By Barun S. Mitra, Nitu Maurya and Ravi Kapoor.

May 2013

Summary:

In this paper, we will try to explore the populist pressures in a democracy, on the one hand, and the demand for performance because of the shift in demographic characteristics, on the other hand. India became independent in 1947, and a constitutional democratic republic in 1950, when poverty was endemic, and society fragmented. While politics united the country, there was hardly any social demand for economic performance from the population. In that tentative beginning, poverty was accepted as given. Then through the tumultuous 1970s and 1980s, populism held the key to political success. Then came the economic growth trajectories of the 1990s and 2000s, when political competition became intense, and focus shifted to performance. This paper will analyse the changes in economic performance in the context of political changes driven by changing demography, and attempt to look at the near, medium term direction India may take.

○ Session Outline

Written by Nonoy Oplas, President of Minimal Government Thinkers, Inc.

Seoul -- Liberalism is a political ideology that advocates liberating the individual from excessive and unnecessary coercion. Such coercion includes over-regulation and taxation of individuals and private enterprises, or prohibiting people where and to whom they can freely trade their goods and services. People who subscribe to this ideology are called liberals in Europe and Asia. In the US, the term was hijacked to mean the opposite, the lovers of more state coercion. So they are called libertarians in the US.