Opinion | Economic History And Its Importance To Bharat’s Rise
As we move towards a developed country, it's imperative that we study further the role of cultural contours in consumer choices, behavioural tendencies and as an extension macroeconomic policy as well
Economic history has been a topic of interest, but surprisingly very limited research has been done in the Bharatiya context. As Bharat attempts to become one of the superpowers of the world and a developed nation, the moot question is what is the indigenous Bharatiya model of economic growth that Bharat is trying to project on the global stage? There are various answers to this question but if there is one thing that dominant nations have done in the past, it has been to look at their history for answers. Be it the American version of modern-day capitalism which is an offshoot of the Protestant ethic to the Chinese model of economic growth or the Japanese for that matter—most if not all nations have looked inward to seek inspiration from their past to imprint the future.
In Bharat’s case, there is an even more important need to explore this since the role of culture plays a crucial yet understated and under-researched role in economic decisions and policymaking. Most economic decisions, especially non-discretionary spending are in some way or form related to the cultural contours or in other words, the “way of life" which has permeated this land for thousands of years. What really is this “way of life" and what does our history help us to teach about some of these components of “way of life"? While often very obvious for the common person to see, academic research hasn’t caught up with researching it given its centrality to economic decision-making by the individual and as an extension the state. International researchers have extensively dealt with this subject of culture and economics even though its influence is not as much as it is in Bharat. This includes Nobel Laureates such as Garry Becker whose Nobel Prize-winning research was based on his paper on discrimination in communities in the USA. More recent ones such as George Akerlof have argued for years on the role of “identity economics" and its role in economic policy outcomes. Similarly, an entire stream of research on culture and its influence on economics has permeated the macroeconomic and behavioural economics fields. Yet we see very little research on this in the most diverse and complex land of cultural identities which are such an integral part of the socio-economic functioning of society, unlike any other country in the world.
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It’s in this context that my research argues that Dharma plays an important role in defining this “way of life" which has prospered for thousands of years. In an attempt to understand the prosperity of the past, I have found that Bharat’s ancient prosperity was not a mere accidental occurrence based on population alone but rather an important outcome of a sequence of policy outcomes and frameworks which were developed in the past. This research is developed in the form of three books with one already published and one more due to be published next month. My book Kautilyanomics For Modern Times puts forth a proposition that Kautilya’s 3rd century BCE Arthashastra promulgates a Dharma-based capitalistic model which bats for a strong yet non-intervening state, trade and commerce with the rest of the world and sustainable growth as its central pillars. While Dharma has innumerable definitions, for the limited scope of economic policy, I have defined it through the prism of ethics, responsibilities, and harmony respectively. In the sequel to Kautilyanomics For Modern Times, titled Dharmanomics, which is releasing next month, I explore Dharma-based economic frameworks in a plethora of CE kingdoms in Bharat and as an extension in other places such as Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia among others. These kingdoms include the Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas, and Vijayanagar besides Kambuja Desa, Champa, Java and other kingdoms. The research tries to show conclusively that Dharma-based economic frameworks were central to most if not all of these kingdoms with various iterations depending on the local customised needs. Besides Kautilyan Dharmic capitalism, the role of the Dharmic ecosystem—powered by the economic ecosystem created by temples—and the importance of Srenis—corporate guilds—in mobilising capital and trade through the centuries are highlighted in this book. It establishes that from at least Saraswati-Sindhu civilisation, Kautilya onwards till about the Vijayanagar empire, there were evidences of various iterations of Dharma-based economic frameworks that propelled prosperity and inclusive growth in these communities. Adding a step further, I also argue in my third book that this extends into our contemporary lifestyles through the ‘way of life’ mentioned earlier which influences economic decision-making in subtle but important ways.
By establishing an at least 2,500-year qualitative time series of Dharma-based economic frameworks, it provides us with a benchmark to understand the “way of life" in contemporary Bharat. As we move towards a developed country, it’s imperative that we study further the role of cultural contours in consumer choices, behavioural tendencies and as an extension macroeconomic policy as well. Not only would this give us a better understanding of the Bharatiya economy but it would also ensure that there is a robust underpinning of the Dharma-based economic frameworks that Bharat could position globally as it becomes a developed country.
Sriram Balasubramanian is an author and economist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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