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P LANNING P ARADIGM
paign in 1992: ‘It is economy, stupid’.
Second, denounce such simplifi cation and
let planning acknowledge ideologies more
seriously. In the Indian context, the sec-
ond approach has more worth since plan-
ning has taken issues of inequality and
poverty, which requires differential treat-
ment of different groups. India has not
seen individuals like Bismark in Germany
or Beveridge in the United Kingdom, i.e.,
those who have made practical application
of the social rights through policy instru-
ments in those countries. But, Planning
Commission has fi lled this void to some
extent. Chelliah (2007) has shown in a
paper how Planning Commission could
undertake the responsibility for develop-
ing backward states through differential
policy prescriptions. This differential
policy prescription (see chapter 4 of Sachs
[2005] or Galbraith [1972] for more de-
tails), which is primarily an equity-based
argumentation could be effective only
when ideologies have been taken seri-
ously. What is the nature of planning when
ideologies are taken more seriously?
Planning in Interactive Contexts
Charles E. Lindblom (1977), in his famous
Politics and Markets, showed how intel-
lectually guided ‘decision’ and so-
cially guided ‘volition’ are two
modes of reaching solutions: “The
14 THE IIPM THINK TANK
Persuasion is demystifying the
impossibility of means-ends dichotomy
and releasing the power of ideas
model of the intellectually guided society,
Model 1, specifi ed that some people in the
society are wise and informed enough to
ameliorate its problems and guide social
change with a high degree of success. Ac-
cording to Model 2, however, ‘everyone
well knows himself to be falliable’, as J. S.
Mill argued in “On Liberty.” While in the
Model 2 interaction becomes part of the
decision making. In the process of interaction
to reach an agreement persuasion or
bargaining or coercion takes place. A
healthy democracy should aspire to carry
out the role of persuasion to a great extent,
which could ensure deepening of the democracy
as well.
Persuasion is not merely about reasoned
arguments and backing with evidence,
but also winning the other comprehensively,
even by appealing to values.
“Power has a rationality that rationality
does not know, whereas rationality does
not have a power that power does not
know” (Flyvberg, 1998: 2). Persuasion with
reasoned arguments alone is the voice of
the experts. Ethnographic revelations
about such expert-led planning have been
scandalous, and has been moderately
criticized as ‘anti-politics machine’ (Ferguson,
1994). Such anti-politics machine
of planning also initially sidelines the
ideational frame of social change by effectively
blocking the new ideas on the
periphery. Good example is to look at how
most of the grandeous plans have ignored
the way social and structural processes
producing poverty at local level. A slowly,
but steadily, growing stream of literature
on social structures of accumulation in
India, has shown how both planning process
as well as market is entrenched in the
social structures. Such entrenchment retards
the development of a liberal capitalism,
as well as threatens the fabric of democracy
by stifl ing the voices which have
limited economic resources.
Persuasion is the ability to take cognizance
of such different voices and to allow
intellectual space not to stifl e new ideas.
“Practical men, who believe themselves to
be quite exempt from any intellectual infl
uence, are usually the slaves of some
defunct economist.” (Keynes 1936: 383).
A persuasive planner could act as a policy
entrepreneur. A policy entrepreneur is
engaged in streamlining the problems and
solutions to the political environment.
Technically, this process is called as ‘opening
of policy windows’ (Kingdon 1995;
Roberts & King, 1991). Properties of problems
in pluralist democracies are often
‘constructed’ than given. Solutions are