There have been glowing estimates about the expansion of the middle-class with which the economic growth of India is seen to be in a “virtuous cycle,” as the Deutsche Bank puts it. A clichéd view is that with a higher quantity of disposable income due to rising wages, the middle-class spurs consumption which in turn generates more employment opportunities leading to a further rise in earnings. Thus, the cycle continues. Leaving aside for now that this projection of how the economy functions is rife with flaws, it says nothing about the engagement of the middle-class with the quality of governance. And this is the foremost concern in India today.
Goa has its share of woes. There are myriad signs of neglect and perennial decay of public spaces and infrastructure. Improvements are desperately needed in regulation, accountability and civic amenities such as sanitation, transportation, health care and education. So why is the Goan middle-class voice in public affairs muffled?
One is aware that a sizeable chunk of the Goan population is turning to employment overseas and is therefore, physically absent. But this does not explain why, in a state that scores high on most of the common development indicators, an educated, high-income Goan middle-class is virtually impotent in matters related to governance, despite the valiant efforts of a few individuals and groups.
A comparative study conducted by the Pew Research Center on attitudes of the middle-class and the poor in 13 countries, including India, found that a rise in material wealth does not correspond to greater value placed on democratic ideals such as honest elections, free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. On the contrary, only 49 percent of the middle-class in India in contrast to 57 percent of the poor said they would prefer a strong democracy over a good economy. Some analysts have proposed that this may be because the middle-class does not see its priorities linked as much to a new government as does the poor. It does seem intuitive that governance may matter less to those who can afford to rely on the liberalised market where ‘choice’ is the buzz word than to those dependent upon public subsidies, schemes and the utilitarian largesse of Babus.
If so, this points to a disturbing and dangerous trend. While the middle-class has been ‘opting out’ of public services such as transportation, health care, education, and the like, the Babu class has been cultivating its vote banks among the needy with populist freebies. Does this mean that democracy is being sacrificed at the altar of the market by the comfortable classes? Good governance implies active, broad-based participation of the people for the greater good. Instead we are witnessing the opposite. Despite the universal public healthcare system mandated by the constitution, the National Family Health Survey finds that the private medical sector is more frequently used than the public sector by both urban and rural Indian households. This observation is borne out in Goa because families’ willingness to pay for higher quality medical care rises with their economic capacity in the face of poor quality public medical services. This leaves a pathetically inadequate and ill-equipped public health system for the poor. The last threads of the public health system will continue to deteriorate and may eventually disappear if the middle-class remains ignorant about how it currently functions and uncaring about its future.
Urban growth and its associated traffic chaos in Goa are further examples of the need for intervention by those who partially cause the problems and could be part of the solution. Goan roads reflect social hierarchies with SUVs, cars and scooters competing for space with cyclists, pedestrians and over-crowded buses. The poor who cannot afford to travel any other way are painfully aware that commuting in Goa is time-consuming, uncomfortable and sometimes, dangerous. But they have little choice. As long as the middle-class cocoons itself in private vehicles, wallowing in self-inflicted road congestion, parking despair and fatalities, there is little public pressure from bus-riders for a decent, comfortable and affordable mass transit system. Yet, the collapse of public service delivery systems that cater to the powerless affects everybody as amply proven by our medical system and roads.
Goa’s hospitals, schools, buses and other public services are at risk because the middle-class has forfeited them, lulled into complacency because it can afford better. Some may question the sense in attempting to restore public services when private sector providers can do a better job than the government. Advocates of privatisation praise the choice, quality and affordability of the market, and the ability of consumers to influence these through the law of demand and supply. However, consumer power, even in contemporary India, is still more of an illusion than a reality, and certainly cannot redress the gaping inequalities in access to basic life sustaining services.
Cynics may deny that the middle-class has any power to change the current course of governance, but this group of social actors is uniquely placed to share experiences with the aam aadmi aurat while having the privileges that can be used as tools to challenge the status quo. The middle-class can make a significant difference in the quality of governance when it recognises that its own interests are closely linked with those of people below them. Adopting egalitarianism in one’s lifestyle practices would go a long way to shape demands from the powers that be. This may be the only way to reclaim democracy in the 21st century Goa.
(Dr. Anibel Ferus-Comelo (anibelfc@gmail.com) is a policy analyst trained in sociology and economic geography, London).
