Gandhi's Economic Thought (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics, 10)

219 Pages·1996·1.97 MB·English

by  Ajit K Dasgupta

GANDHI’S ECONOMIC
THOUGHT

Do Gandhi’s economic writings deal with the problems of
the real world, or merely describe a dream of utopia?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was not an academic but the
charismatic leader of the Indian national movement. He was inspired
by a vision of swaraj (self-government), which, for him, meant not
just freedom from colonial rule but the achievement of self-reliance
and self-respect by the villagers who make up most of India’s
population. His economics was a part of this vision.
This volume examines Gandhi’s economic theories in areas that
include:

(cid:127) consumption behaviour;
(cid:127) industrialisation, technology and the scale of production;
(cid:127) trusteeship and industrial relations;
(cid:127) work and leisure; and
(cid:127) education as human capital.

This is a clearly written and well-researched study of Gandhi’s
economic thoughts that will be of interest not only to economists
and social scientists, but also to anyone interested in Gandhi.
Ajit K.Dasgupta was educated at Presidency College, Calcutta, and
Magdalene College, Cambridge. He has taught economics at
universities in India, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
and is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Otago. He is the
author of A History of Indian Economic Thought.
ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE
HISTORY OF ECONOMICS

1 ECONOMICS AS LITERATURE
Willie Henderson
2 SOCIALISM AND MARGINALISM IN ECONOMICS
1870–1930
Edited by Ian Steedman
3 HAYEK’S POLITICAL ECONOMY
The Socio-economics of Order
Steve Fleetwood
4 ON THE ORIGINS OF CLASSICAL ECONOMICS
Distribution and Value from William Petty to Adam Smith
Tony Aspromourgos
5 THE ECONOMICS OF JOAN ROBINSON
Edited by Maria Cristina Marcuzzo, Luigi Pasinetti and
Alesandro Roncaglia
6 THE EVOLUTIONIST ECONOMICS OF LEON WALRAS
Albert Jolink
7 KEYNES AND THE ‘CLASSICS’
A Study in Language, Epistemology and Mistaken Identities
Micel Verdon
8 THE HISTORY OF GAME THEORY, VOLUME 1
From the Beginnings to 1945
Mary Ann Dimand and Robert W.Dimand
9 THE ECONOMICS OF W.S.JEVONS
Sandra Peart
10 GANDHI’S ECONOMIC THOUGHT
Ajit K.Dasgupta
GANDHI’S ECONOMIC
THOUGHT

Ajit K.Dasgupta

London and New York
First published 1996
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1996 Ajit K.Dasgupta
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Dasgupta, Ajit Kumar.
Gandhi’s economic thought/Ajit K.Dasgupta
p. cm.—(Routledge studies in the history of economics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869–1948—Views on economics.
2. Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869–1948—Political and social views.
3. Economics—India. I.—Title. II. Series.
HB126.I43G394 1996
330.1–dc20 96–10733
CIP

ISBN 0-203-46322-6 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-46891-0 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–11430–6 (Print Edition)
To Sipra with love

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ix
1 INTRODUCTION 1
Utopia and reality in Gandhian economics 2
Gandhi’s religion 3
Economics and ethics 6
Gandhi and ethical theory 7
2 PREFERENCE, UTILITY AND WELFARE 13
Introduction 13
The limitation of wants 14
Ethical preferences and Swadeshi 21
Altruism and charity 30
Work, leisure and the doctrine of bread-labour 36
3 RIGHTS 44
Rights and duties 45
Some specific cases 46
A resolution on rights 50
A summing up 53
4 INDUSTRIALISATION, TECHNOLOGY
AND THE SCALE OF PRODUCTION 64
Gandhi vs Ranade 64
The case against industrialisation 68
Some qualifications 76
Conclusion 80
vii
CONTENTS
5 INEQUALITY 88
Equality as respect 88
Economic inequality 91
Inequality, untouchability and the caste system 93
Gender inequality 104
6 THE THEORY OF TRUSTEESHIP 118
The theory explained 118
Trusteeship and the law of trusts 123
Trusteeship and industrial relations 125
Trusteeship and landlordism 126
Conclusion 129
7 EDUCATION 132
Introduction 132
Aims of education 136
Nayee Talim 140
Why schools should be self-supporting 143
Higher education 146
Conclusion 150
8 SPECIAL TOPICS 155
Population policy 155
Gandhi’s predecessors 163
9 THE LEGACY OF GANDHI 174
The impact of Gandhi on Indian economic policy 174
Ethics and economics 176
Gandhi and rural development 178
Some methodological issues 181
Notes 184
Index 203

viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have benefited by discussion with, or comments from, Bina Agarwal,
D.P.Chaudhri, Sipra Dasgupta, Danielle Pender and Joe Wallis.
I am grateful to Jeanne Skinner, who prepared the manuscript
for the press with care, skill and patience, and to Rujbir Kaur Pabla,
who helped with the proof-reading.
ix