The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind

by Raghuram G. Rajan

Leaders have an alternative to moving toward a liberal open- access society. And that is to exploit the populist nationalistic fervor that is latent in every society, especially as economic fears grow and disenchantment with the corrupt traditional elite increases. Both China and India have large numbers of people who have left their village community, and have moved to cities in search of work. These large young migrant populations, both tantalised and shocked by city life, and yet to be integrated into solid new communities, are ideal raw material for the populist nationalists’ vision of a cohesive national community. They become especially malleable in times of slow job growth, as they see the incredible opportunities that the better-educated upper-class elite obtain. Rural village communities are also not immune to modernisation. They too are intrigued and simultaneously repelled by the images they see on television of the lifestyles of the liberal urban rich. In India, the Hindu nationalist movement tries to tap into such people’s desire to anchor themselves in tradition. It also attempts to focus them on grievances that will shape them into a committed following. It exploits the sense among the majority Hindu population that they have bent over backward to appease minorities, especially Muslims.

Migration of ppl from rural villages to cities in india & china