Neoliberal missionaries' proposed Delhi meet to focus on limited economic freedom in Global South

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*

The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is organising its 2024 Biennial Congress and General Meeting from September 22 to 26 in New Delhi with the goal of advancing freedom and prosperity for the next six billion people in the Global South. The event is being hosted by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), based in Hauz Khas, New Delhi. This marks the third time the MPS is holding its meetings in India. The society previously organised its meetings in Goa in 2002 and in New Delhi in 2011.

The MPS was established in 1947 by anti-socialist economists and business leaders, led by Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and others, to counter the growing influence of socialist alternatives.

The MPS and its neoliberal thought collective has not only shaped the foundations of international trade in the 20th and 21st centuries but has also influenced economic policies to promote capitalism as the sole economic system in the name of a free society committed to individual liberty. While the western-led capitalist growth is a reality, individual freedom remains as elusive as the American dream or salvation after death.

The mission and vision of both MPS and CCS, along with their founding principles, represent a true meeting of minds. These two organisations complement each other with their shared, philosophically evangelical commitment to the principles of free markets and private property, all in the name of individual freedom and liberty.

The meeting promises "to dissect the intricate fabric of prosperity, learning from diverse perspectives and experiences", while seeking a path forward in the face of "global challenges such as climate change and emerging technology."

The neoliberal economists and their thought collective with their unfettered commitment to Hindutva capitalism under the illiberal and authoritarian leadership of Narendra Modi stand in contrast to the so-called commitment of the MPS to the ideals of freedom and liberty. Yet, the MPS has no qualms about collaborating with authoritarian leaders.

It has supported dictatorships and anti-democratic forces worldwide to sustain the growth of neoliberal capitalism. The MPS continues to endorse global fascism to protect capitalism from its ultimate failure.

The founders and patrons of the CCS have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the 1991 economic reforms initiated under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh from the Congress Party. These reforms were further advanced and consolidated by the so-called Hindutva nationalists under the leadership of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.

These political forces have consolidated capitalism in India at the expense of democratic polity and welfare policies. This consolidation has led to a concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few people while marginalising majority of Indians.

The upcoming meeting of the MPS in New Delhi and its organisers assert that “while some free nations have become wealthy, a large part of the world, notably in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, still has limited economic freedom and, as a result, has generated limited wealth.”

Neoliberal evangelists consider developed capitalist countries as free nations, though they haven't provided basic needs to citizens

The meeting aims to identify the causes and propose solutions to “enhance the cause of freedom and prosperity in these societies” in the Global South.

The MPS evangelists consider developed capitalist countries as "free nations," even though capitalism has failed to provide adequate housing, food, healthcare, education, and other basic needs for many of their citizens. These missionaries of global capitalism have yet to recognise that capitalism has failed even in the advanced capitalist nations.

These neoliberal capitalist proponents suffer from historical amnesia, refusing to acknowledge that the colonial exploitation of the Global South is the foundation of capitalist progress and prosperity in these so-called free nations, where citizens lack true freedom in everyday governance and economic policymaking.

The capitalist system is discredited because it has failed to deliver peace and prosperity in advanced capitalist countries in the Global North, where poverty, hunger, homelessness, debt, destitution, and unemployment have become new realities.

The MPS and its host CCS are neoliberal thought collectives working tirelessly to deepen capitalism in the Global South under the guise of freedom and democracy. They are trying to achieve this objective by forging alliances with illiberal, undemocratic, and authoritarian political, religious, and cultural forces in India and other countries in Global South.

As Indian democracy dwindles under the leadership of Modi, it is crucial to scrutinise and expose the international and local capitalist allies of Hindutva politics and their economic projects.

These economic and political projects marginalise many while benefiting a few capitalists, all under the façade of economic growth, nationalism, and a deceptive notion of individual choice and prosperity shaped by the market economy.

Beware of these economic missionaries and say no to their projects of pick pocketing schemes!

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*Scholar based in UK

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