In 1952, when much of modern political economy — with its central role for democratic governments, labour rights, free trade, and liberal finance — was being born, an American cartoonist called Charles M Schultz created a character called Charlie Brown. A key player in his comics was a very small boy called Linus, who clung tenaciously to his blanket.
That blanket has come to be known as a “comfort” blanket. It is now a generic term for things that make you feel secure. Take it away and you start feeling uncomfortable and edgy.
Many professional Indian economists today, as well as others
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