Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
Is India Modern?
Is India Modern?
India is a bifurcated nation that has existed for just over 75 years. Its parliamentary
structure mirrors that of many established democracies. However, given its relatively recent
independence, one must ask: Do India's modern democratic features truly reflect deeper societal
transformation, or are they merely institutional?
How Do We Measure Modernity?
To evaluate whether India is genuinely modern, we will focus on key socio-economic
indicators commonly associated with modern democratic nations. Among these, industrialization
stands out as the most critical factor driving modernization. Industrialization is a set of economic
processes and technological advancements that create efficient ways of producing value
(Simandon 2009, 419). Industrialization gives rise to two important byproducts: an expanding
middle class and improved access to education. The middle class or bourgeoisie, as defined by
Ernest Mandel, are the owners of the industrial means of production (Mandel 1964, 29), while
the expansion education refers to a greater ability to assist individuals in their intellectual
development (Arslan 2018, 1). These byproducts serve as intervening variables in the
development of modernity. By examining industrialization alongside these two outcomes, we can
better assess the extent of India’s modern transformation.
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
No Bourgeoisie No Democracy
Industrialization, my independent variable, is often credited with expanding world trade
and the creation of the free market. However, an effect that is not widely talked about is
industrialization's role in the rise of the middle class, my intervening variable. Before the
industrial revolution, the economy of a re-industrial society was largely dominated by
agriculture. Land was cultivated by the peasant class and owned by an aristocracy. In all
pre-industrial societies with a dominant agricultural economy, the aristocracy held majority
power in their nation's government. Consequently, the relationship between the aristocracy and
the working class was often violent. The aristocracy would resort to oppression to maintain
power over a popular majority that had no representation in government. However, this
relationship between the aristocracy and the working class began to end during the rise of
industrialism and the growing middle class. During the Industrial Revolution, the bourgeoisie
would invest capital into industrial businesses, growing the economy exponentially while
simultaneously spreading wealth to the working class through trickle-down economics.
Bourgeoisie and Modernity
The effect of this distribution of wealth as a result of the industrial revolution and the
bourgeoisie was a growth in social capital. When referring to social capital, it will be defined as
shared social traits among a society that facilitate trust (Bhandari 2009, 480). The bourgeoisie
created social capital that was centered around wealth and economic interests. However, unlike
in a pre-industrial society where social capital was shared between different social classes, the
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
social capital created by the bourgeoisie was shared amongst all classes. When examining the
Industrial Revolution's effect on creating a modern democratic state, social capital is its most
pivotal product in developing modernity. Social capital creates efficiency in an industrialized
society. When referring to political efficacy, I’m referring to an individual belief that their
political participation affects their government (Campbell 1954, 187). For a modern democratic
state to not only be formed but also exist throughout time, it must have and maintain high levels
of political efficacy. Hence, the industrialization of a nation's economy and the rise of a middle
class is pivotal in creating a modern democratic state because of its ability to increase social
capital and raise political efficacy.
Industrialization equals Education
The Industrial Revolution also had a profound effect on the expansion of education,
education being the assistance of individuals in their intellectual development. As an agrarian
economy moves towards industrialization, there is a need for new workers to go into the
economy that requires educated individuals to work on complex machinery. Now, initially, this
educational requirement wasn’t widely found within the economics of early industrializing
nations because you didn’t necessarily need to be able to read to work in a factory during the
mid-18th century. However, as new technologies brought complexities to the production of
industrial goods, there began to be a larger demand for an educated workforce (Beno 2019, 1).
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
Education Equals Modernity
As education grows within a society, so does its civic participation. An educated
individual is aware of the political structures that govern their state and is inclined to participate
to push their values and beliefs (McAvoy 2014, 1). Civic participation is crucial in a modern
democracy's sustainability as it constantly allows a government's interests to be aligned with
society. Thus, industrialization's facilitation of education's expansion to produce material value
has increased civic participation, which is essential for a modern democracy.
Evidence of variables.
Evidence of Modernity
Through the causal evaluation of our independent and intervening variables, we found
that modernity in India can be best understood through the lens of its industrial development and
the expansion of its middle class. Over the past several decades, India has undergone significant
structural and economic transformations that reflect its transformation into a modern state and
relate to our independent and intervening variables. By examining metrics such as the percentage
of India’s GDP from industry, labor distribution in the industrial sector, and urban migration
trends, we can find evidence that supports the development of industrial production. On the other
hand, new business growth and the role of the stock market in the national economy can show us
trends in the growth of the middle class.
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
Industry in GDP?
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all produced goods and services.
While GDP alone can’t measure the amount of industrial production in a country, if we find how
much of the GDP comes from industrial production, we can measure the rate of industrialization
in a certain country. In India, from the year 1960 to 2010, there was a 10% increase in the
percentage of the GDP coming from industrial production. In contrast, the percentage of the
GDP that comes from agriculture has decreased from 41% to 17% in the same period. This trend
in GDP proportion is evidence of India's economy moving away from a primarily agrarian-based
economy to an industrial one.
Industry in Labor?
Another significant metric for assessing industrialization is the percentage of labor
employed in the industrial sector. Historically, India has been a predominantly agrarian society,
but the labor force has gradually shifted toward industry. Since 1992, the percentage of workers
in the labor force has grown from 14% to 26%. In the same period, the percentage of workers in
the agrarian workforce dropped from 63% to 43%. This trend suggests a labor force that is
moving away from agriculture and into industry.
Urban Migrations
Urbanization is a key indicator of industrialization. It shows the migration of individuals
toward industrial hubs that provide labor jobs. Unlike our trends found in industry GDP and
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
industry labor, the evidence found does not suggest high rates of industrialization. The rural
population of India has constantly had a higher percentage of the total population, conflicting
with global trends.
Businesses and the Middle Class
As defined in our third mandate, the middle class is the owners of the industrial means of
production. Using this definition, if a country's number of businesses increases, then by
definition, its middle class must also be growing. Since 2006, India's number of businesses has
grown from 49,000 to over 173,000. Giving us evidence that suggests a growth in India's middle
class.
Stocks and the Middle Class
The stock public market was created to sell securities that represent ownership in a
corporation. If an individual buys a security in a corporation, then he or she owns a percentage of
that company. This means that, by definition, any person who owns a security of stock is a
member of the middle class since they own a means of industrial production. Finding the
percentage. However, when applying this logic to India, the data is limited. The data on the
growth of India's stock market only begin in the year 2000, despite the stock market being
established in 1855. However, when you exclude the limited period and the sharp drop in stock
market value in 2008 due to the economic recession, 2011, there has been a 40% increase in the
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
value of India's Stock market. This trend, although short, shows the increased involvement in the
purchasing of corporation securities, and as a result, a growth in the middle class.
India Is Modern
Although there is evidence in the urbanization trends of India that suggests India's lack of
modernity, its the presence of economic trends that ultimately reveals that India’s modern. Since
the 1960s, India has experienced a growth in industrial production and labor force while also
growing the value of the stock market and the influx of new businesses. All the data that we have
examined, except urbanization trends, point to a modern India.
Prince Ntezimana
Michael Lusztig
Intro to Comparative Politics
3/7/2025
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