Economic Growth Needs to Accompany Distributive Justice
Introduction
- India is the second-most unequal country in the world, in terms of distribution of the wealth, where just 1 % Indians own about 58% of the wealth. It is a concerning statistic for a democracy and therefore a discussion on distributive justice becomes imperative.
- Technically, economic growth refers to effective increase in production of goods and services in a country over a period of time, which may or may not mean qualitative improvement in living standards for all.
- The concept of distributive justice refers to the allocation of goods and resources in a country to all the citizens in an equitable manner. There is a need to realize the difference between equal and equitable while discussing distributive justice.
- Main argument of the essay: India cannot hope to develop without developing its poor, which can only happen by aiming for distributive justice along with economic growth.
Body
Goal of economic growth:
- To achieve economic success by producing more goods and services per capita in a country over a period of time.
- Economic growth also aims to achieve higher rates of growth than previous periods, which shows that the economy is using the given resources efficiently and there is innovation in technology, production processes, management, etc.
- The concept of economic growth generally does not address the problem of unequal development. It looks at the quantitative aspect, not the qualitative one.
Goal of distributive justice:
- To have a society without glaring inequalities in income, education, health, and living standards among its members.
- Distributive justice aims to follow an ethical code wherein people are willing to share their wealth and compromise on individual economic growth so as to provide for the poor.
- It is important to understand that exactly equal distribution of resources is not possible or desirable, but the concept aims at avoiding extremes of inequality.
Need for reconciliation:
- Distributive justice impacts the overall happiness and satisfaction levels of citizens in a country in a positive manner. Millions of Indians could be saved from daily misery if there is equitable distribution.
- Chances of social unrest and revolution are drastically reduced if the citizens feel that there is no unreasonable concentration of wealth among few. Economic underdevelopment is cited as a reason for terrorism and Naxalism in India; this could be tackled with distributive justice.
- The success of a democracy is not solely dependent on giving equal political rights to all citizens, but also on giving equal opportunities of economic success and acquisition of resources.
Concerns in reconciliation:
- Distribution of wealth can mean taxing the ultra-rich, which is an obstacle in the political economic environment of India, wherein many of the lawmakers themselves are rich.
- Demonetization was an effort towards curbing black money and bringing money hoarders under government scrutiny. However, only a partial success and backlash against this move goes on to show that implementing distributive justice in India is an uphill task.
- India’s diversity and complex social structure with caste system further creates impediments in implementing distributive schemes.
- In a capitalist economy such as India, drastic efforts towards wealth redistribution may disincentivize wealthy capitalists and businesses, which in the end can hamper economic growth.
- Therefore, efforts need to be gradual and can involve less disruptive practices such as ensuring equal opportunities in education, employment, etc. for the poor, rethinking of welfare schemes to make their impact effective, and overall pro-poor outlook of government policies.
Conclusion
- The concepts of economic growth and distributive justice have the distinct goals of material expansion and qualitative improvement in lifestyle, respectively.
- Despite differences, it is important to reconcile the goals of these two concepts in order to ensure peace, ethical growth, and overall development of India as a democracy.
- Given past experience, it is clear that achieving distributive justice along with economic growth is difficult in India, but a thoughtful approach towards the process can yield positive results. India can look at experiences of other countries such as Norway and Denmark, which have performed better in ensuring equality.
Notes
- Keywords: economic growth, distributive justice
- It is a relevant topic in India’s context and holds importance in the discourse on policymaking, so aspirants are expected to be aware of the debates surrounding it.
- Make sure to propose arguments from multiple angles philosophical, economic, political, etc.-to write a holistic essay.
- Examples of experiences of other countries and from Indian states can be given to add weight to your arguments.