Politics of Planned Development

Lesson

Part 1 — models of development, the Planning Commission, the first Five Year Plans and the great debates.

In this lesson you will

Explain why development is a political question
Compare the liberal-capitalist and socialist models and explain India's mixed economy
Describe the Bombay Plan, the Planning Commission and the first two Five Year Plans
Analyse the debates on agriculture versus industry and public versus private sector

Part 1 at a glance

Concept

Development is a political question

Every project has gainers and losers, so choices about development are argued over in public life.

Every project raises the question: development for whom?
Imagined project	Who may gain	Who may bear the cost
A steel plant on forest land	Job-seekers, industry, the national economy	Forest dwellers who lose land and livelihood
A large dam	Farmers on the plains, towns that get power	Villages that are submerged upstream
A mine near a river	Mining firms, the state treasury	Fishers and farmers downstream

Compare

At independence, two broad models were on offer.

Liberal-capitalist

Socialist

Comparison table: under the liberal-capitalist model private firms own production and the market decides, promising growth and freedom, as in the USA and Western Europe; under the socialist model the state owns production and plans, promising equality, as in the USSR
	Liberal-capitalist	Socialist
Who owns production?	Mostly private firms	Mostly the state
How are decisions made?	Through the market	Through central plans
Main promise	Growth and individual freedom	Equality and security
Example at the time	USA, Western Europe	USSR