An Arthashastra Text-Based Indic Economic Model “Dharmicism” for Architecting Civilizational Public Policy Frameworks

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-477-8_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Dharmicism; Yogakshema; Dandniti; Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS)

Abstract

With contemporary economic models like socialism and capitalism failing the world over to deliver prosperity, India needs to relook at its policy of blindly adopting economic models which are antithetical to Indic ways of living. The existing models have outlived their utility, as they merely impinged upon the personal freedom of individuals and over-exploited natural and human resources for only chasing a uni-dimensional metric of profit maximisation at any cost. Time is now long overdue to adopt Dharmic economic models rooted in our indigenous culture which further human prosperity and sustainability. This paper presents the architecture of the “Dharmicism” economic model based on Chanakya’s magnum opus Arthashastra. The authors dwell upon various facets like the role of the state and how it can create a conducive environment for businesses to flourish, a strong rule of law, contract enforcement and citizen-friendly taxation policy. The Dharmicism model focuses on sustainability, cooperation and sustenance by taking a holistic approach and contributing to the prosperity of multiple stakeholders involved. The paper highlights how a conducive ecosystem can be created for entrepreneurs to leverage their innovations for societal well-being. For India to re-emerge as a global superpower and reclaim her rightful place in global order, governance and public policy systems anchored on Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) driven frameworks can offer tangible, potent, agile and scalable solutions not only for India but for a plethora of global issues. This paper draws source-based evidence from Arthashastra to offer potent economic thoughts to solve contemporary economic and governance issues.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Arpit Awasthi
AU  - Chaitanya Solanki
AU  - Battula Kalyana Chakravarthy
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/10
TI  - An Arthashastra Text-Based Indic Economic Model “Dharmicism” for Architecting Civilizational Public Policy Frameworks
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference, Anubhuti: Revitalizing Indian Knowledge Systems for the Modern World (ICIKS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 97
EP  - 113
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-477-8_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-477-8_8
ID  - Awasthi2025
ER  -