I got into Gandhian economics from reading about Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun colleague of Gandhi's who founded the "world's first non-violent army" in the very region where the Taliban is now active. His non-violence was founded on Islamic principles and Pashtun tradition, patience and hospitality respectively. It is astonishing to me that we have not studied his work in light of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism.
It is also astonishing to me that Gandhi's ideas about economics are so pertinent today. Turns out that all my life I've practiced his ideas - helping to found community gardens and farmers' markets, doing solar and now weatherization barnraisings (we do them monthly in Cambridge, MA and have an online manual to help others do the same), working with a local carpentry cooperative, staffing a traveling energy show.... This is all swadeshi, local production, just as the White House organic garden can be considered swadeshi.
Recently, I was interviewed by Frank Aragona of AgroInnovations for a two part podcast on the subject.
http://agroinnovations.com/...
I am joined by George Mokray, who has read and written extensively about Gandhian economics. Gandhi is often remembered for his civil disobedience and non-violent approach to ending British imperialism, but his economic thought and philosophy is perhaps more fundamental to his strategy for personal and communal liberation. More relevant than ever before, Gandhi’s thinking must be studied and internalized by those who wish to promote real change in our society.
http://agroinnovations.com/...
In this episode I conclude my interview with George Mokray about Gandhian economics. Topics of discussion include Gandhi’s view of public policy, Gandhian economics as an alternative to modern social orders, how Gandhi would view the Internet, and Gandhi as a source of inspiration in contemporary society.
My notes on my readings in Gandhian economics are at
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I suspect they are the most extensive collection on the subject available online and that Gandhi's economics are the only workable human ecological economics.
Local production, swadeshi, is a core principle of Gandhian economics. I have written about a solar swadeshi, where the crank of a dynamo generating electricity serves the same purpose as the handle of the charkha, spinning wheel, Gandhi spent an hour a day turning to make thread for khadi cloth. There is now an e-charkha which generates electricity while spinning thread. Gandhi has entered the 21st century and his ideas could become increasingly powerful in the years to come.