New Books in British Studies

Vikram Visana, "Uncivil Liberalism: Labour, Capital and Commercial Society in Dadabhai Naoroji’s Political Thought" (Cambridge UP, 2022)


Listen Later

Uncivil liberalism: Labour, Capital and Commercial Society in Dadabhai Naoroji's Political Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. Vikram Visana studies how ideas of liberty from the colonised South claimed universality in the North. Recovering the political theory of Dadabhai Naoroji, India's pre-eminent liberal, this book offers an original global history of this process by focussing on Naoroji's preoccupation with social interdependence and civil peace in an age of growing cultural diversity and economic inequality.

Dr. Visana shows how Naoroji used political economy to critique British liberalism's incapacity for civil peace by linking periods of communal rioting in colonial Bombay with the Parsi minority's economic decline. He responded by innovating his own liberalism, characterised by labour rights, economic republicanism and social interdependence maintained by freely contracting workers. Significantly, the author draws attention to how Naoroji seeded 'Western' thinkers with his ideas as well as influencing numerous ideologies in colonial and post-colonial India. In doing so, the book offers a compelling argument which reframes Indian 'nationalists' as global thinkers.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in British StudiesBy Marshall Poe

  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4

4

3 ratings


More shows like New Books in British Studies

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,408 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,631 Listeners

Coffee House Shots by The Spectator

Coffee House Shots

183 Listeners

Americano by The Spectator

Americano

33 Listeners

The Book Club by The Spectator

The Book Club

9 Listeners

John Anderson: Conversations by John Anderson

John Anderson: Conversations

285 Listeners

Today in Focus by The Guardian

Today in Focus

984 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

2,950 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

12,493 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,170 Listeners

Ukraine: The Latest by The Telegraph

Ukraine: The Latest

1,758 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,006 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

311 Listeners

Battle Lines by The Telegraph

Battle Lines

157 Listeners

Alas Vine & Hitchens by Daily Mail

Alas Vine & Hitchens

11 Listeners