Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s idea of state socialism. (UPSC CSE Mains 2016 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 1)
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar advocated state socialism in the field of industry and also state ownership in the agriculture with a collectivised method of cultivation. Dr.B.R. Ambedkar was one of the few Indians who demanded nationalisation of insurance before the Indian nationalised it. He was of the firm opinion that the lot of the 60 millions of untouchables who were landless labourers and cannot be ameliorated due to consolidation of lands or due to tenancy legislation. Only collective forms can solve the problems of the landless labourer. Therefore Dr. Ambedkar writes, “the plan has two special features, one is that proposes state socialism in the important fields of economic life and the second special features of the plan is, that it does not leave establishment of state socialism to the will of the legislature. It establishes state socialism by the law of constitution and thus makes it unalterable by any act of the legislature and the executive”. Thus Dr.B.R. Ambedkar wanted to include the provisions of the state ownership in agriculture in the fundamental rights ,as these provisions are unalterable by any act of the legislature and the executive. The purpose is to protect the liberty of the individual from invention by other individuals. The connection between individual liberty and the shape and from of economic structure of the society.
- Becomes real only when the state socialism has been established through the political democracy. State socialism and political democracy are not antagonistic. Therefore Dr. Ambedkar wanted to establish state socialism not through dictatorship, to have state socialism with parliamentary democracy, the way out seems to be retain parliamentary democracy and prescribed state socialism by the law of the constitution. So, that it will be beyond the reach of parliamentary majority to suspend, amend or abrogate it. It is only by this hat one can achieve the triple object. Namely, to establish socialism to retain parliamentary democracy and avoid dictatorship.
His views on state socialism or similar to that collectivism. Following are the characters of the Dr. Ambedkar state socialism.
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- A condemnation of the existing social political and economic order as unjust.
- An advocacy of new order based on one man, one vote and one value.
- A belief that this idea is realisable to the state socialism and parliamentary democracy.
- Convention that immortality of established order is traceable to the attitude of Hindus and the corrupt social institutions.
- A programme of action leading to the ideal to be achieved through constitutional means only.
- A revolutionary will of establishing social democracy to carry out the programme of social solidaritry.
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