Left is never right – Opponent’s reply

Opponent’s reply

The basic argument against the Left about public expenditure and state intervention provided by the proponent is based on an old debate dating back at least to the days of John Maynard Keynes and not always associated with ‘Marxist ideology’. It is indeed intriguing to only call the Left as the proponent of state intervention although I would argue that this policy of state intervention is correct. Thus the Left is right in terms of taking right issues, agendas, policies (here ‘right’ is meant as ‘correct’ and ‘ethical’). When the neoliberal economics is currently being discredited in the western advanced capitalist countries with a call for state intervention in the midst of global economic recession, the Keynesian economics that actually saved capitalism from its own crisis has been forgotten by the proponent. The entire argument against rising fiscal deficit hinges on the fundamental premise that it will raise the rate of interest and hence will adversely affect investment. Keynes had pointed out long ago that this assumes full-employment of labour and resources. However, in a country like India, anybody who assumes the above premise is surely wrong, since in India, we have large scale unemployment. On the other hand, in a situation of unemployment and unutilized capacity, if the fiscal deficit is actually increased, then it generates a higher level of income via the multiplier effect and generates an equal amount of savings and result into further investment. In other words, the argument against fiscal deficit in times of unemployment is incorrect.

Centre right ideology – Opponent’s reply

Opponent’s reply

The debate was set up to ascertain whether any responsible centre-right political parties exist in India’s current political scenario. Omkar’s post has significantly changed the terms. For in his persuasive, enjoyable albeit ultimately unconvincing initial post, he relegates this question to secondary status, arguing primarily on the normative question regarding the redundancy of western political terminologies to understand the Indian electoral scenario. Insofar as the descriptive question of the ideology of political parties themselves is concerned, Omkar vacillates between deeming multiple parties as proponents of centre right ideologies and admitting that perhaps not the BJP, but the NDA as a coalition bloc can solely be considered centre-right. As a responsible opposition, I’ll argue this debate in terms of the two questions- normative and descriptive- albeit with a hint of regret of what might have been.