Third Way (India)
The Third Way is a socioeconomic philosophy propounded by Shri Dattopant Thengdi, a veteran trade union leader and the founder of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.
It was called the ‘Third Way’, as it was considered an alternative to both capitalism and communism.
His thoughts have been explained in his book “The Third Way”.
He believed that the workers, by contributing their labor to the business, should be entitled to become shareholders and thereby should be given participation in the ownership of the industries.
Ecology is given a lot of importance in his writings. He believed that Nature should be “milked” but not “exploited” or “killed”. The ‘Third way’ believes that education, ecology, economics and ethics--all four must be taken into consideration in an integrated manner for any economic activity.
As has been believed by Gandhians, here too it is believed that material wealth is to be acquired with the object of serving the society.
Consumerism is challenged as not the ultimate goal of life. Thengadi believed that consumerism was not compatible with the spirit of the Hindu culture.
See also
- Dattopantji Thengdi
- Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh
- Hindutva