Book review on “Caste as Social Capital: The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society” by Ramachandran Vaidyanathan
If anyone understands the term social capital, then he definitely knows that caste is also a social capital. We must also realize, as shown from plenty of data points in the book, that though people from different backgrounds indulge in particular activities and retain a common idea of belongingness and identity with their own communities, this in due course also encourages them in taking up that specific livelihood. Also getting credits and risk mitigation becomes easier for them. At least in the non-organized sector, Indian business is primarily based on relationships and without any question, here caste definitely works as a social capital!
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Savings as a national drive in Indian Economy
Savings is a habit, culture, and civilization – all rolled into one. Post-liberalization, India has provided increased market access. Despite these developments, Indians have achieved higher savings rate post liberalization – a theoretical contradiction. This savings is an outcome of certain civilizational restraints and makes Indian economy, by design, to operate within certain restraints.
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Indian Business Models: Business in Ancient India
Commerce played a great role in making India the universal exporting centre of the economic world in ancient times. Not only was the corporate form used for business enterprises in Ancient India, but also for political and social purposes and went by variety of names-gana, samgha, sabha, sreni and others too.
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Integrating Ecology, Economy, and Ethnicity: Archaeological Anthropology
Apart from political agenda, do we ever think about the community’s engagement in knowing their origin and trying to preserve it for the next generation? This paper is an attempt to incorporate heritage, economy, ecology, and culture, making sense for laypeople.
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Decentralization of Social and Economic Policy – FR – Part 3
This is an excerpt from the book “The Fractured Republic” by Yuval Levin. He is discussing how economy cannot be studied and treated in isolation and needs a more holistic framework. Economic debates are not the only ones worth having, and are usually not the ones that run the deepest or that do the most to shape our society. Economic arguments are inseparable from cultural ones, and the arrow of causality runs in both directions. Our culture shapes our economic goals and is shaped by our economic relations; our economy reflects our cultural priorities and is reflected in our cultural trends and patterns.
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