Neo-Liberalism and the Diffusion of Development

Neo-Liberalism and the Diffusion of Development The level of economic activity under capitalism is subject to prolonged ebbs and flows. When the economy is on an upswing, this very fact acts as an elixir that emboldens capitalists, who begin to expect that the “good times” are going to continue; this makes them less worried about…

Manifesto of Indian Farmers

Manifesto of Indian Farmers   Adopted by an assembly representing the farmers of India on the occasion of the historic Kisan Mukti March organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, Delhi, 30 November 2018.   We, The Farmers of India, The producers of primary agricultural commodities; including women, dalit, nomadic and adivasi farmers;…

Fact Check: Spin-Master Jaitley’s Claims on Demonetisation

Fact Check: Spin-Master Jaitley’s Claims on Demonetisation Flying in the face of his own Prime Minister’s statements, the Reserve Bank of India’s notifications and all manner of evidence, Finance Minister Jaitley has made the astounding claim that the demonetisation of November 8, 2016 was not about confiscation of cash but was the means to achieve…

Why are Thousands of Hondurans Walking Towards the US Border?

Why are Thousands of Hondurans Walking Towards the US Border? For the thousands of Hondurans who are part of a migrant caravan proceeding towards the United States, the recent comments by US president Donald Trump were yet another instance of the persecution they have faced while trying to escape horrible living conditions. On Monday, Trump…

Pentagon Socialism: Militarising the Economy in the Name of Defense

Pentagon Socialism: Militarising the Economy in the Name of Defense Given his erratic behavior, from daily Twitter eruptions to upping his tally of lies by the hour, it’s hard to think of Donald Trump as a man with a plan. But in at least one area—reshaping the economy to serve the needs of the military–industrial…

With Due Respect, Finance Minister

With Due Respect, Finance Minister The government did not celebrate the second anniversary of demonetisation, one of its biggest policy initiatives. It has celebrated the anniversary of all other big policies. Why the diffidence? The finance minister did come out with a statement listing the achievements of demonetisation. But his statement must be seen in…

Chhattisgarh’s Mineral Wealth Not Benefiting People

Chhattisgarh’s Mineral Wealth Not Benefiting People As the people of Chhattisgarh go to polls to elect another state Assembly and government, dominant political parties have completely ignored a vital question: what are they going to do about the state’s rich natural resources? That’s because the current model of unbridled private exploitation of minerals, land and…

The Wealthy Barely Pay Taxes: Will the Govt Make Them Pay?

The Wealthy Barely Pay Taxes: Will the Govt Make Them Pay? India is often mistakenly seen as a country with relatively low economic inequality. In fact, there were always very significant economic inequalities in India, which intersected with social and locational inequalities in complex ways. More significantly, the country’s inequalities widened after the internal and…

Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal Economic Reforms: Part II

Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal Economic Reforms: Part II Ambedkar and Globalisation At the outset, to speak about Ambedkar in relation to globalisation, which represents a paradigmatic transformation of global capitalism into its extremist version, is fundamentally speculative. But there are enough fools who rush in where angels fear to tread . Since they cannot rationally…