ABSTRACT
OF PRODUCTION Among Gandhi’s economic views it is perhaps those he expressed against the use of machines that have attracted the greatest public attention. His hostile attitude to power-driven machinery and largescale production, and hence to industrialisation on modern lines as the path to economic development, gained him much notoriety both in India and abroad. His views on these topics are discussed in this chapter, which consists of four sections. The first contrasts Gandhi’s view of industrialisation with the mainstream tradition of Indian economic thought and states some of the criticisms that have been made against his approach. Gandhi’s arguments against industrialisation are set out in the second section. A number of qualifications to these arguments which Gandhi himself came to accept are stated in the third section, and the fourth section attempts a critical assessment of Gandhi’s views on industrialisation in the light of recent developments in technology. The chapter concludes with a recapitulation of its principal arguments.
