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- Title
Thiruvalluvar's Vision: Polity and Economy in Thirukkural.
- Authors
Nagarajan, K. V.
- Abstract
This article discusses the political and economic ideas expounded by Thiruvalluvar, a single author, in the Tamil sacred book Thirukkural. Among the ancient ethical writings of the world that have come down to us is Thirukkural. It is written in accessible Tamil in the form of couplets, and its praise has been sung for generations. In recent years, it has been translated into several Indian and European languages. Among the Tamil-speaking people, Thirukkural is revered as the Tamil veda, or sacred book, for its ethical teachings. Yet this work and its contents are hardly known to historians of economic thought. Thiruvalluvar's polity, or statecraft, is not based on democracy, but on royalty. The king, however, is bound to codes of justice. Thiruvalluvar discusses how an ideal state headed by a just king will look, without any trace of realpolitik or cynicism. Thiruvalluvar's state is, then, an exercise in applied ethics. Thiruvalluvar's commentary dealing with the economy does not constitute a comprehensive treaty on economics. It rather focuses on important topics of poverty and prosperity: he condemns poverty and explores ways to promote prosperity. He articulates a vision of cooperative endeavor for the common benefit of society.
- Subjects
SACRED books; TAMIL literature; ECONOMICS; POLITICAL science; POVERTY; APPLIED ethics
- Publication
History of Political Economy, 2005, Vol 37, Issue 1, p123
- ISSN
0018-2702
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1215/00182702-37-1-123