Neoliberal missionaries' proposed Delhi meet to focus on limited economic freedom in Global South

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*

The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is organising its 2024 Biennial Congress and General Meeting from September 22 to 26 in New Delhi with the goal of advancing freedom and prosperity for the next six billion people in the Global South. The event is being hosted by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), based in Hauz Khas, New Delhi. This marks the third time the MPS is holding its meetings in India. The society previously organised its meetings in Goa in 2002 and in New Delhi in 2011.

The MPS was established in 1947 by anti-socialist economists and business leaders, led by Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and others, to counter the growing influence of socialist alternatives.

The MPS and its neoliberal thought collective has not only shaped the foundations of international trade in the 20th and 21st centuries but has also influenced economic policies to promote capitalism as the sole economic system in the name of a free society committed to individual liberty. While the western-led capitalist growth is a reality, individual freedom remains as elusive as the American dream or salvation after death.

The mission and vision of both MPS and CCS, along with their founding principles, represent a true meeting of minds. These two organisations complement each other with their shared, philosophically evangelical commitment to the principles of free markets and private property, all in the name of individual freedom and liberty.

The meeting promises "to dissect the intricate fabric of prosperity, learning from diverse perspectives and experiences", while seeking a path forward in the face of "global challenges such as climate change and emerging technology."

The neoliberal economists and their thought collective with their unfettered commitment to Hindutva capitalism under the illiberal and authoritarian leadership of Narendra Modi stand in contrast to the so-called commitment of the MPS to the ideals of freedom and liberty. Yet, the MPS has no qualms about collaborating with authoritarian leaders.

It has supported dictatorships and anti-democratic forces worldwide to sustain the growth of neoliberal capitalism. The MPS continues to endorse global fascism to protect capitalism from its ultimate failure.

The founders and patrons of the CCS have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the 1991 economic reforms initiated under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh from the Congress Party. These reforms were further advanced and consolidated by the so-called Hindutva nationalists under the leadership of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

These political forces have consolidated capitalism in India at the expense of democratic polity and welfare policies. This consolidation has led to a concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few people while marginalising majority of Indians.

The upcoming meeting of the MPS in New Delhi and its organisers assert that “while some free nations have become wealthy, a large part of the world, notably in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, still has limited economic freedom and, as a result, has generated limited wealth.”

Neoliberal evangelists consider developed capitalist countries as free nations, though they haven't provided basic needs to citizens

The meeting aims to identify the causes and propose solutions to “enhance the cause of freedom and prosperity in these societies” in the Global South.

The MPS evangelists consider developed capitalist countries as "free nations," even though capitalism has failed to provide adequate housing, food, healthcare, education, and other basic needs for many of their citizens. These missionaries of global capitalism have yet to recognise that capitalism has failed even in the advanced capitalist nations.

These neoliberal capitalist proponents suffer from historical amnesia, refusing to acknowledge that the colonial exploitation of the Global South is the foundation of capitalist progress and prosperity in these so-called free nations, where citizens lack true freedom in everyday governance and economic policymaking.

The capitalist system is discredited because it has failed to deliver peace and prosperity in advanced capitalist countries in the Global North, where poverty, hunger, homelessness, debt, destitution, and unemployment have become new realities.

The MPS and its host CCS are neoliberal thought collectives working tirelessly to deepen capitalism in the Global South under the guise of freedom and democracy. They are trying to achieve this objective by forging alliances with illiberal, undemocratic, and authoritarian political, religious, and cultural forces in India and other countries in Global South.

As Indian democracy dwindles under the leadership of Modi, it is crucial to scrutinise and expose the international and local capitalist allies of Hindutva politics and their economic projects.

These economic and political projects marginalise many while benefiting a few capitalists, all under the façade of economic growth, nationalism, and a deceptive notion of individual choice and prosperity shaped by the market economy.

Beware of these economic missionaries and say no to their projects of pick pocketing schemes!

---

*Scholar based in UK

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Counterview

Search This Blog