State and Freebies

Having been a part of the government, I sometimes wonder why senior bureaucrats fell in line, without a murmur of protest, when the government pushed them to sleep with big-money, something which was anathema till the 1990s. Why were they hell bent on destroying the public sector — which had given them their education, health care, social standing and professional satisfaction, nay their honour and pride? Yet, they betrayed their oath of office

- ARVIND SAXENA

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” — Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.

Over the last few years we have been hearing extremely shrill voices for and against ‘freebies’ and not enough mention of the welfare state, a concept we have now been made to believe is akin to ‘communism light’ or a ‘creeping pink’ ideology. However, the Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in Part IV of the Indian Constitution reflect that India is a welfare state.

More specifically, Article 38 in the Constitution says that:

(1) The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life; and

(2) The State shall, in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

Establishment of a welfare state is a conscious policy which entails the outflow of public resources for improving the quality of life for all citizens, including those who are unable to avail themselves of the bare necessities of life. The expenditure is a longterm investment in developing human capital and building an egalitarian society. In economic terms, the State is expected to secure the distribution of ownership, and control of material resources of the nation to sub-serve the good of all, and to ensure that economic policies do not result in concentration of wealth and means of production with a few, to the common detriment of the community.