Role that Compassion could Play in India’s Economic Revival

Context: Contemporary economic policy discourse to deal with the pandemic induced crisis has failed to recognize the importance of social dimension and compassion in its recovery and stimulus plans.

Policy objectives of Compassion based Economic Reconstruction Plan 

• Humanitarian relief, economic revival, and long-term reconstructions.
• Setting aside all other differences and focus on the public health crisis and its consequences.
• Progressive social-justice narratives should not get in the way of simple truth-telling.
• The relationship between police forces and citizens should not take an adversarial turn.
• Redistribution of wealth will not achieve compassion as a goal of public policy.

• Higher taxes and mandatory corporate social responsibility do not create compassion.

The need for a Compassionate Society 

• Building Social Capital: focus on rebuilding social capital with greater compassion across society as a base to build the economy.
• Avoid humanitarian tragedies: making migrants feel safe, making food available, saving small businesses, and giving money directly to those who are in most need. 

• Compassion as being a social issue: Important for national prosperity and well-being.
• Attention to the need for a compassionate society: Solution to many social and economic problems. 
• Compassionless measures used to control the outbreak: led to social division and generalized mistrust that in turn constrained economic growth.
• Compassionless political parties and ideologies: tends to promote policies of “us versus them" that creates resentment.

Way Forward

• Buddhist philosophy: compassion can be brought by internal transformation, brought about by reflection, meditation, and the experience of benevolent living.
• Neuroscientific view: compassion as a quality can be cultivated in individuals over time.

Conclusion: Compassion as being a social issue or personal matter does not absolve the role of public policy, hence the public policy challenge to make compassion a social outcome and create incentives for compassionate behavior.