Politics of Planned Development
These terms characterise the position of the concerned groups or parties regarding social change and role of the state in effecting economic redistribution.
Left often refers to those who are in favour of the poor, downtrodden sections and support government policies for the benefit of these sections. The Right refers to those who believe that free competition and market economy alone ensure progress and that the government should not unnecessarily intervene in the economy.
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“In the early years of Independence, two contradictory tendencies were already well advanced inside the Congress party. On the one hand, the national party executive endorsed socialist principles of state ownership, regulat ion and control over key sectors of the economy in order to improve productivity and at the same time curb economic concentration. On the other hand, the national Congress government pursued liberal economic policies and incentives to private investment that was justified in terms of the sole criterion of achieving maximum increase in production. ” — Francine Frankel
(a) What is the contradiction that the author is talking about ? What would be the political implications of a contradiction like this ?
(b) If the author is correct, why is it that the Congress was pursuing this policy ? Was it related to the nature of the opposition parties ?
(c) Was there also a contradiction between the central leadership of the Congress party and its State level leaders ?
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