Culture and Development

[Sanjeev Sabhlok <sabhlok@almaak.usc.edu>]

Dear Professor Guptara,

Thanks for the note sent over. I will put it up on the web site tonight.

Regarding the books suggested for reading, I have read North quite a bit
and agree with most of his work. There is no doubt that the way we
design institutions is affected by our history and to that extent by our
'culture,' whatever that means.

However, reading North or others of that school in isolation is likely
to mislead. These are more or less 'fatalistic' theories, concerned
primarily with explorations in path dependence.

North will be completely foxed when asked to explain Gandhi and how
could one single person transform the entire 20th century for the entire
world.

Institutions are ultimately man-made. Man is the creator of change. I am
currently working on a paper entitled, "Economists as Managers of
Change: Cross-over strategies for Developing Countries." I believe that
we as economists (or as educated elite) are NOT confined by the cultural
practices which we find. We are not only instrumental in creating a
change in the situation, but in fact can do it.

Please let us not support any view that India is DESTINED to remain
where She is simply because of some cultural or historical practices.
India is already pretty much a fatalistic country. While understanding
the past is important, that should not come in the way of changing the
present.

Thanks,

Sincerely,

Sanjeev



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the National Debate on System Reform.       debate@indiapolicy.org
Rules, Procedures, Archives:            ../debate/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------