Economic growth without distributive justice is bound to breed violence.

 

Growth, as a concept and as a process, is natural for humankind. As living beings, we physically grow throughout our lives. As social beings, we witness our traditions and culture evolve, and as economic beings, we watch the expansion of our spheres of activity. At the heart of the expanding human capacity to venture out into fields unexplored, lays the ever-important notion of economic growth. 

Understood as the increase in the production of goods and services in an economy, the effect of economic growth spills out in every dimension of human life. It determines our access to primary social goods, such as our political and legal rights, responsibilities, and duties. It regulates the power an entity – individual or institution, holds over others, by controlling our income and wealth. Consequently, it also maintains a firm hold on the social bases of self-respect and dignity we possess. 

Therefore, it becomes necessary that the very understanding of economic growth and the benefits it reaps are shared by each member of society equitably. In a world wherein disparity is skyrocketing, the ill effect of inequality of resources and inequality of opportunity becomes the core reasons for situations where people resort to harsh measures.

 Economic growth primarily results in wealth creation. It creates jobs and increases people’s income, thus improving their standard of living. It enables the government to earn more taxes which can be further used to incentivize foreign investment and promote the indigenous economic eco-system, thus creating an endless loop, portrayed as a positive achievement. Since the second world war, in most countries of the world, including India, Economic growth is measured in terms of a rise in our Gross Domestic Product. It is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced during a specific period by a Country.

 By taking into account the value of consumption, investment, government spending, exports, and imports, it denotes how far a country has managed to increase its economic capacity to produce and generate avenues of productive engagement. It acts as the primary yardstick for sizing up a nation’s economy. It has been promulgated that, high GDP growth trickles down to the lowest strata of the society. As the wealth and income rise, the poorest of the poor would gain the advantage of the newly generated capital, as it would facilitate them in increasing their income and consumption.

 However, reality paints a contrasting and grim picture. Economic advancement has often resulted in the widening of the gap between the haves and have-nots. It has increased multi-dimensional and inter-generational inequality, by raising poverty, and environmental degradation. According to Oxfam Inequality Report 2021, ‘Inequality Kills’, 84% of Indian households had a decline in income while the wealth of the 100 richest people more than doubled. The share of income earned by women is hardly around 18%.

 

It has resulted in causing a great amount of distress and undue pressure on the very people it promises to benefit. History is marred with instances showcasing that the poor and minorities have faced the brunt of development. Growth begets gross violation of rights. It espouses discrimination in the garb of progress. Whether be it the French revolution or the Indian Independence Movement, the sparks of such great struggle ignited from the fire raging within people’s hearts against the exploitation and humiliation they had to face, at the hands of those who benefitted at the cost of the poor and their toil. 

 

People, burdened by inequality and unable to control their circumstances or immediate environment, often failing to improve their condition irrespective of their attempts to create a better life for themselves have resorted to violence and aggression, as being witnessed in our country through the ongoing Naxal issue. 

 

Gandhi, through his talisman, encourages us to shape our actions and make decisions based on the fact of whether it would benefit the poorest or weakest member of the society or not. Applying the same notion to economic growth, it would be evident how important it is to distribute the benefits of such growth among all members the society, especially in a country where the share of the bottom 50% was merely 6% of national wealth and over 4.6 crore Indians fell into extreme poverty in 2020.

Distributive Justice attempts to establish a fair and virtuous order of society by ensuring impartial and unbiased distribution of resources and rewards, along with other social primary goods based on the person’s due share. It takes into account the fact that there exists a scarcity of resources in the world and the needs of individuals are limitless. Therefore, the demands of people must be accommodated by keeping the greater good in focus. This greater good can neither be achieved nor be maintained in unstable and chaotic circumstances. 

Thus, its imperative that resources and opportunities are fairly distributed on the grounds of equality, equity, and benefitting the least disadvantaged members of the society. By reducing inequality, not only we improve the quality of people’s lives but also manage to reduce or limit the factors which give rise to violence and crimes. 

 It has been observed that eradicating violence requires narrowing down the reasons which give rise to such acts and conditions and systematically eliminating them. Based on the research commenced in the USA, it had been observed that more often than not, it’s the underprivileged lot, which not only becomes the agents but also constitutes victims of violence. Lack of education, nurturing environment, counseling, and guidance, appendages to growth and development makes the situation worse. Furthermore, lack of stable income and decent living conditions results in food insecurity or the ability to access medical aid culminates in creating situations wherein committing a violent act or becoming a member of violent groups is lesser a choice and more a means to survival.

Equitable redistribution of resources, through welfare measures of the State, ensures that people’s access to their immutable rights and much-needed aid is not alienated from them. Distributive justice ensures that people are not forced to carry out violent acts to survive or flourish. It prevents the creation of a breeding ground of violence by reducing inequality that persists in society. It ensures that every child gets access to healthcare, nutritious food, and an encouraging environment, both at school and their homes, which aren’t deplorable themselves.  

Therefore, it’s the need of the hour to promote inclusive development, and growth which not only focuses on the outcomes in terms of income redistribution but also accounts for the very process it adopts to achieve such results. Therefore, it’s the need of the hour to promote inclusive development, and growth which not only focuses on the outcomes in terms of income redistribution but also accounts for the very process it adopts to achieve such results. Laying equal focus on creating opportunities through job creation, capacity building, human capital formation, etc. is the way to go. It can’t be denied that economic rise without social well-being would keep creating generations that grow in an anxious, unstable environment. Creating a vicious endless cycle of inequality and violence.

Therefore, development ought to be sustainable, and inclusive and the growth of the economy should go beyond mere measurement of money or financial capital. Rather, it should also take into account the happiness, the well-being of the individual, level of good governance, preservation of cultural values, and conservation of the natural environment.