Law is a normative value to help society live in collectivity and harmony. For law to be a supreme regulator of all, it must become integral in theory and practice. An integral dimension of law helps State, society and legal systems to balance and harmonize competing claims arising out of complexity and heterogeneity of life and changing needs. Professor Dr. K. Parameswaran outlines how law must integrate knowledge from other disciplines; bring them under what law wants from them. This concluding article, Part III, discloses the ‘integral dimension of law’ that exists between Law and Economics.
There are two ways in which laws or generalizations of assumptions in economic theories are made-namely inductive and deductive reasoning. These two ways seen from integral dimension of law which the current author writes in the series of these columns, pose real problems to justice and well-being of individual and the collective in the society which the State ought to responsibly provide under the Law of the Constitution for which it is founded. Inductive method known as empirical method reasons from particular facts to arrive at general principles through data collection, arrangement and analysis. Observe, hypothesize, generalize and verify are steps involved which give benefits of a reality-check, statistical reliability and dynamism to changing conditions that bridge past – present to future.
Here, integral dimension of law points out serious drawbacks in this; like, quantitative data cannot give qualitative conclusions, generalizations can go faulty, subconscious bias from investigator can affect invstigative methods, and finally time and cost involved are huge compared to benefits arrived. Deductive method known as the abstract, analytical or a-priori method reasons through deriving conclusions from general truths, apply general truths for conclusions. Perception of the problem for inquiry, assumption and definition of terms for deducting hypothesis and finally to test hypothesis, prove or disprove in conclusion. If investigator and investigation is insightful and intuitive in understanding problems, solutions can miraculously come easily, simply, timely, less-costly and reliably too
Here too, deficiencies can come if insight and intuition are absent in investigator and investigation, and assumptions and conclusions can go fatal. Over-abstraction, non universality and irrelevance to a particular time, context and circumstance are also other problems of deductive reasoning. Only way out for both methods of reasoning is to see merits and demerits of both, and they be made complimentary in mutual applications to cancel their defects and augment their benefits. This is as good as the indispensable utility of balance in rowing on both sides of a boat on a voyage on sea.
Existing economics largely market-oriented in nature, is strained either by abuse of capitalizing tendencies or conserving Nature leading to non-use of resources. This has led to a deceitful art of selfconsented concessions of utilitarianism played out badly on Mother Nature whose five essential elements form basis of economics as well as its future. Should not economics be oriented towards protection, preservation and best utilization of Mother Nature of her five elements and their resources? Should not economic activity be collective and cooperative in sharing benefits when resources are unevenly distributed by Nature or, are they not common to all when Nature is common and collective to all?
In this context, economic justice, liberty, equality and fraternity need to be restudied and restructured through integral dimensions of unified knowledge in society through law and legal systems. It can be simply summarized in value-systems like; opportunity without discrimination to enjoy and self-fulfill oneself through services and productions based on natural resources that are common and hence collective, social well-being and inclusion!
Of everyone in heterogeneous collectivity without tension between supply and demand and the resultant exploitation of opportunity, inherent potential for free expression of every individual energy to heighten maximization of self through joyous work and proportional income, inbuilt capacity to take not only rational decisions but conscious of adopted rationality and finally, diversity and access of choices to promote multiplicity to avoid uniformity.
Constitutional and legal social-welfare must go beyond economics of mere monetary units, quantifications and treatments. It must include safeguarding deeper psychological costs and benefits like peace and harmony without economically addressing and justifying a disturbance to order through a stressful litigating relationship between plaintiff and defendant. In simple terms, economics must become normative and larger than materialistic value in orientation. Existing positive theory and stature given to economics, concerned all the time with ‘what is’, cannot justify the true value of economics that it inherently possesses in its deeper realms of truth where it can change the course of human and social development.
Else the existing economics through its theories and tools (macro and micro) cannot answer and retrieve what they unfortunately created by putting a doubt on the discipline of economics; poverty, inequality in the distribution of resources, first-exploitation of resources, gloomy disruption to biodiversity, agriculture and ecology, aggressive concentration of commerce through industry without any respect for sustainable development, inefficiency and corruption from mammoth administration and bureaucracy dealing with economic structure, depletion of non-renewable sources and finally skewed and wooing litigations adding to painful woes of life. Positive economics must be turned towards positive technology to affirm life holistically for everyone in society.
Interdisciplinary researchers from the discipline of law and economics must take note of these integral dimensions of law and add new value system to State, Constitution and its legal system. What are the possible ways?
One, natural resources that are unevenly distributed within a national jurisdiction must be made national resources through amendment to the Constitution in the respective Lists enumerated under Seventh Schedule.
Two, non-renewable natural or national resources must be utilized only with the test of best-protection policy with inclusive process of sustainable development.
Three, Constitution and legal system must consider preservation-doctrine Clause over production of natural or national resources only when national cause or public policy and good is explained.
Four, technology must be positive and wholistic to the natural or national resources in terms of self-preservation, self-protection, self-sustenance of substance.
Five, positive technology must be developed for course correction of all environmental and ecological problems brought out by greedy trade and commerce leading to destruction of basic nature, increase in pollution, global warming and deforestation.
Six, tax-benefits or subsidies be given to business and commerce houses that support sustainable development and practice corporate social responsibility to green economics and accounting.
Seven, except for land of private housing, fiscal regulations shall be made for holistic use of lands for all other commercial purposes.
Eight, abolition of all kinds of concessions and subsidies on production that are against ecosystem and biodiversity.
Nine, localized industrialization with available resources be encouraged to avoid unnecessary stress on export and import and disturbance to natural balance of native resources.
Ten, proper monitoring of production, supply and demand.
Eleven, respect for nourishment of flora and fauna as they are indispensable part of life-cycle.
Twelve, to systematically remove built-in false values that have resulted in socioeconomic tensions and loss of human rights through lop-sided growth, development and globalization.
Thirteen, to abolish legalization of concession-values in the form of polluterpays and precautionary principles, and to go straight for protect-preserve-progress methods of life-styles and remove economic determinisms as solution for pollution.
Fourteen, to bring in academics a shift in core value system of life like promotion of wholistic living, assertion of true-value for every single object and article, transcendental values over utilitarianism and finally,
Fifteen, to rethink and restructure philosophy of worldly materialism from the viewpoint of truth of all existences as explained in Sri Aurobindo’s writings where all layers, levels and organisms of reality have an integral awareness of conscious spirit of existence unified in all things.
This integral dimension applied in law and extended to law and economics or to economic analysis of law will harmonize the tug-of-war or the fight between two camps of thought; one, materialist denial of spirit or value in everything and, other, ascetic and nihilistic refusal to accept material growth and progress of evolutionary development. This integral economics is the future of humanity in the world of goods and services. Follow the next new series of integral dimension of law between law and ethics
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