Only Freedom, No Responsibility

I find all the talk on 'Freedom With Responsibility' very off-putting.

For a reason:

Our enemies, the socialists, believe in 'Power Without Responsibility'.

Indeed, when they 'come into office' they always say that they have 'come into power' – and the crucial word 'responsibility' is never there in their lexicon.

Nothing works in India that is provided by the government, and not a single agency or official can be identified with the responsibility. The buck never stops anywhere in India – it is always passed on.

So why should we, the libertarians of India, not be rabble rousers ourselves, singing the song of Liberty loud and clear, without using that party-pooper word 'responsibility'?

People get excited about Freedom. Let us excite them.

And since no one wants responsibility, let us avoid the very word.

I met a Sardarji in a casino in Kathmandu once, a rather drunken Sardarji, who told me that he had come there with 12 lakh rupees to lose. He said had already lost 10; that he was now proceeding to lose the balance 2 lakhs before returning home to Delhi. He added that he was having the time of his life: he really enjoyed losing all this money. Is this ‘freedom without responsibility’?

Recall ‘Me and Bobby McGee': "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose… "

I do believe my Sardarji enjoyed this extreme kind of freedom – and God bless him for it.

Contrast this with the other Sardarjis: Manmohan and Montek. They have earmarked billions of rupees for the 'employment' of the poor – but they have never accepted any responsibility to oversee the execution of this project.

Indeed, it may be surmised that they have gambled with the public kitty in a vain attempt to purchase the votes of poor people.

They have gambled too – but with public money, and without any responsibility.

And theirs is a losing gamble as well.

So my drunken Sardarji is a better man, and a better Sardarji as well. He played with his money and lost all of it. I am confident that his wife will hold him responsible. And he will humbly accept the responsibility of his excesses.

So, let us sing the songs of Freedom, loud and clear.

And shall we say: Bollocks to responsibility?