Asian Drama

Gunnar Myrdal’s ambitious project Asian Drama tackled development issues in South Asia. Myrdal’s work aimed to understand the complexities of underdevelopment from an institutional perspective. Myrdal highlighted the challenges of selecting value premises for Asian nations due to their heterogeneity and the low political participation outside the elite. He emphasized modernization ideals like rationality, productivity, and social discipline while critiquing the “soft state” for its weak implementation of policies. Myrdal addressed the significant role of non-economic factors like attitudes and institutions, arguing that these must change to break the cycle of poverty. He underscored the importance of family planning in tackling rapid population growth in order to increase living standards. But he criticized the practical implementation of planning in South Asia, noting that it often favored the upper social strata. Asian Drama published in 1968 received mixed reviews, praised for its comprehensive analysis but critiqued for not emphasizing that development requires more market mechanisms and foreign trade. Despite criticism, Myrdal’s institutional approach and focus on both economic and non-economic factors when implementing policy to reduce poverty remain influential.