Globalisation hit trade union movement, says Prof Prabhat Patnaik

Chandigarh, March 10

Globalisation has entailed development of productive forces in several countries of the third world while distressing the working population.

This was stated by economist Prof Prabhat Patnaik. He was in Chandigarh to deliver Randhir Singh Memorial Lecture at the Institute for Development and Communication.

He said in India, the proportion of the rural population that does not have access to 2,200 calories per person per day, the benchmark for defining rural poverty, had risen from 58 per cent in 1993-94 to 68 per cent in 2011-12; the proportion of the urban population not accessing 2,100 calories per person per day, the benchmark for urban poverty, had risen from 57 to 65 per cent over the same period.

“The question needs to be answered is whether globalisation is a progressive phenomenon or the Left saw a decline in its fortunes after it adopted the productionist perspective,” he said. — TNS