A Bitter Pill or Sweet Nectar?: Contradictory Attitudes of Salaried Workers to Economic Liberalization in India

The intensification of the globalization of the Indian economy over the past decade has dramatically influenced social life in India, both economically and culturally. This paper presents, and accounts for, the contradictory but critical attitudes towards liberalization held by the lower middle clas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and society 1999-12, Vol.28 (2), p.259-283
Main Authors: Ganguly-Scrase, Ruchira, Scrase, Timothy J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic development
Economic liberalization
Economic reform
Globalization
Indian culture
International economics
Liberalization
Middle class
Nectar
Sharing economy
Social Experiences of Economic Liberalization
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The intensification of the globalization of the Indian economy over the past decade has dramatically influenced social life in India, both economically and culturally. This paper presents, and accounts for, the contradictory but critical attitudes towards liberalization held by the lower middle classes in Bengali society by documenting localized responses to the globalization of the Indian economy. Based on recent fieldwork among lower middle class salaried workers in West Bengal, this paper has two main aims. First, it examines whether policies of economic liberalization have provided an overall improvement in the standard of living for lower-income workers and their households. Our findings show that an overwhelming majority universally condemn policies of liberalization for serving the needs of a wealthy minority; they themselves have not materially gained. Second, we explore the complexities of cultural globalization, especially in terms of the dramatic changes to Indian television. On the whole, the free flow of information engendered through global media was positively evaluated, albeit at times they took a critical view of the culturally inappropriate foreign influences.
ISSN:1598-8074