Models of welfarism

The distribution of freebies has its limits

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparked fresh debate on the politics of welfarism by taking a crack at politicians who garner votes by promising freebies. He described the practice as distributing revadi (sweets) and should be removed from Indian politics. Though Mr Modi did not name anyone, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has chosen to take those comments personally. On the same day he took time out to argue that far from offering vote-catching sweeteners, his “Delhi Model” of ensuring free education, health care, power, and water for low-income groups was an effort to “lay the foundation of the