Classical Political Economy, Imperialism and Poverty Description

This talk was hosted by the South Asia Working Group of the Young Scholars Initiative.
The South Asia Working Group provides a platform for young scholars from South Asia (and those interested in the economic issues of the region) to select an issue they wish to work on, collaborate and discuss for better conceptualization of the problem and, debate, critique and improve upon solutions. We also invite scholars to suggest the most pressing problems and challenges to better guide the path for this working group.
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About Utsa Patnaik
Utsa Patnaik taught at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, from 1973 until her retirement in 2010. She obtained her doctorate in economics from Somerville College, Oxford University, before returning to India to join JNU. Her main areas of research interest are the problems of transition from agriculture and peasant predominant societies to industrial society, both in a historical context and at present in relation to India; and questions relating to food security and poverty.
She has authored several books, including Peasant Class Differentiation - A Study in Method (1987), The Long Transition (1999) and The Republic of Hunger and Other Essays (2007). A German translation of selections from the last book appeared in 2009. She has also edited and co-edited several volumes including Chains of Servitude - Bondage and Slavery in India (1985), Agrarian Relations and Accumulation - the Mode of Production Debate in India (1991), The Making of History - Essays presented to Irfan Habib (2000), and The Agrarian Question in Marx and his Successors in two volumes (2007, 2011).
Recent publications, both co-authored with Prabhat Patnaik, are 'A Theory of Imperialism' (2016) and 'Capital and Imperialism' (2021).
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What is the role of luxury items in the trade with India over the years? Maybe traders can make huge profits by trading items that are not really 'needed'. Has this been important?