Allow me to expand on my own comment to my last post, wherein I admitted to being the Antithesis of Gandhi. This is not limited to the High Life – which I uphold. It extends to every aspect of Gandhi’s thoughts.
He believed in self-sufficient village republics. I believe in free trading cities and towns.
He believed in the charkha. I believe in modern machinery – the key to raising productivity and, thereby, the wages of workers.
He believed in non-violence. I uphold the right to keep and bear arms.
It is only after all these that we come to the High Life: he hated all highs; I love my nasha.
So, the two of us can never meet. We are literally poles apart. I am his Antithesis. Period.
My article, “Liberals Must Dump Gandhi,” was cited for the 2002 Bastiat prize, which I won. The article, with the original illustration by Bonny Thomas, can be found in my Antidote 2: For Liberal Governance. I have never been a Gandhian.
And as for the High Life: In my view, our nation has committed a grievous error by treating nasha as evil. There are good nashas, there are bad nashas, there are strong nashas, there are light nashas. Some damage the health. Some damage the mind. Yet, some are not bad at all: they say light beers and red wines are good for you, but our miserable taxes on these make us all quaff strong stuff. We outlaw our traditional ganja, which is non-addictive and has proven medicinal properties, while at the same time allowing highly addictive cigarettes and bidis. This doesn’t make sense. In other words, these policies are based on ignorance: the ignorance of nasha. Gandhi is responsible for this ignorance as well as the hypocrisy that surrounds it.
Therefore, I strongly suggest that we Indians dump the Gandhian vision. It is colourless, soulless, and erroneous to boot. Let us, instead, dream of a freer and better India. The Goa Model of Liberty. Yes, it is Goa that is truly “vibrant,” not Gujarat, which is a hell hole wherein minorities live in fear. Goa truly embraces the High Life. So do I. And if this bothers some people, I cannot help it. I do not adjust my life to suit the preferences of other people.
boom shankar!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers to that!
ReplyDeleteI think it is precisely because Gandhi realized that his self-sufficient villages and chraka can't produce much that he spoon fed Indian's with "anti-consumptionism", that to have more is bad. So our very nature is an ill, and Gandhi the dude above all that is mortal.
It's a real pity that he got away telling people to consume less when they're starving pretty much anyways!
And the socialist state loved Gandhi because the failure of planning can be credited to
1. Nehru's 'too many people'
2. Gandhi's 'wanting more is evil'
The Gandhi-Nehru politics of poverty!
And when the machinery's produce more than what can be consumed... That is when worker's become filthy rich :-)
ReplyDeleteBut Sauvik, we can not question the pivotal role played by Gandhi in gaining independence? can we?
ReplyDeleteYeah, he got us independence. But we still have to attain Liberty.
ReplyDelete