Centre for Public Policy hosts talk on ‘Matsya nyaya through the Kautilyan lens: A discussion on Kautilya’s views on inequality’
Economist and author Sriram Balasubramanian takes a leaf out of his recent book, ‘Kautilyanomics: For Modern Times’, to focus on sustainable growth & welfare; the discussion is moderated by Dr B Mahadevan
19 September, 2022: The Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) hosted a talk, ‘Matsya nyaya through the Kautilyan lens: A discussion on Kautilya’s views on inequality’, by Sriram Balasubramanian, based on his recent book, ‘Kautilyanomics: For Modern Times’ , this evening. Dr. B Mahadevan, Professor of Production and Operations Management at IIM Bangalore, and lead author of the recently published book, Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems, moderated the discussion that followed the lecture.
Professor M S Sriram, Chairperson, Centre for Public Policy, introduced the author, Sriram Balasubramanian, and the book, ‘Kautilyanomics’. Published by Bloomsbury in August this year, the book deals with Kautilya’s economic thinking and its contextual relevance in India.
In his welcome address, Prof. B Mahadevan described the book as “interesting and contextually relevant” and said concepts and constructs from the Arthashastra, especially in the domain of Economics, had been well detailed in Sriram’s book. “It is particular striking how Sriram has made the connections between these concepts and modern times,” he added.
Sriram Balasubramanian’s areas of interest include global macroeconomics, socio-economic trends in emerging markets and Indic/Dharmic culture.
On the motivation for his book, Sriram Balasubramanian said the economist Agnus Madison’s work on the world economy inspired him. “The Greeks, the Chinese -- all spoke of how prosperous India was. I looked for a reasonable level of sophisticated thinking and chanced upon the Arthashastra. I began to work with Sanskrit scholars to understand the text and translate it. I focused on economic frameworks and Dharmic capitalism in the treatise,” he explained.
“Within the bucket of Dharmic capitalism, lies wealth creation and sustainable growth and welfare. Kautilya was very keen on imposing the rule of law to ensure that the small fish do not get eaten up by the big fish. He firmly believed that the welfare of the common man is very important. He believed in the idea of targeted redistribution for the poor perhaps like the modern day Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and was opposed to the idea of freebies for all, flexible minimum wage based on the macro-economic environment, incentives and protection for labour along with transparency of contracts, and expansion of opportunities for the needy via skill-based training and education through a decentralized government model,” Sriram said, adding that Kautilya stated that global trade had to be encouraged as it provided opportunities for wealth creation to everyone in the supply chain.
In his comments, Prof. B Mahadevan said Kautilya’s concept of ‘matsya nyana’ (law of the fishes) can be seen as a larger and generic principle in a variety of situations, where there is a potential possibility of two transacting entities with one of them having more power, and to ensure that the rights of the small entities are safeguarded by the state or the system. “True,” responded Sriram, describing the treatise as multi-layered. “Kautilya’s focus is on the mechanics of the process. He believed that the principles of ‘matsya nyaya’ kept everyone’s confidence in the system.”
“In Chapter 1 of Book 4 of Arthashastra, Kautilya has pointed out that artisans/ weavers/ goldsmiths (sellers) were prone to cheat the common man (buyer). We can look at this through the B-2-C lens today,” remarked Prof. Mahadevan. “Indeed, Kautilya was an astute economist and political thinker. He wanted a strong state that could ensure the empowerment of the common man through measures such as labour contracts, trade agreements etc while making it clear that he was not for a state that imposed its will on people,” responded Sriram.
Prof. Mahadevan also referred to the view, in the treatise, that in times of crisis like prolonged drought or famine, the wealthy had a responsibility to contribute to ease the burden of the poor. “Kautilya went to the extent of saying if they did not, then the state could create a mechanism to take it away from them!” To which, Sriram said, “Kautilya would be the first to admit that he is flawed. But to be fair, the Arthashastra is clear about enabling wealth creation and unless there is an extreme situation like a prolonged famine or a drought, he wouldn’t recommend taking away anyone’s wealth!”
The Q&A session led to a discussion on taxation mechanisms and money supply to adapt to macro-economic changes, as detailed in the Arthashastra, and how relevant it is to modern times. On how Kautilya would view the post pandemic world, Sriram said he, as an author, had raised questions on how Kautilya would have addressed the question of revitalizing the economy of an ageing society, artificial intelligence and its impact on the labour force, and sustainability – debt (personal and sovereign). “Discussions on these could nudge policy on big challenges like climate change, sustainability, etc.”
Watch here: https://youtu.be/oGen1dOb3aU
You can watch the earlier editions of Inequality Conversations, hosted by the Centre for Public Policy, here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQSRwtylQEGG-rCut1rt63YAAec2KUN0A