What Did Swaraj Mean to Gandhi?

In this light, he saw democracy in the context of the larger issue facing contemporary civilization, which, in his words, was no longer "governed by moral principle, and whose marvelous genius of discovery and intention is monstrously distorted towards its own ruin."

Gandhi delineates the liberal democratic idea as "the power of man is his ability to command the services of others" since doing so results in "the enslavement of man by temptations of money and of luxuries that money can buy." The strength of the average person is found in his capacity for growth based on the shared essential identity of all. This is the core of "Gandhian democracy growing from within, not an imposition from above."

Gandhi's motivation was justice, not altruism. Because it was unfair, colonialism was immoral. It was impossible to think about “caste” without considering the "dominator" and "dominated". It was both unfair and unethical.

The state itself, according to Gandhi, "represents violence in a concentrated and organized form."

Therefore, expanding the role of the state is today's antithesis of democracy because, by using more and more force, the state risks becoming "caught in the coils of violence, itself and failing to develop non-violence at any time."

In actuality, the modern state faces a paradox of power in which there is greater power and less democracy and individual freedom.

The idea of a dictatorship in transition is a fallacy since the socialist state tends to be more powerful than a Leviathan. People can choose a dictator; they cannot order him to abdicate.

The welfare state with ever-increasing responsibilities has terribly strengthened its grip over the individuals and in the marriage between capitalism and democracy, capitalism becomes more important than democracy. The coils of counterviolence frequently catch it. Violence can remove a few horrendous rulers, but never all of them, he thought.

Bearing in mind that repressing violence is like turning in circles, decentralization is the realistic option as a result because "centralization cannot be sustained and defended without adequate force."

Politics still faces a problem: either it develops a decentralized, nonviolent political system or stays enmeshed in violence. As a result, Gandhi promoted the idea of the least amount of government, invoking Thoreau's dictum that the finest government exercises the fewest restrictions.

Without equality, the value of liberty is insufficient. For equality to mean anything, it must also refer to social and economic equality in addition to political equality, according to him.

Western democracies have stumbled and failed to achieve their objectives. Individual liberty is in danger if people adopt en-masse this clip-raved thirst for equality. Governments are given the power to gradually restrict individual liberties in the name of conformity in order to advance the idea of equality.

The cornerstones of the Gandhian worldview are the concepts of justice and the supremacy of an individual life. Swa, or the self, was the highest being. This "swa" could not be colonized by any force.

Gandhi did not see Swaraj as a means of achieving British independence. He stated emphatically, "Real swaraj will come, not through the acquisition of power by a select few, but through the development of the ability by everybody to oppose power when it is abused.”

In other words, Swaraj is to be approached by empowering the populace to recognize their power to regulate and balance authority. Similarly, it's crucial to maintain and develop the ability to defy authority and speak up when it goes too far.

Gandhi envisioned a swaraj economic system as a viable alternative to the mainstream economic system, which renders the common man helpless in matters involving the production and distribution of resources.

The basic principle of economic Swaraj is focused on a needs basis not on enhancing wealth. The swaraj's purpose places boundaries on human desire.

The following seven factors can be used to gauge the success of economic swaraj:

The Swadeshi (self-sufficiency) concept states that whatever is made or produced in the village must be used first and foremost by its residents. Trading between towns and villages should be kept to a minimum. You can purchase goods and services from outside the community if they cannot be produced there.

Swadeshi steers clear of economic reliance on outside market forces that can expose the local community. Additionally, it prevents needless, unhealthy, wasteful, and environmentally damaging transportation.

Gandhi's belief in the rule of non-possession gave rise to the concept of trusteeship. His religious conviction that everything belonged to God and came from God served as its foundation.

He proposed this idea as a means of settling all social and economic issues that exist in the world without resorting to violence, as a response to the ownership and wealth disparities that exist. Gandhian economics therefore places human dignity—not material wealth—at its core.

With only human dignity in mind, Gandhian economics seeks to distribute material riches.