Modernization without Westernization (Part 2)
By: Indo-Christian Culture
Tags: India, Poverty, Modernization, Westernization, Christianity

Note to the Reader

This article is a follow up to “Modernization Without Westernization? (Part 1)”. The article deals with several foundational concepts such as the definition of tradition and modernity, cultural evolution and why previous attempts to resist Westernization have failed. Highly recommend you read that first before reading this.

In a developing region such as South Asia, we can not discuss any alternative to Western consumer-capitalism unless the core of the idea directly addresses the poverty and inequity facing the majority of its inhabitants. For this reason the overview quickly shifts from cultural values and focuses on economic and institutional barriers to escaping poverty, and what a solution to them might be.

The Overview

I actually made a part two to this article on Twitter back in November which may have been why I’ve been so lazy to write this article. I’m posting the contents of that Twitter thread below.

The Christian ascetic Sadhu Sundar Singh recognized a century ago that Christianity could not coexist with the modern ideologies of communism (shoots you in the head) and capitalism (poisons you slowly).

Western Civilization made a fatal error in assuming it was possible for Christianity and consumer-capitalism to coexist. Christian virtues that paved the way for its success were misused and exploitation, environmental degradation and the embrace of a hedonistic outlook ensued.

The claim that Christian virtue led to the rise of the West isn’t just a vague boastful claim. Dr. Joseph Henrich, Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University has written on how Christianity promotes social cooperation outside outside the family.

These advancements (literacy, women’s rights, fostering innovation, and cooperation outside the family) were never done with the intention of making capitalist gains. But when capitalism did arise, these values were redirected away from Christianity to achieve capitalist goals

The Amish may be the best modern day example of this. They are a thriving, growing community of Christians who live in self-sufficient, tightly knit communities built on sustainable living and Christian virtue.

The Amish are not ‘anti-technology’. But they evaluate new technology to see if it will help or hurt them from achieving their goal of Christian living. Compare this to our own society where all new technology is embraced and consequences considered only after the fact.

We have our own South Asian Christian intellectuals who have advocated for alternatives to capitalism/communism, whose centralized and standardized nature is alien to the natural heterogeneity of South Asia. One such man was the Indian economist & freedom fighter J.C. Kumarappa.

J.C. Kumarappa advocated for an economic system that was decentralized and local. This allows villages to self-improve without relying on a centralized state. This allows even uneducated and poor people to make changes where the govt. failed for decades.

The centralized Western state that post-independence South Asia adopted also enforced alien notions of cultural uniformity on regions that had been heterogenous centuries. As history has shown, diversity was not an obstacle to peace until we assumed a state must be uniform.

Governance that respected inherent heterogeneity was successful (India’s 20+ official language), despite the critiques from Western academics. When cultural uniformity was embraced it only led to division and bloodshed like the wars in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka over language.

South Asians (Christian and non-Christian) must recognize it is impossible to adopt Western economics (consumer-capitalism) and governance (centralized uniformity) while remaining immune to the hedonism, individualism, and atomization that has overtaken the West.

Addressing a Misconception

The response to this thread when it was posted was highly positive especially among South Asian Christians. The only opposition was from some Westerners who seemed to confuse the writings of Indian thinkers like J.C. Kumarappa with the Western ideology of traditionalism. J.C. Kumarappa was not a traditionalist. He was extremely opposed to caste, calling for its destruction not just as a social practice but in reversing its economic impact, he did not want to see the lower caste simply transform to be the lower class. He was also strong supporter of women’s rights and this is shown in his life long work to practically improve rural India through interventions.

Kumarappa had no interest in preserving social institutions that clashed so greatly with Christian teachings on the importance of human dignity. Furthermore with the overwhelming majority of South Asia’s Christians coming from lower caste or tribal lineages it would be bizarre to propose a system that would support them being at the bottom. This would be incredibly apparent to any Indian, to the point that it wouldn’t be mentioned, but it’s understandable how Westerners unfamiliar with Indian thought would overlook that.

A Side Note for the South Asian Christian Middle/Upper Class Reader

As I said the majority of this proposed alternative addresses poverty and inequity because those are the biggest issues facing our fellow South Asians. However I also know that if you’re reading this you probably come from the middle and upper class. So here’s a quick message for you (and me). The West has secularized and lost its faith. Even its most religious parts are less faithful than they were a few decades back. This is a result of embracing an economic and social ideology, consumer-capitalism, that has reoriented all values towards profit generation. In a world where your only two roles are to consumer and generate profit (which may or may not also generate social value) Christianity has zero place. For a generation or two it occupies an walks a tightrope being something you do on Sundays and on holidays before inevitably falling off and vanishing. If South Asia’s middle and upper class Christians embrace the matra of consumer-capitalism, which at first glance does not directly conflict with Christianity, then it is guaranteed down the line atheism will take root down the line.

The embrace of trendy Western ideas to fight this (Christian pop/rock music, youth groups, retreat centres, “cool pastors”) will not prevent this this. We know that because it obviously didn’t work in the West.

Further Reading