Accumulation through Nationalism: The Politics of Profit in “Neoliberal” Sri Lanka

Thomas Widger

It is worth remembering that the introduction of open economic reforms in the country cannot be dichotomized from the tacit encouragement of nationalist forces that led to the outbreak of the civil war. In his analysis of the continued twinning of capitalism and nationalism, Tom Widger draws attention to what he terms ‘philanthronationalism’ as a characteristic of private capital in the country. Widger demonstrates how the nationalist imagination of Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes in Sri Lanka function to legitimize and encourage capital accumulation, while gaining state sanction for the exploitative economic activities of these companies.

Accumulation through Nationalism: The Politics of Profit in “Neoliberal” Sri Lanka by Social Scientists’ Association on Scribd