 1965
• Mehta, A. K., Shah, A., “Chronic Poverty in India: Incidence, Causes and Policies”, World Development, Vol. 31, Issue 3, March 2003
• Pachauri, R. K., “Electric power and economic development: The case of India”, Energy Policy, Vol. 10, Iss. 3, Sep. 1982
• Sen, B., “Securing the right to health for all in India”, The Lancet, Vol. 377, Iss. 9765, 12 - 18 February 2011
• Timmons, H., “World Bank reports on India poverty”, The New York Times, May 19, 2011
• Truelove, Y., (Re-)Conceptualizing water inequality in Delhi, India through a feminist political ecology framework, Geoforum, Vol. 42, Iss. 2, March 2011