The unknown history of economic conservatism in India after
independence
Neoliberalism is routinely characterized as an antidemocratic,
expert-driven project aimed at insulating markets from politics, devised
in the North Atlantic and projected on the rest of the world. Revising
this understanding, Toward a Free Economy shows how economic
conservatism emerged and was disseminated in a postcolonial society
consistent with the logic of democracy.
Twelve years after the British left India, a Swatantra ("Freedom") Party
came to life. It encouraged Indians to break with the Indian National
Congress Party, which spearheaded the anticolonial nationalist movement
and now dominated Indian democracy. Rejecting Congress's
heavy-industrial developmental state and the accompanying rhetoric of
socialism, Swatantra promised "free economy" through its project of
opposition politics.
As it circulated across various genres, "free economy" took on meanings
that varied by region and language, caste and class, and won diverse
advocates. These articulations, informed by but distinct from
neoliberalism, came chiefly from communities in southern and western
India as they embraced new forms of entrepreneurial activity. At their
core, they connoted anticommunism, unfettered private economic activity,
decentralized development, and the defense of private property.
Opposition politics encompassed ideas and practice. Swatantra's leaders
imagined a conservative alternative to a progressive dominant party in a
two-party system. They communicated ideas and mobilized people around
such issues as inflation, taxation, and property. And they made creative
use of India's institutions to bring checks and balances to the
political system.
Democracy's persistence in India is uncommon among postcolonial
societies. By excavating a perspective of how Indians made and
understood their own democracy and economy, Aditya Balasubramanian
broadens our picture of neoliberalism, democracy, and the postcolonial
world.
