Democracy, Economic Growth, and Inequality in India's Development

Abstract

A new body of literature, includingIndia's Political Economyby Francine Frankel, argues that the organization of the rural poor can facilitate a “democratic socialist” mode of development in India. The author dissents from this left-liberal world view. The organization of the lower classes has seldom led to a significant redistribution of economic resources in a democracy; it is not likely to do so in India. Attempts to convert lower-class interests into redistributive policies face institutionalized obstacles the ideological, organizational, electoral, governmental, and bureaucratic levels. If the lower classes gain effective political power despite these obstacles, the stability of the democratic process generally tends to be undermined. For these reasons, simultaneous optimism for India's democracy and for India's poor is not realistic.