Economy, ecology, equity: We’ve put the cart before the horse

State, Market, Society

The economy has always been in focus. For as far back as I can remember, the idea of the nation’s ‘growth’ was essentially an economic one. At various times, we were building industry for self-sufficiency, creating financial markets, exporting software ... all more or less for economic betterment. And whenever we believed ourselves to be a superpower in the making, the size of our economy has often been the first argument put forward in support.

Ecology is finally, at long last, coming into focus. The most recent report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change rang alarm bells louder than many earlier ones, and that may be part of the reason for the new awakening. But a more likely explanation is that many sustainable practices are now market-competitive in price. Therefore, the old fixation with economy has allowed such practices to be embraced. And why not -- especially if one can do so with a sudden turn to sustainable fashion?

But falling in step with ecology is still too slow. It will leave the planet cooking for many years more before it becomes mainstream. To overcome that, we have to ask a different question -- what will enable the accelerated adoption of sustainable practices?

Accelerated adoption is the only game in town, if we’re serious about stepping back from the cliff’s-edge of vulnerability to climate change. For some places, it is already too late. There are roads along the coastlines of every continent that remind us that the ocean surface was a little lower not that long ago, and news reports about the ferocity of extreme weather events are now frequent enough that national media can dedicate a weekly column or time-slot to them.

It’s not that difficult. A combination of five things, if done together, can drive such acceleration. First, there must be far more information and advocacy driving consumers to sustainable choices. Second, there must be a well-funded pipeline of innovations for sustainability, in both the public and private sector. Third, there must be sandboxes in which ideas for sustainability can be tested and proven. Fourth, there must be investment funds created to specifically put money into scaling proven innovations. And fifth, the law and rules for construction, transportation, and a few other sectors need to be tweaked to routinely support sustainability.

Each of these can be detailed fairly simply. There are people working on bits and pieces of this. But the whole is much more powerful, potentially, than the sum of the parts. And that’s why each of these things need to be done together, coherently, to be able to support and benefit each other.

Which brings us to equity -- the third part of the trinity with economy and ecology. It is no secret that inequality is at astronomical levels, and that increasingly any new growth is not being distributed equitably. My guess is that the first 6 per cent of economic growth each year occurs without diminishing inequality, and it is only above that threshold that some benefits begin to trickle down to the poor. In times of distress, like the last two years, the impact of such a skew in economic value-capture is catastrophic.

We’ve always put the cart before the horse, living with the illusion that India will first somehow achieve growth, and after that we will be in a much better position to pay attention to the majority. No one actually says this, but a large number of policy and programme choices effectively lean towards this stance. For now, it seems, most people are being told they must wait for development while others become strong enough to one day help them.

In fact, equity is the strongest argument for economy. A more educated population can be a lot more productive, so anyone who actually cared about building a stronger and more competitive economy should invest like crazy in widespread quality education, adequate nutrition for all children, and repeated skilling opportunities at different stages in people’s lives and careers. But this is not what we do.

Rather than give everyone a fair start in level, we’re stunting most of them -- physically and financially -- by an initial dose of inattention that leaves them unable to catch up later. Fewer than half the children in the country are getting even a full school education, let alone getting to college. And even among those who do get degrees and diplomas, there is a large gap between what those pieces of paper certify and what those holding them actually know and can do.

At each stage in life, having the right inputs is key to create the strength for the next stage. But that exercise must begin early. That means that the inputs to a fair start for all must be available widely, in sufficient quantity and quality. And with modern life being what it is, this baseline has to be more than education and health alone; it has to include energy access, transportation, internet connectivity, and many other things that create full inclusion in society and the economy for all people.

A constant retort to all this is that India cannot afford to be spending money giving people all these inputs. Actually, it is quite obvious by now that we cannot afford not to.