Hidden cost of populism: A double-edged sword for economy and society

Perhaps our political masters refuse to realise the wisdom of the adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Or, and that’s more probable, they find wisdom unnecessary baggage in a sphere in which expedience overrides every other consideration — politics. The implementation of its populist promises after winning the Karnataka Assembly elections by the Congress has not only burdened the state exchequer with around Rs 50,000 crore and doubled the state fiscal deficit but also reportedly played havoc with coffee plantations.

These are early signs of the damage occasioned by populism. Sadly, the damage is not restricted to one party and state; all parties are indulging in it. Worse, it is not only the economy but also society and culture that would suffer from the adverse effects of competitive populism.

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A report in The Times Of India said, “Karnataka could be staring at a farm labour crisis, with Congress’s poll freebies being blamed for a section of the skilled workforce opting for a life on the dole or raising new demands like an increase in minimum wages, additional benefits and reduced working hours.”

Coffee plantations, which employ 5 lakh-odd out of the 30 lakh farm workforce, are already facing a shortage of skilled labourers eligible for benefits like 10kg of free rice, Rs 2,000 a month to every woman head of a family, free bus rides for women and 200 units of electricity, the report added. It went on to quote Bose Mandanna N., former vice-chairman of Coffee Board of India, who blamed “a lot of freebies for the sudden shortage of labourers.” He said, “This has impacted estates. If this continues, it will be tough to run plantation business.”

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You need not be an economist to know that a decline in this sector will have unsavoury ramifications for other sectors and indeed the general economy and people of the southern state. But such realities seldom, if ever, enter into the calculations of politicians.

Politicians are not bothered about the economic, social, and cultural impact of their policies. So, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, facing anti-incumbency, chalked out, among other welfare schemes for females, the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana for the marriage of poor women.

While this scheme may help many poor women, it does perpetuate, albeit inadvertently, the stereotype of the girl child being a burden for the family. We always talk about ‘bete ki padhai, beti ki shaadi’ (the son’s education and the daughter’s marriage); it happens in common parlance and, consequently, in movies, advertisements, etc.

To be sure, the stereotype is grounded in reality, and the reality is ugly. The government should strive to change the ugly reality — or at least not perpetuate it or the stereotype. But then propriety, like wisdom, is also a burden that our politicians loath to carry.

Before the Assembly poll in Uttarakhand last year, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal pledged a ‘Tirth Yatra Yojana’ if his party won in the Himalayan state. Such a scheme already exists in the national capital. He said, “We’ll facilitate free ‘darshan’ of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. For Muslims, we’ll have the provision of free tour to Ajmer Sharif, and for Sikhs to Kartarpur Sahib.”

Free or subsidised food and healthcare, especially in a developing country, can have some justification but subsidies for such freebies as colour television sets, mixers and grinders, free city commute for women, and free power for any section have none. Nor by any stretch of the imagination can financial assistance by the State for pilgrimage be justified, surely not in a secular country.

It is axiomatic that nothing is free in the world; what different sections of society get something without paying anything for it, they end up paying as taxpayers. Higher taxation in general has a negative impact on the economy as a whole.

But freebies are not just hurting the fiscal situation and economic development but also negatively impacting social and cultural mores. For instance, take the case of Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-83). The founder of Arya Samaj was a bitter critic of superstitions, endless rituals, and pilgrimages that have been the bane of Hindu society for centuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly extolled him for this reason. Subsidised pilgrimages are doing what Swami Dayananda Saraswati and other great socio-religious reformers crusaded against all their lives.

Besides, excessive and irrational welfarism has consequences for individual freedom, civil liberties, and democratic rights. As the former American president Gerald R Ford said, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

But such is the meretricious charms of populism and freebies that no Indian political party or leader is even interested in having a look at the damage these measures are doing to the economy, society, and culture. That is depressing.

The author is a freelance journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

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