Individual Freedom in a Gandhian Perspective

Abstract

Interestingly, most mainstream intellectuals have almost dismissed Gandhi, especially economists. Gandhian thought does not figure prominently in the development debate in the world in general, and in the West in particular, because Western thought has been polarized mainly into two ideologies. At one end, it is conservatism, which ideologically places a strong emphasis on “the individual.” The agency to facilitate is free market. On the other end are communism and socialism that place “a firm emphasis upon the role of the state in generating both solidarity and equality.”2 Both the systems are unable to fully comprehend the changes to world development, and hence are not able to cope with the problem of sustainability.