Gandhi's Ideas - 1

The principle of 'bread labour' means God created man to work for his food and said that those who ate without work were thieves.

'Swa' means 'self' or 'own' and 'desh' means 'country', so swadesh would be 'own country'. Swadeshi gives emphasis for consumption of domestic goods.

Under the Gandhian economic order, the character of production will be determined by social necessity, and not by personal greed.

Gandhi ji developed the concept of 'bread labour'. It emphasised that one must work until the sweat from their forehead falls down through the eyebrows and the earnings that are paid for the labour would then be utilised for buying food and bringing joy to life.

John Ruskin impressed upon Gandhiji’s mind the importance of 'bread labour'.

The first basic principle of Gandhian economic thought is trusteeship, i.e. an individual or group of individuals is free, not only to make a decent living through an economic enterprise, but also to accumulate their surplus wealth above what is necessary to meet the basic needs and investment, should be held as a trust for the welfare of all, particularly of the poorest and most deprived.

To solve the problem of unemployment, Gandhiji advocated rehabilitation of village and cottage industries; the cottage and village industries are of considerable importance in improving the economic condition of the rural population.

Non-exploitation is the essence of 'bread labour' since everyone earns his minimum requirements through 'bread labour' and contributes the rest of his labour to society instead of using it for the accumulation of personal wealth.

The real meaning of economic equality is 'To each according to his need', i.e. if a single man demands as much as a man with wife and four children, then that will be a violation of economic equality.

Leo Tolstoy greatly influenced Gandhi for shaping his concept of 'bread labour'.

His ideas relating to satyagraha were based on truth and non-violence, simple life style and development, and reveal how sustainable development is possible without doing any harm to nature and our fellow beings.

Gandhian economics do not draw a distinction between economics and ethics.

According to Gandhi, swadeshi includes decentralised economy.

The principle of 'bread labour' means God created man to work for his food, i.e. earning by physical labour.

Swadeshi is a universal law based on the twin principles of truth and non-violence or love and humanity.