Gandhian socialism is the branch of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
based on the
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
interpretation of the theories of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. Gandhian socialism generally centers on ''
Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
''Hind Swaraj'' or ''Indian Home Rule'' is a book written by Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1909. In it he expresses his views on Swaraj, modern civilization, mechanisation, among other matters. In the book, Gandhi repudiates European civilization while ...
'' authored by Gandhi.
Federation of political and economical power and demonstrating a
traditionalist reluctance towards the
modernisation
Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
of
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
and large scale
industrialisation
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
whilst emphasising self-employment and
self-reliance
"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false con ...
are key features of Gandhian socialism.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
of the culturally
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP), and other party leaders incorporated Gandhian socialism as one of the concepts for the party.
Etymology
The ideology of Gandhian socialism is rooted in Gandhi's work titled
Swaraj
Swarāj ( sa, स्वराज, translit=Svarāja '' sva-'' "self", '' raj'' "rule") can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". It was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to attain self rule from the Mughal Empire and the Adil ...
and ''India of My Dreams'' in which, he describes Indian society, with no one rich or poor, no class conflict, where there is an equal distribution of the resources, and self-sufficient economy without any exploitation and violence. Thus, Gandhian socialism differed from Western socialism because the latter believed in material progress whereas Gandhi considered every one materially equal. As
Jawahar Lal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
puts in his biography, "he suspects also socialism, and more particularly
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, because of their association with violence." He believed his style of socialism came from the strong beliefs he held in non-violence and not those adopted from any books.
Many experts observed that, similar to other schools of socialism, Gandhi's concept of socialism was a result of ethical considerations, but had nothing to do with class-consciousness as professed by the western socialism. There was also a religious aspect of Gandhi's socialism. To understand Gandhi's socialist philosophy, as
Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
observed; "it should be realized that his doctrine is like a huge edifice composed of two different floors or grades. Below is the solid groundwork, the basic foundation of religion. On this vast and unshakable foundation is based the political and social campaign."
Economic philosophy
The key aspects of the economic policies of Gandhian socialism are based on ethics. According to Gandhi: "Economics that hurts the moral well-being of a human or a nation is immoral and, therefore sinful". Hence, Gandhian socialism roots for economic social justice by promoting equality for all.
Evolving from this ideology, the economic components of Gandhian socialism are centered around ''Swaraj'', resulting from complete economic freedom. This is achieved through self-sufficiency and self-reliance, where, everyone gets an appropriate share of his labor. Therefore, Gandhian socialism advocates a society without economic classes, which Gandhi termed it as ''
Sarvodaya
Sarvōdaya ( hi, सर्वोदय '' sarv-'' "all", '' uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin ...
''. An example of this concept can be seen in the implementation of
Panchayat Raj
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...
in India. In 1938, during the formulation of an economic plan for the post-independent India, it was noted that the planning under a democratic India should be based not only on raising the
standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
by copying various
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
,
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
, or a
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
nation's plan, but it should be centered towards its roots firm in Indian soil and India's problems.
See also
*
Gandhian economics
Gandhian economics is a school of economic thought based on the spiritual and socio-economic principles expounded by Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. It is largely characterised by rejection of the concept of the human being as a rational actor alway ...
Further reading
* Shourie, Arun (1990). Individuals, institutions, processes: How one may strengthen the other in India today. New Delhi, India: Viking.
*
Swarup, Ram
Ram Swarup (Hindi: राम स्वरूप ; – ), born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was an Indian author and one of the most important thought leaders of the Hindu revivalist movement.Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt: Hindutva zwischen „Dekolonisierung ...
(1955). Gandhism and communism: Principles and technique. New Delhi: J. Prakashan.
References
Bibliography
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{{Socialism
Eponymous political ideologies
Socialism in India
Hindutva
Bharatiya Janata Party
Indian political philosophy
Types of socialism