Kerala: Another Possible World – T.M. Thomas Isaac

Description

‘There is no alternative (TINA)’ has been the slogan of the neoliberals ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The counter-slogan has been, ‘Another world is possible’. Here is the story of the ongoing struggles to build ‘another world’ in Kerala, India.

The neoliberal imperative is to ‘maximize growth at any cost’. Kerala has embarked upon an alternative – to optimize growth within redistribution, environmental sustainability, gender and social justice, and concerns of progressive culture.

Confronting the challenges of globalization, and within the ever-tightening restrictions imposed by the Union government, Kerala has pursued alternative policies of protecting the public sector, health, and education with highly positive outcomes. These outcomes, in turn, have strengthened the social security and care systems and drastically reduced hunger and poverty. Democratic decentralization has provided the framework for implementing such a program with the participation of the people.

This book, written in an accessible, non-technical, and jargon-free style by an outstanding academic with decades of experience as an administrator and policy maker, shows us how another world is in fact possible.