The forces in a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The statement expresses a classic social-democratic/anti-laissez-faire critique: market outcomes in capitalist systems can compound advantage through ownership of capital, unequal bargaining power, and differential access to education, credit, and political influence. “If left unchecked” implies Nehru’s emphasis on the need for countervailing institutions—state planning, regulation, progressive taxation, and welfare measures—to prevent widening inequality and social instability. In the Indian context often associated with Nehru’s thought, it aligns with the post-independence commitment to a mixed economy and planning as a way to reconcile political democracy with economic justice, warning that formal equality can be undermined by entrenched economic disparities.