Thanks Roli! For a chance to explain why it’s ideological(Thread).
(1)Many well meaning people supportUniversal basic income as it helps the poorest. That’s an ideological choice. They don’t care about the drivers of inequality and poverty if the consequences are addressed.1/n https://twitter.com/asthanaroli/status/1319865963215343616

(2) Climate warriors want a zero carbon future They don’t care how we get there. That’s ideological because they don’t care if a person wins or loses from the transition as long as they are compensated They don’t think about more or less inclusive zero carbon pathways 2/n

They don’t care whether a unit of energy is used fir air conditioning or to bring light to a poor household so children can study as long as that energy does not come from coal. That’s ideological.
(3)People talk about labour in agriculture as a burden of underdevelopment 3/n

Since this is black history month, good place to point to out that they are Unwittingly misquoting Arthur Lewis, a black economist from the 1950s few of them have heard about. Bombay. Go read some. 4/n

The objective of agriculture is to produce raw materials for people to consume. As cheaply as possible. Hence food inflation is closely monitored. No one cares about whether people can prosper by working in agriculture To prosper they must migrate sectors. Thats ideological. 5/n

Many Economists like inflation targeting. They like the central bank to set the interest rate They don’t want the price of capital to be market determined. But they want the wage rate to be market determined. That’s ideological. 6/n

I’ve given examples of how “ “technocratic” solutions to the problems of the day are underpinned by ideological choices. My ideology is that:
I care about the causes of poverty and inequality, not just addressing their consequences. 7//n

I care about people contributing to prosperity not just about in it.
I care about whether people contribute to delivering a zero carbon pathway not just about how quickly it can be achieved. 8/n

I care about a prosperous agricultural sector not just about making it viable by “ absorbing” those who contribute to its output in other sectors and geographies 9/n

I care about the relative price of labour and capital and will call out an ideology which is willing to administer one but not the other on “ technocratic” grounds. 10/10