The Vision Statement

There have been some discussions of late on a libertarian “vision”. Many say that this is unnecessary since each Indian should be free to have his own vision, and the Liberty to chase his dream.

But this is missing the point of “political action.”

There must – repeat, must – come a stage – soon, I hope – when India’s liberals and libertarians will cease all this definitional chatter and take up political action against the socialists, communists and communalists. These political forces have destroyed this country.

For any such political action a “vision statement” is essential. Further, all the groundwork of political action is principally concerned with the task of communicating this vision to the broad mass of people.

Do read Thomas Sowell’s classic A Conflict of Visions: The Ideological Origins of Political Struggles.

Even if you don’t read the book, the title says it all. You cannot engage the numberless masses in a political struggle for Liberty unless you generate a “conflict of Visions” with your political message.

The liberal/libertarian vision is of an urban India. This comes into immediate conflict with the ruling vision of villages and “rural development.” Where Gandhi spoke of millions of “self-sufficient village economies” we speak of hundreds and thousands of free trading and self-governing cities and towns, with the maximum of them along our 2500 mile coast.

Thus, we need a coastal expressway. And many “hubs-and-spokes” expressway systems in the mainland.

These are the 3 Ts of Prosperity:

Trade
Towns and
Transport

On transport, the book/pamphlet that was launched on Friday the 5th is titled “Four Wheels For All.” I argue the case for universal automobile ownership in India. It is a “vision” of prosperity based on free trade – the duty-free import of used cars.

On Towns I have written a piece entitled “Bungalows For All” for a think tank for presentation at the next UN Habitat conference. This is based on the fact that there will be no shortage of urban land if we build more and more urban areas – all linked by roads. The public builds the roads, the private people drive their cars. The population spreads out. More and more land is colonized for urbanites – and this solves the habitat problem. You need a handkerchief sized plot of land to build a modest cottage near a city or town. You need acres and more to survive in rural India. And there is enough land in India.

The idea of free trade is best expressed in the slogan “Duty Free Shops For All.” Without customs duties (better called “import taxes”) all shops would be duty free. Good for the shopkeeper; even better for the consumer. We are firmly on the side of the consumer.

I hope this contribution to the debate on “vision” is useful to India’s budding liberal movement.

Luckily, we still have time to think things through.