Democratic Capitalism Only Way to Lift Next 2 Million Out of Poverty

KOCHI:
“Democratic capitalism is the only way to lift the next two million out of poverty,” said Dr Arthur C. Brooks, President of American Enterprises Institute (AEI), an influential Washington-based public policy think-tank in a talk hosted by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) at its office in the city.
Dr. Brooks was delivering a talk on ‘Abundance without Attachment’. He added that 8 percent of Kerala’s population live abroad and contribute to one-third of Kerala’s GDSP.  Brooks pointed out that the critics of free enterprise are often people with abundance of wealth and it is the poor who are empowered by capitalism.”
Deliberating on the paradox where man seeks prosperity on one hand and finds materialism repelling and alienating on the other, Brooks added that the popular conception among Americans that poverty has increased in the United States is fundamentally wrong and that statistics suggests the antithesis to be true. “Getting money from the government will not eradicate poverty but training them to be enterprising individuals and earn money, will,” he added.
“Kerala is a state where socialist ideologies dominate the popular discourse and it’s time we tolerate different schools of thought,” said Dr. D. Dhanuraj, Chairman, CPPR. The talk was followed by an interactive session with the audience moderated by Sadanand Dhume, Resident fellow at AEI. People from various walks of life including senior citizens and students participated in the session. Former Raw Chief P.K. Hormis Tharakan (Adviser to CPPR), Professor K V Thomas (Senior Fellow, CPPR), and Professor (Retired) K.C. Abraham (Academic Adviser, CPPR) were also present.