The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c15.46

c15.46

Municipal by-laws and regulations relating to patents, licenses and charters are in this manner provided for in the theory of the *nîti-śâstras*. The logic of such control exercised by the *dharma-staaten* over the economic and social life of the people is essentially the same as that at the back of German state-socialism and modern "nationalization" schemes which have culminated in the "public ownership" movement. And this is all the more evident in the enumeration of the crafts and industries that the Śukra state seeks encourage.³ The list of productive and aesthetic arts that demand the "developmental" attention of the government according to the *Śukra-nîti* together with the schedule of duties⁴ that Kautilya, Manu and the *Mahâbhârata* recommend for the king furnishes the Hindu theory of "enlightened despotism" with its hydra-headed bureaucracy. Whether the *prakriti* exercise the initiative and sense of responsibility for their material and moral development or not, the state of the *nîti-śâstras* must address itself to the problem of national culture. As the promoter of *dharma*, and the creator of *kâla* (time or epoch) the state is necessarily the organizer of patriotism and the pioneer of civilization, — indeed, the chief dynamo of social engineering. French *étatisme* is identical in spirit.