This refers to Kenneth Rogoff's article "Malthus, Marx and modern growth" (March 27). The writer rightly concludes that "in advanced economies... the challenges are becoming formidable". But he did not precisely say why the advanced countries were finding it difficult to raise the standard of living for their citizens. To get the answers, we need to analyse the post World War-II progress in these countries. Though the capitalists were and still are controlling the economies, after the war they realised if they did not create a welfare state, the Russian impact would reach their country sooner than later. Hungry bellies were Stalin's workshops. The capitalists, therefore, were forced to surrender a sizeable part of "surplus value of labour", the phrase coined by Marx. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90s, the world became unipolar. The capitalists are now having a field day. Coming to Malthus, it was not his fault since nobody, at that point time, could visualise the miracle in the agricultural field.
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Nirupam Haldar Kolkata
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number