Between Wine... And Urine

Elections are due in a few months. And the Indian voter has no choice:

=> Here is finance minister Pranab Mukherjee of the Congress party swearing by Gandhian socialism with a "rural focus."

=> Here is LK Advani of the BJP swearing by Gandhian socialism, rural development and "swadeshi."

=> And here is an editorial on Prakash Karat of the Communist party (Marxist) swearing by Nehruvian socialism, the vast public industrial sector et. al.

If there is something lacking in this picture, it is "vision." All these political formations are sticking to a failed vision. Every single aspect of this Gandhi-Nehru vision is a failure.

=> Rural development has failed. The villagers are all moving to cities. And the cities are hell-holes. Panchayati Raj has failed, and we have no Mayors either.

=> The public industrial sector has failed. Instead of ushering in a "socialist pattern of society" based on Equality, the public sector has become a haven for a rent-seeking class of parasites. This includes the trade unions – which is why Prakash Karat is so hung up on Nehru.

=> Swadeshi has also failed. We Indians are better off today because of foreign businessmen. This cannot be denied.

=> The centralized State and its "central economic planning" have also failed. There are no roads in India. No local self-government either. The entire apparatus of our The State has failed – and this includes the once respected bureaucracy. The socialist tools of government have to be replaced.

The nation must think anew – but the political bosses are loath to do so. This means that we will continue to muddle along, making the same old mistakes. We will never change course.

And there is the other way: free trade, free markets, economic freedom, private property, sound money, individual rights, and the rule of law. This will also mean total privatization – and the investment of all this money in an excellent roads infrastructure. Only the liberals and libertarians champion this other way – but they are debarred from contesting elections. What do we do?

Before getting into what "we" can do, allow me to say what "I" am going to do. I have been requested by Satyajit Dey of the Liberal Youth Forum to pen a "liberal manifesto." This should be ready in a few days and it should soon become a public document. This is my small contribution to the great cause of Liberty, Peace and Prosperity.

So what can "we" do? First, let us all go through the liberal manifesto and see if we agree with its "vision" and its basic tenets. If we do agree, then a political struggle is called for. This is all but natural when political visions collide.

If there is an apt metaphor by which I can convey my message of today, then it is this: we as a nation can either drink wine, or we as a nation can go on drinking cow's urine. Nehru and Gandhi are the "holy cows" of the establishment. And socialism, rural development, panchayati raj, swadeshi, the public industrial sector et. al. are but the urine of these holy cows.

So it is either wine. Fine wine. Or urine.

You choose.