Is Socialisation of Investment Enough Prabhat Patnaik
John Maynard Keynes was by far the most insightful bourgeois economist of the twentieth century. He could not afford to be a mere apologist of the system, since he was writing in the midst of the Great Depression and in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. To pretend at such a time that everything was fine with the capitalist system would have been the biggest disservice he could have rendered to that system which he so dearly loved. So, the best hope for saving the system for him was to be honest about its flaws and to try and patch…
The Poverty of Economic Conservatism Prabhat Patnaik
In terms of economic policy, the Modi government must be perhaps the most conservative in the world. During the entire period of the pandemic when millions of people lost their incomes and livelihood support, most governments around the world provided universal cash transfers to the people, but not the Modi government. True, many other third world countries too did not provide such universal cash transfers, but their hands were tied; they had contracted heavy external debt and were enjoined to austerity by agencies like the IMF that helped them roll over their debt. But India was under no such external…
A Crumb from the G-7 Table Prabhat Patnaik
The G-7 meeting that has just concluded has promised to donate one billion doses of anti-Covid vaccine to the rest of the world, consisting primarily of the so-called “developing” countries. The US has promised 500 million doses, Britain 100 million doses; the other G-7 countries, Italy, Japan, France, Germany and Canada are supposed to make up the rest. “One billion doses” sounds a lot, but it is extraordinarily paltry in relation to both the rest of the world’s requirements and even with respect to the enormous stockpiles of vaccines that advanced capitalist countries have with them, over and above what…
Property Rights and Pandemic Deaths Prabhat Patnaik
A spade must be called a spade. The biggest ally of the coronavirus today as it decimates mankind is the institution of capitalist property rights. The Economist estimates that the actual death-toll across the world from the virus so far is not three million as officially claimed but 10 million; and the virus is far from finished. The only way that its march can be checked is through universal vaccination of the entire population of the world. Everybody, including even the IMF, agrees on this; but if universal vaccination is to become a reality before the virus has killed millions…
The Case of the Missing Vaccines Prabhat Patnaik
India is facing an acute vaccine shortage. The impression that generally prevails is that this shortage is because while production capacity is slow to increase there has been a sudden spurt in vaccine demand since vaccination is now open for the 18-44 group in addition to the original 45+ group. This impression however is erroneous: while more people no doubt are now eligible for vaccination, there has been a sharp and mystifying drop in the absolute number of vaccinations in the month of May not just compared to the previous month but also compared to the country’s production capacity for…
The Proposal for a Minimum Global Corporate Tax Rate Prabhat Patnaik
Following its $1.9 trillion Covid-relief package, the Biden administration has further announced an infrastructure package of $2.3 trillion. But in contrast to the former which is to be spent within months, the latter is to be spent over an eight-year period. And this package in turn is to be followed by a “human infrastructure” package. All this adds up to a massive stimulus for the economy as well as a massive redistributive programme, especially since the infrastructure package is proposed to be substantially financed through an increase in corporate tax rates. Donald Trump had reduced corporate tax rates in the…
Destitution, Hunger and the Lockdown Prabhat Patnaik
On March 24, 2020, Narendra Modi had announced that the country would go into a lockdown after four hours! This nation-wide lockdown was to last till the end of May, after which there were local lockdowns but not a general one. It brought acute hardship to millions of the working poor, among whom the migrant workers’ woes received global attention. What was striking about the Indian lockdown was that, in contrast to virtually everywhere else including the US under Trump, no compensation was offered to the people (except paltry amounts to a few specific target groups) for their loss of…
Patents versus the People Prabhat Patnaik
On October 2, 2020, even before any vaccines against Covid-19 had been approved, India and South Africa had proposed to the WTO that a temporary patent waiver should be granted on all such innovations. In the following months, 100 countries had supported this demand. And on May 5, the US, usually the most ardent defender of the patent system, agreed to a temporary patent waiver on anti-Covid vaccines, committing itself to “text-based negotiations at the WTO”. The basic argument for such a move arises from the urgent need at present to expand vaccine production. A patent works by creating artificial…
For Free Universal Vaccination Against Covid-19 Prabhat Patnaik
Of all the decisions taken by the Modi government the most mindless has been the so-called “liberalization” of vaccine distribution. Originally, the central government was the sole buyer from the two producing firms at a fixed price of Rs.150 per dose, and then, while itself distributing them free to the people, also used other channels for distribution, including private hospitals (who however charged Rs.250 per dose because they had to pay the central government for the vaccines). With “liberalization”, it suddenly made state governments and private hospitals buy vaccines directly from the firms at prices determined by the latter. Given…
The Scandal of Covid-vaccine Pricing Prabhat Patnaik
When the country is grappling with the worst health crisis it has faced in a century, the Covid-vaccine producers have decided to seize the opportunity to go on a profiteering spree, taking advantage of the Modi government’s incompetence or complicity (call it what you will). Two issues have to be distinguished at the outset: one, what should be the price for the Covid vaccine that consumers should be paying; and there can be little doubt that this price should be zero, as even Dr Arvind Subramaniam, a former chief economic adviser under the Modi regime has pointed out. The second…