Sans ideology or supra ideology

Short sight conclusion is evil. Really that is what it seems to be to me from Haseeb A Drabu writing in today’s Mint. He writes:

• It is interesting to see how the larger intellectual sphere is developing and social democracy and globalisation are being confronted at the thought leadership level. In the post-liberalisation period, the traditionally dichotomous categories of the dissident intellectual and the establishment intellectual have become irrelevant. Of late, there has been a restructuring of links between the state and the intellectuals: The latter are now open and willing to be part of the establishment. Be it the eminent Leftist economist Prabhat Patnaik, or the liberal thinker-entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani or the radical social activist Mihir Shah or right-wing economist Kaushik Basu, all have been absorbed in the government.

My problem with above paragraph is the line reading “right-wing economist Kaushik Basu”. If any one who have read his earlier and until recent writings would not really say the word “right-wing” if they, its no doubt, it would turn to be an absolute stupidity!!

Particularly one should read his book Economic Graffiti: Essays for Everyone (Oxford University Press. 1991) and ponder before wording him as “right-wing” or become “right-wing”