Economists of Kalecki’s circle on Nehruvian planning: a case of heterodox approaches to modernization

This paper examines the theoretical contributions of Michał Kalecki and his circle to economic planning, focusing primarily on their engagement with planning in independent India. It situates their work within the broader contexts of the Cold War, the Non-Aligned Movement, major development debates, and the biographical trajectories of the economists involved. Polish economists served as advisers to various government bodies in the newly independent Republic of India. Additionally, members of Kalecki’s circle conducted the Advanced Courses in National Planning for students from less developed countries at the Warsaw School of Statistics and Planning. The dispersed body of work produced by Kalecki and his colleagues and students – emerging from global knowledge exchange – is interpreted as an example of unorthodox Marxism. In contrast to the dominant paradigms of their time, their approach emphasized immediate improvements in the conditions of the most disadvantaged groups and maintained a skeptical stance toward large-scale modernization projects.