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For Indians, Much Depends on Family Background For Indians, Much Depends on Family Background
(4 months later)
NEW DELHI — Some nights in India’s posh pubs, a live band plays Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” and the beautiful people on the floor make gestures of poignant glory, as though they were standing on the summits of self-made success after facing great odds and the song were a tribute to their own lives. It is reasonable to imagine the bartenders suppressing a fit of laughter. NEW DELHI — Some nights in India’s posh pubs, a live band plays Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” and the beautiful people on the floor make gestures of poignant glory, as though they were standing on the summits of self-made success after facing great odds and the song were a tribute to their own lives. It is reasonable to imagine the bartenders suppressing a fit of laughter.
The most discussed book of the season grants them the moral right to go all out and laugh at the type of Indians who misinterpret luck as achievement. “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” by Thomas Piketty, keeps India on the margins, but one of the book’s important arguments illuminates modern Indian society — that the influence of inheritance, which undermines true merit, has not diminished with economic growth. Instead, it has risen.The most discussed book of the season grants them the moral right to go all out and laugh at the type of Indians who misinterpret luck as achievement. “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” by Thomas Piketty, keeps India on the margins, but one of the book’s important arguments illuminates modern Indian society — that the influence of inheritance, which undermines true merit, has not diminished with economic growth. Instead, it has risen.
Mr. Piketty deals with inheritance chiefly as a material gift, mentioning only in passing the other abstract forms it can assume. Yet, these are the crucial underpinnings of the Indian elite, including the top segment of the new salaried class, who are beneficiaries not merely of ancestral assets, but of caste, skin color, their parents’ educational backgrounds, the contacts they made because of their social status and even the nourishment they received as children.Mr. Piketty deals with inheritance chiefly as a material gift, mentioning only in passing the other abstract forms it can assume. Yet, these are the crucial underpinnings of the Indian elite, including the top segment of the new salaried class, who are beneficiaries not merely of ancestral assets, but of caste, skin color, their parents’ educational backgrounds, the contacts they made because of their social status and even the nourishment they received as children.
Because the pool of Indians who have been so favored is very small in relation to the size of the nation, these beneficiaries are poised to garner most of the opportunities and grow much faster than the rest of the nation. They already have. Families matter to children all over the world, of course, but in India their role is fundamental and lasting, because in an impoverished country where the government is inept, much depends on the family. And a successful family is one that recognizes that it has the means to triumph over the average national fate.Because the pool of Indians who have been so favored is very small in relation to the size of the nation, these beneficiaries are poised to garner most of the opportunities and grow much faster than the rest of the nation. They already have. Families matter to children all over the world, of course, but in India their role is fundamental and lasting, because in an impoverished country where the government is inept, much depends on the family. And a successful family is one that recognizes that it has the means to triumph over the average national fate.
Just being recipients of a healthy diet and good schooling has ensured that hundreds of thousands of Indians have had an unbridgeable head start over hundreds of millions. In India, nourishment and education have the same effects as material inheritance — a form of capital whose returns are much higher than the national economic growth.Just being recipients of a healthy diet and good schooling has ensured that hundreds of thousands of Indians have had an unbridgeable head start over hundreds of millions. In India, nourishment and education have the same effects as material inheritance — a form of capital whose returns are much higher than the national economic growth.
Mr. Piketty has, naturally, gladdened Indian intellectuals with socialist tendencies, among whom there is a disproportionate number of bearded men who love the alliteration “crony capitalism.” Mr. Piketty, though, does concede that there is some merit in the notion that economic growth is a rising tide that lifts all boats. But the moral of the book, in a way, is that it is such a lousy metaphor. Because a tide should lift all the boats uniformly, without prejudice, while modern society, according to Mr. Piketty’s data, is rigged to favor a few over most, and that is not because they are exceptionally talented or more hard-working than the rest.Mr. Piketty has, naturally, gladdened Indian intellectuals with socialist tendencies, among whom there is a disproportionate number of bearded men who love the alliteration “crony capitalism.” Mr. Piketty, though, does concede that there is some merit in the notion that economic growth is a rising tide that lifts all boats. But the moral of the book, in a way, is that it is such a lousy metaphor. Because a tide should lift all the boats uniformly, without prejudice, while modern society, according to Mr. Piketty’s data, is rigged to favor a few over most, and that is not because they are exceptionally talented or more hard-working than the rest.
Over the past several months in India, as the general elections loomed, there was a debate within the upper reaches of the middle class. One group agreed with Amartya Sen, a Nobel laureate in economics, that India will not grow faster unless it invests more in improving the lives of the poor.Over the past several months in India, as the general elections loomed, there was a debate within the upper reaches of the middle class. One group agreed with Amartya Sen, a Nobel laureate in economics, that India will not grow faster unless it invests more in improving the lives of the poor.
The other group was on the side of the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, whose fans say should have been awarded the Nobel. They said India should not squander too much money on social services. This is remarkable because the modern English-speaking middle class of India, as Mr. Sen has pointed out, are the children of a generation that was the creation of the government’s bizarre generosity. Under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India invested in higher education while ignoring primary education. So those who had the means to reach college soared, while the vast majority who looked to the government for decent schooling were doomed, as were their progeny.The other group was on the side of the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, whose fans say should have been awarded the Nobel. They said India should not squander too much money on social services. This is remarkable because the modern English-speaking middle class of India, as Mr. Sen has pointed out, are the children of a generation that was the creation of the government’s bizarre generosity. Under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India invested in higher education while ignoring primary education. So those who had the means to reach college soared, while the vast majority who looked to the government for decent schooling were doomed, as were their progeny.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which surveys expect to emerge triumphant when the election results are announced on Friday, is on the side of Mr. Bhagwati and is no fan of Mr. Piketty. Proving generalizations wrong, its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has a beard.The Bharatiya Janata Party, which surveys expect to emerge triumphant when the election results are announced on Friday, is on the side of Mr. Bhagwati and is no fan of Mr. Piketty. Proving generalizations wrong, its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has a beard.
Manu Joseph is author of the novel “The Illicit Happiness of Other People.”Manu Joseph is author of the novel “The Illicit Happiness of Other People.”