Page 91 - EducationWorld January 2023

thing that all can borrow posed to capitalism. decision making. author argues, may well be
from his vast oeuvre. It is well-known that in In an illuminating Gandhi’s stellar contribu-
In Economist Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, perhaps the section, Rao holds that tion to modern economics
well-known banker, entre- most important book that ‘trusteeship’ and ‘trust’ and management theory.
preneur and free markets Gandhi wrote, there is a are peculiar concepts of Other chapters in the
champion Jaithirth (‘Jer- well laid out case against English common law that book deal with Gandhi’s
ry’) Rao throws fresh light the capitalist economy Gandhi became acquaint- views on education, his
on Gandhi’s economic phi- which Gandhi believed is ed with while studying deep understanding
losophy. The thrust of the based on greed and profit. law in England, and that of the Gita, Isavasya
book is the argument that Yet Rao urges us to dig the book, Snell’s Equity, Upanishad, the Gospels,
Gandhi can be interpreted deeper into the nuances had a profound impact on Quakers along with some
as a supporter of big busi- of Gandhian economics, Gandhi’s thinking. other well-known aspects
ness and capitalism. This particularly his idea of The basic principle in of his social and political
is a bold claim, and author trusteeship, to suggest the idea of trust is that philosophy. On balance,
Rao is quite conscious of that on a careful reading, trustees work for the one may say that Econo-
the ambitious task he has it is possible to draw some benefit of the cause that mist Gandhi is eminently
undertaken. parallels between Gandhi a trust represents, and readable and breaks fresh
The centrepiece of the and Adam Smith. Rao also not for individual profit. ground, even though the
book is a radical re-evalua- makes the point that the Capitalists according to conclusions drawn may
tion of the crucial concept concept of trusteeship in Gandhi, suggests Rao, well require more substan-
of trusteeship, which Gandhi — if properly un- ought to be like trustees tive proof and argument
according to Rao can be derstood — holds the se- — creating and holding than what has been pre-
the basis of this departure cret to a new management wealth, not for individual sented.
from the conventional theory, especially relevant gain but for the welfare of SYED AREESH AHMAD
view that Gandhi was op- to agency problems in all. This philosophy, the (The Book Review)

JANUARY 2023 EDUCATIONWORLD 91