By Partha Chakraborty-
Last week was a meeting of giants. Two countries that represent the democratic core of the free world, together representing about a third of the world economy and over a fifth of humanity, came together in Washington.
Beyond hugs, Oval Office meetings, press briefings, official proclamations – and a very awkward meeting with the richest man on the planet – the official trip of India’s Prime Minister Modi to meet President Trump of the US went spectacularly well.
It behooves repeating how much these two men are alike, even if they could not be farther apart in their lived experiences. By the same token, the two countries are very much alike as nations, even if they have very different ancestries, growth trajectories, and different sets of original sins. I have expanded on that second theme repeatedly as it is central to one of what I consider my life’s missions – get the two torchbearers of democratic ideas locked in an embrace that shall not be broken.
It is to be noted that in some quarters people are openly wondering if there is a constitutional crisis of democracy in each nation. I consider these concerns unsustainable, given the burden of history, though these concerns serve a valuable purpose in stiffening the guardrails.
Democracy is the logical choice of governance both in the U.S. and in India, both being consultative pluralistic societies that have been historically open and welcoming of all peoples, despite original sins and transgressions that still happen. India has had a long history with feudalism followed by British oppression. Feudalism is in the DNA of the U.S., and the country began in a revolt against the same British dynasty. Both countries stayed true to the ideal of participative democracy despite many challenges, both foreign and domestic. Economic malaise is a sore spot in India thanks largely to the infatuation with socialism amongst the ruling class for decades. That said, India is the twinkling star that beckons all in the Global South, all of them are (near) failures in their experiments.
Three recent strains are binding these countries closer.
First is a growing suspicion, and fear, of the beast of the Dragon. Fear, loathing and contempt of the Chinese Communist Party is not new to India, having fought many wars against the bugaboo on her northern borders. The U.S., mistakenly as the nation must admit now, has facilitated China’s rise from a failed Communist pariah to solidly middle-income economy, paying obeisance to the Party is still a prerequisite. Now the second largest economy with the largest navy, control of access to rare-earth minerals, covert and overt access to latest technologies, and a dominance of global manufacturing, China is wantonly unleashing her fangs with wolf-warrior diplomacy, OBOR program, and bribery of the Global South. Thankfully the two democratic powerhouses are speaking in unison these days calling out the naked aggression of China, and her client states.
Second is an awakening that traditional economic models have failed, and need some tweaking. Headline data are misleading in the U.S., where factory towns have been hollowed as manufacturing moved across the open seas to China, and lately across the Rio Grande to Mexico, among other places. A middle class that thrived on these factory jobs have been left without anchor, transitioning to service jobs, and lately to the gig economy. Service economy is all fine and dandy, but by itself it is a closed loop, we need factories, shipyards, and workshops revving again to produce real goods in “gross domestic products”. Service economy jobs tend to be fickle for the most part at the bottom of the pyramid, thereby robbing dignity of living to most involved. Problems are more acute for India, being the most populous country, the number of new entrants to the workforce (18-25 year-old) being the same as the entire working population in the U.S. India has a vast unregulated economy, a whopping 90% of the workforce work there, and an overabundance of youngsters with college degrees without commensurate opportunities.
Both countries need a rejigged, not new, operating model for their economy.
Consequently, there is a third strain that binds the two together, I will argue this is the most powerful in both. It is an open affirmation that a country needs to be governed to meet – and exceed – universal aspiration of its peoples, not just the traditional cognoscenti, the literati, and the elite. In that effort, current leaders in both countries are ready to push the boundaries – but only this much and no more. Judiciary in both countries remain fiercely independent and self-affirming at the top, and for all those humming-and-hawing the governing cabal in either is not crossing the Rubicon by flagrant flouting rulings of the Highest Court. In the U.S. we are seeing a very healthy push and pull between co-equal branches – an attempt to reposition the pieces in a puzzle piece if you will, but the puzzle remains intact no matter what.
The two countries should work closer not just in geopolitical sense, but also in matters of economy.
What is dawning on the powers-that-be in both countries is a possible carveout where the two countries act as a single economy, in effect. Nobody expects the U.S. to revert to entire vertical of manufacturing, and nobody expects India to ask her overeducated youth in the cities to occupy the bottom rung of factory jobs. A possible solution will be to move the business of making ‘trinkets’ for both countries – for lack of a better word – to Tier 3 towns or villages in India, facilitating peoples’ move away from agriculture to medium and small manufacturing. Heavy industries, and value-added – “CNC-aided” – manufacturing should move away from China back to the US and some to Indian manufacturing centers. Agriculture in India may slowly be mechanized, freeing people to take up new manufacturing jobs, with some caution, surplus produce from the U.S. can be the backstop India needs in times of weather-related duress.
Democracy is said to die in darkness. It is difficult to imagine that darkness in either country today. But one thing is for certain – democracy dies in an empty stomach. Worst tyrants spawned in times of distress and dislocation. Both countries are addressing economic insecurity and loss of identity in a bespoke fashion. There is no one right way, whichever way works is the right one given lived history. As of now, things are working, guardrails are functioning well, no matter what they say.
Paraphrasing Yuval Harari – Democracy is something very few people are doing when everyone else is ploughing fields and carrying water buckets. Let people enjoy the bounties of ploughing these fields and carrying buckets. Let them feel proud about themselves first. Some of their jobs will be to pile up against the guardrails and protect, let them do that too.
Creative friction is an essential element in functioning of a vibrant democracy in either country, and we should not have it in any other way.
