A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Economic Disparity and Nationalism — Part 1
Historically and in the present era, governments elected by the populace that are not compatible with the interests of powerful capitalist conglomerates and states have been overthrown by killing tens of thousands of men, women and children to bring to power corporate friendly tyrants.
( May 29, 2018, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
cold war in the form that existed in the last century disappeared with
the collapse of the state capitalistic model of ‘socialism’ as was
practised in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. The world is left
with a few countries that follow the same state capitalistic model.
Despite the belief that the cold war ended with the collapse of the
Soviet Union, a new cold war appears to have emerged with a vengeance.
Though the protagonists of this appear to be the corporate capitalist
interests of the United States and its allies versus the Russian
Federation and its oligarchs, the real focus of the west’s fear and ire
could be the Peoples’ Republic of China.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the corporate capitalist system
has reigned supreme almost all over the world, with its attendant severe
socio-economic and cultural crises. Peoples’ democracy in the proper
sense of the word has not been able to survive with the reappearance of
unbridled capitalism in the corporate and state sectors. Such crises
have made many western capitalist societies almost dysfunctional. Under
open economy and free market conditions, economic disparity has
continued to surge, mainly due to the regulatory environment imposed by
the ruling corporate interests and the free hand given to them to
increasingly monopolise global resources.
Historically and in the present era, governments elected by the populace
that are not compatible with the interests of powerful capitalist
conglomerates and states have been overthrown by killing tens of
thousands of men, women and children to bring to power corporate
friendly tyrants. The United Nations is also not immune; it has been
made to toe the line of neo-liberal and conservative regimes with
threats of sidelining it financially. It has been used against those who
oppose the new neoliberal agenda. In this sense, the United Nations has
turned out to be an impotent, stranded entity, a mere voyeur, made to
watch impotently as blood is been spilt in every corner of the world.
Economic Disparity
Corporate economists are neither concerned about humanity nor are they
compassionate. They do not care about economic and income disparity; for
them people are either consumers or units of production. Their logic is
that people need to work harder to access upward social mobility.
Income inequality they argue, keeps their motivation up. They assert
that wealth redistribution through social security measures and other
welfare programs are expensive. So, despite many faiths preaching
compassion, the world has become a more miserable place. Opportunities
for economic growth and development have tumbled further downwards.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)[1] and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)[2] are
not institutions propagating humanitarian views. Yet, they have
concluded that income inequality is affecting economic growth. The
Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) has contested these
findings, but realpolitik indicates that income inequality is on the
rise and low-income households increasingly find it difficult to invest
in higher education. Thus, their opportunities for upward social
mobility are impaired.
According to the World Inequality Report[3],
income inequality in all regions has increased in recent decades, and
in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa inequality is obscenely high
and persistent. Inequality in India and China are also of massive
proportions. The gap between these countries and those in the west has
become narrower, thus reducing global inequality. The global Gini Index[4] has dropped to 65 due to rapid economic growth in several Asian countries. By 2035, the Index is expected to drop to 61.
Rise of nationalism
Accordingly, global income inequality between nations though high is
reducing, however the gap between the rich and the poor within countries
has widened. Such trends as a whole and individually may explain the
rise of populism, nationalism and protectionism in some parts of the
world. Regimes pursuing a capitalist path of development have found it
difficult to reverse or control this trend of increasing inequality. As
recommended and sometimes demanded by the IMF and the World Bank,
structural reforms in the form of privatisation of public assets have
been carried out in many such countries with devastating results
impacting on social fabric.
Regimes in Sri Lanka have pursued a similar path. The global experience
during the past several decades is that such measures have made these
countries rich as a whole, but with income inequality predominating. In
this process, governments have become poorer. According to the World
Inequality Report, this is one of the major factors restricting the
ability of regimes in tackling inequality.
The current situation in Sri Lanka exemplifies this process. It is
characterised by the loss of confidence in both state and corporate
sectors and institutions, erosion of social bonds and increasing
uncertainty about the future. Widening inequality has significantly
affected economic growth and macroeconomic stability. Inequities related
to accessing education, health care, and finance have become prevalent.
Thus, certain segments of society are being subject to persistent
disadvantage.
[1] IMF 2015, Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective, Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1513.pdf
[2] OECD 2014, iLibrary Trends in Income Inequality and its Impact on Economic Growth,
Available at:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/trends-in-income-inequality-and-its-impact-on-economic-growth_5jxrjncwxv6j-en
[3] World Inequality Lab 2018, World Inequality Report, Available at: http://wir2018.wid.world/files/download/wir2018-full-report-english.pdf
[4] Gini Coefficient of zero denotes everybody enjoys the same income, while 100 denoted one person receives all income.