Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development, they are also among its principal means. In addition to acknowledging, foundationally, the evaluative importance of freedom, we also have to understand the remarkable empirical connection that links freedoms of different kinds with one another. Political Freedoms (in the form of free speech and elections) help to promote economic security. Social Opportunities (in the form of education and health facilities) facilitate economic participation. Economic facilities (in the form of opportunities for participation in trade and production) can help to generate personal abundance as well as public resources for social facilities. Freedoms of different kinds can strengthen one another.
- Amartya Sen in Development as Freedom
Two of the critically acclaimed books of recent times - The World is Flat (by three time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman) and Making Globalisation Work (by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz) begin with the positive effect of Globalisation on Bangalore. The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s followed by the IT boom has indeed placed Bangalore on the global map. But even with the presence of Bangalore, the shining example of India’s economic prowess, can we call Karnataka socially developed?
Malayalis are rightly proud of their social development as the human development indices in Kerala are similar to that of the developed west. Thiruvananthapuram, the political capital of Kerala, is always busy with political activity with the active participation from the local population. But can Kerala be called a developed society without achieving economic prosperity?
‘Kerala model’: Problems and Prospects
Kerala model refers to the economic practices that were undertaken in the state that saw the state improve its human development indicators but failed in industrial development. Kerala boasts of life expectancy (73.5) which is comparable to that of Hungary and literacy rate (90.92%) comparable to that of Norway. In Kerala, unlike rest of India, it is common to watch even porters and head load workers reading newspapers. Infant mortality rate is as low as 11 per 1000 live births.
But Kerala also boasts of highest suicide rates in the country. Even though this cannot be placed as a blot on Kerala’s human development record, it is utmost important that the reasons for this be studied.
Kerala economy survives on foreign remittances. The incidence of Poverty in the state has been reduced considerably mainly because of the Gulf boom of the 1970s and not because of governmental action. But even as the per capita income of the Keralites has increased over the period, the State has witnessed slow domestic growth leading to an increase in educated unemployment. A main reason for the high amount of suicide rates can be the existence of this educated unemployed.
Why does it matter to have economic development if there is social development? The answer lies in the fact that social development cannot sustain without economic development. If Kerala’s life expectancy rate is on par with Hungary, the same cannot be said of Kerala’s expenditure on Health. Lower investment on education has resulted in deterioration in the quality of education in the state. The famed ‘Kerala model’ can’t survive until and unless the state invests heavily on health and education.
Growth and development
With a Net District Income of Rs 260,259 crores (2002-03) and a per capita income of Rs 2.9 lakhs, Bangalore is the fourth largest and fastest growing market in India. The economic prosperity of Bangalore has even gifted the English language a new word – Bangalored (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalored).
Bangalore has certainly made Karnataka proud. But economic growth does not represent social development. Karnataka with a literacy rate of 67.4%, life expectancy rate of 64 years and infant mortality rate of 58/1000, has not performed as far as social development is considered.
The Indian Institute of Science, the premier research institute in the country, is the pride of Bangalore. But if child labour exists in that very institute, then it is high time that the system be reviewed and restructured. The biggest challenge for IISc is to rehabilitate the children doing manual labour, for any action without planning will drive them to poverty.
Stiglitz has pointed out correctly that development is about transforming lives, not just economies. Economic development without social advancement can lead to social unrest. In the long run, social unrest can have an adverse effect on the economic environment of the society.
A society can be said to be developed only if it is able to produce sustainable improvement in percapita income as well as human development indices like education, health etc. Social freedom should be complemented by economic freedom and vice – versa. It is hard to disagree with Amartya Sen’s argument that – Economic unfreedom can breed social unfreedom, just as social or political unfreedom can also foster economic unfreedom.
(Comments will be much appreciated)
