India’s sports minister, MS Gill, is in the news for his views against Formula 1 racing. Although the Force India team has been placed second in the Belgian Grand Prix, the minister does not want to encourage the sport here, finding it too elitist and costly.
So is polo – try and maintain a string of polo ponies and you will find out.
So is cricket – for very few can afford all the equipment cricket needs.
As far as motorsports are concerned, India has not even begun. In the old days there was a Himalayan Rally. There are no car rallies nowadays. There aren’t even proper go-carting tracks in India. No dirt racing tracks for motorcycles. Formula 1 is too far away.
Yet, all these must come. They must happen. India must find its place in the sun.
The sports minister’s comment reflects a widespread attitude among our ruling elite – they all ride Ambassadors and refuse to recognize that an automobile revolution has already occurred on our streets. And it is not a Maruti 800 revolution: here are some of the cars being released this season. Very few are small cars. Most of them are big – there are some SUVs, a Mercedes, and a BMW convertible. This is reality. If this revolution is allowed to proceed at full pace, we can visualize universal automobile ownership in India someday soon. If this has happened to the phone, it will happen to the PC, and it will also happen to the automobile.
Motorsports must arrive in India – but only if the ministry of sports is kept out. I saw a picture in the Express today – of Bhaichung Bhutia with our sports minister after winning the Nehru Cup soccer tournament (the final was against Syria). Why has football never happened in India? Because of this ministry. Why is cricket becoming such a great money-spinner? Because of private entrepreneurs. The same must happen in motorsports.
Sports journalists should take note. The automobile revolution has created a niche for automotive journalism. In precisely the same way, automotive sports will create a new niche in sports journalism. But only if our The State is kept out.
MS Gill is a strange kettle of fish. An IAS officer, he made it to election commissioner. He thereafter joined the Congress and was immediately “rewarded” with a ministry. Many find his conduct inappropriate. Indeed, even the present EC is talked about as a Congress stooge. These IAS men do not provide “civil government”: rather, they are tools of “party government.” Anyway, Gill has enough on his plate, what with the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year. From what I hear, there is quite a big mess in the arrangements. Think of what would happen if our The State tried to organize an Indian Grand Prix. Think of a race track made by our PWD.
No siree.
Give me private enterprise in motorsports any day.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
When Morons Teach...
There is news that Air India is to open an aviation academy in Shillong. What a bloody joke! This State-owned colossal loss-maker is a disgrace – its losses exceed 16,000 crore rupees; it has just received 5000 crores from The State; and it is also heavily in debt. What can such an airline teach?
One thing we Indians have learnt the hard way is that enterprise must be “private”; that there is no such thing called “public enterprise.” Air India was one of the world’s leading airlines when JRD Tata, a pioneer aviator himself, was at the helm. Today, with sarkaari baboons running the flop show, it is a shame. It is a drain on the nation’s wealth. Not only that, as I had recently blogged, it injects unfair competition into a sector where many private players have entered. These private players have given the customer a good deal. Air India, on the other hand, is a very bad deal – for the customer, and also for the nation. It should be sold. Period.
The news also says that the chief minister of Meghalaya is to “give” 12 acres of land to Air India for their academy. I think this land can be much better utilized in a thousand different ways.
The lesson: Don’t get a moron to set up an academy and teach. The people will only learn rubbish.
This lesson is driven home by a brief column in Mint today that talks about land titles. The point the authors make is that India’s land title system is in total disarray. They argue in favour of a strong property rights regime, including title insurance. Without such a system, India can never become a great piece of real estate.
Of course, Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi is spending 150,000 crores on a system of ID cards. He is not particularly bothered about property rights or land titles.
But he too wants to teach.
I hope you have learnt an important lesson today.
One thing we Indians have learnt the hard way is that enterprise must be “private”; that there is no such thing called “public enterprise.” Air India was one of the world’s leading airlines when JRD Tata, a pioneer aviator himself, was at the helm. Today, with sarkaari baboons running the flop show, it is a shame. It is a drain on the nation’s wealth. Not only that, as I had recently blogged, it injects unfair competition into a sector where many private players have entered. These private players have given the customer a good deal. Air India, on the other hand, is a very bad deal – for the customer, and also for the nation. It should be sold. Period.
The news also says that the chief minister of Meghalaya is to “give” 12 acres of land to Air India for their academy. I think this land can be much better utilized in a thousand different ways.
The lesson: Don’t get a moron to set up an academy and teach. The people will only learn rubbish.
This lesson is driven home by a brief column in Mint today that talks about land titles. The point the authors make is that India’s land title system is in total disarray. They argue in favour of a strong property rights regime, including title insurance. Without such a system, India can never become a great piece of real estate.
Of course, Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi is spending 150,000 crores on a system of ID cards. He is not particularly bothered about property rights or land titles.
But he too wants to teach.
I hope you have learnt an important lesson today.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Boom Shankar Around The World
I am a bearer of happy tidings today. The Ganja Flag is flying high in many parts of the world.
Argentina, Mexico, and the US city of Denver, Colorado, have taken steps to decriminalize the Noble Herb. (Thanks to the LRC blog.)
In Denver, a city committee on marijuana has recommended that the fine for possession be reduced to $1. The chairman of this committee is quoted in this news report as saying:
Note the “less harmful drug than alcohol.”
In fact, the Noble Herb is not harmful at all; rather, it is beneficial.
Over to Mexico, just south of the USSA, where the Uncle Sam-sponsored “war on drugs” has led to thousands of deaths already. In Mexico, the government has just decriminalized possession of small quantities of all drugs, including marijuana, for which the amount anyone can carry about without fear of the authorities is now fixed at 5 gms, just enough to make 3 or 4 joints. This is too little. Smokers should be allowed to possess at least a kilo – and this should be declared the “non-commercial quantity.” Anyway, if you read the report, you get the idea that the “war on drugs” in Mexico has failed. And that is very good news.
And now, let’s look at Argentina, where the Supreme Court has ordered the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal consumption. These words are notable:
We are planning a Ganja Pride Parade in New Delhi soon. In the land of cannabliss indica, where hardy sadhus smoke, where sturdy rickshawallahs smoke, where smoking cannabliss is part of our culture, this is one prohibition that must go.
As the devout say:
Boom.
Argentina, Mexico, and the US city of Denver, Colorado, have taken steps to decriminalize the Noble Herb. (Thanks to the LRC blog.)
In Denver, a city committee on marijuana has recommended that the fine for possession be reduced to $1. The chairman of this committee is quoted in this news report as saying:
"By setting the fine at just $1, we are sending a message to Denver officials that the era of citing adults for using a less harmful drug than alcohol is over. It's simply not worth the city's time or resources,"
Note the “less harmful drug than alcohol.”
In fact, the Noble Herb is not harmful at all; rather, it is beneficial.
Over to Mexico, just south of the USSA, where the Uncle Sam-sponsored “war on drugs” has led to thousands of deaths already. In Mexico, the government has just decriminalized possession of small quantities of all drugs, including marijuana, for which the amount anyone can carry about without fear of the authorities is now fixed at 5 gms, just enough to make 3 or 4 joints. This is too little. Smokers should be allowed to possess at least a kilo – and this should be declared the “non-commercial quantity.” Anyway, if you read the report, you get the idea that the “war on drugs” in Mexico has failed. And that is very good news.
And now, let’s look at Argentina, where the Supreme Court has ordered the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal consumption. These words are notable:
It [the Supreme Court of Argentina] said the constitution protected “the private actions of individuals who in no way offend order or public morality, or harm a third party, who answer to God free from a judge’s authority.”
We are planning a Ganja Pride Parade in New Delhi soon. In the land of cannabliss indica, where hardy sadhus smoke, where sturdy rickshawallahs smoke, where smoking cannabliss is part of our culture, this is one prohibition that must go.
As the devout say:
From Munich to Sri Lankar,
The people cry Boom Shankar.
Boom.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
India's Urban Past, Present, And Future
The history books tell us that “great kings are builders of great cities.” A book excerpt in Mint, from a new volume on how New Delhi was built by the British, only serves to underscore this popular saying. British India was an urban success story. Madras, Calcutta, Bangalore – these were all built from scratch. Madras has just celebrated the 370th anniversary of its founding. Bombay had Portuguese origins, but under the Brits it became one of the greatest cities in this part of the world. New Delhi was different from all the rest: it was built as a government city, an Imperial Capital. And it was the last city to be built, in the 20th century. The older coastal cities were all commercial cities. Bangalore and Poona were retirement cities, where the weather was kind. And then there were the 80 or so “hill-stations” – for holidays, for an escape from the heat of the plains.
After the British left, all our great cities and each and every one of our glorious hill-stations have been destroyed. Only three new cities have been built – Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar and Gandhinagar. All three are government cities. The entire focus of our The State has been on “rural development and panchayati raj.” But not a single “ideal village” exists throughout India. This is what happens when your entire theory is wrong. But our The State is at it even now: Here is news that they have reserved 50 per cent seats on panchayats for women.
I do not see India’s future as a village utopia. I see her as a totally urban civilization. Hundreds of brand new cities on the coast, thousands of new hill-stations. Thousands and thousands of satellite towns around all the cities. All linked together by a hub-and-spoke transportation network – road, rail and air.
I don’t see panchayats. I see Mayors. I see “company towns.” I see New Public Management.
I see this as a desirable future because it would be cheaper to build entirely new cities than to fix the existing ones. I do not think New Delhi can be easily “fixed.” Ditto the other metros. Alternatively, undeveloped land is cheap. It makes sense to abandon these destroyed cities and build new property in new towns.
Dilli Chhoro.
Abandon Mecca and build a New Medina.
Exodus! Movement of The People!
I have long ago written about a future for Delhi if The State were to move out of this city. I still stand by that view.
But then again, Delhi is not a suitable location for a “great city.” It is landlocked, for one. And the weather is terrible: too bloody hot and too bloody cold. Mass settlement in such a location means huge expenses in climate control – air-conditioners, heaters etc, almost throughout the year. On the western ghats, you don’t have to use air-conditioning much – and there is lots and lots of land just lying there. You never need heaters. The summers are mild, the winters are mild and it rains a lot – so there are no problems with water supply, which is a headache in Delhi.
Of course, some environmentalists will object. They will ask what will happen to the wild birds and animals who will be displaced.
The book excerpt in Mint quotes Edwin Lutyens, the architect who designed New Delhi, describing his tour of the empty scrubland on which this city was to come up:
Human beings build cities because they do not want to live with all these wild and dangerous species. Cities are the ant-hills of human colonists.
Let us build more brand new cities please. The ones we have today are unliveable. And unfixable as well.
And as for the wild animals: there's the Jungle out there.
After the British left, all our great cities and each and every one of our glorious hill-stations have been destroyed. Only three new cities have been built – Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar and Gandhinagar. All three are government cities. The entire focus of our The State has been on “rural development and panchayati raj.” But not a single “ideal village” exists throughout India. This is what happens when your entire theory is wrong. But our The State is at it even now: Here is news that they have reserved 50 per cent seats on panchayats for women.
I do not see India’s future as a village utopia. I see her as a totally urban civilization. Hundreds of brand new cities on the coast, thousands of new hill-stations. Thousands and thousands of satellite towns around all the cities. All linked together by a hub-and-spoke transportation network – road, rail and air.
I don’t see panchayats. I see Mayors. I see “company towns.” I see New Public Management.
I see this as a desirable future because it would be cheaper to build entirely new cities than to fix the existing ones. I do not think New Delhi can be easily “fixed.” Ditto the other metros. Alternatively, undeveloped land is cheap. It makes sense to abandon these destroyed cities and build new property in new towns.
Dilli Chhoro.
Abandon Mecca and build a New Medina.
Exodus! Movement of The People!
I have long ago written about a future for Delhi if The State were to move out of this city. I still stand by that view.
But then again, Delhi is not a suitable location for a “great city.” It is landlocked, for one. And the weather is terrible: too bloody hot and too bloody cold. Mass settlement in such a location means huge expenses in climate control – air-conditioners, heaters etc, almost throughout the year. On the western ghats, you don’t have to use air-conditioning much – and there is lots and lots of land just lying there. You never need heaters. The summers are mild, the winters are mild and it rains a lot – so there are no problems with water supply, which is a headache in Delhi.
Of course, some environmentalists will object. They will ask what will happen to the wild birds and animals who will be displaced.
The book excerpt in Mint quotes Edwin Lutyens, the architect who designed New Delhi, describing his tour of the empty scrubland on which this city was to come up:
… ‘fauna of all description, buck of all sorts, baboons, monkeys, jackals, hare, porcupine, water snakes, great fish, great tortoises which eat babies, snakes, bats, flying fox, vultures, weird birds and many lovely ones, a lizard of sorts, yellow and dry and three feet long. The elephant. Tigers at Jeypore, fresh caught and angry, a black panther, hyena and then a host of tame birds and animals.’
Human beings build cities because they do not want to live with all these wild and dangerous species. Cities are the ant-hills of human colonists.
Let us build more brand new cities please. The ones we have today are unliveable. And unfixable as well.
And as for the wild animals: there's the Jungle out there.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sense And Nonsense - On Getting High
One of the biggest hassles I face while living in Delhi is buying beer. This hugely profitable retail trade is a State monopoly in Delhi – so there are very few shops. I have to drive many kilometres to a marketplace where there is a sarkaari shop, and where there is also adequate parking. After making my purchase, there is the long and meandering drive back. This is unnecessary use of the car. If this retail trade were freed, there would be shops selling booze everywhere, and cases of cold beer would be home delivered – on trolleys.
Why is our The State so keen on running Delhi’s booze shops? The answer lies not in the retail monopoly, but in the purchase monopoly: The State is the monopoly buyer of booze and can decide what brands to push through its retail shops. This is the real ugly side to this policy: the "monopsony." It is designed for corruption – and also for the exploitation of the consumer. The consumer, of course, in their scheme of things, is just a daroobaaz with an addiction problem. No thought is ever given to him.
I can contrast this to Goa, where I lived in a sleepy village for long. There, beer is no problem. Of course, I have to drive out, but once I reach the crossing where the shops are located – barely 300 yards away from home – there is a booze shop on the left, one on the right, and another if I go straight ahead. Alternatively, if I want to just drink a cold beer, there are two bars right at the crossing itself. Somehow, Goa seems much more “civilized” than Delhi – and both are in the same country. Why can’t the Goa scenario be replicated in the Capital?
I can therefore only “look and laugh” at Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi’s exhortation to anti-corruption officials to “catch the big fish.” The real corruption in India is political – that is, the corruption lies in their evil idea as to what the “Role of State” should be. Their core belief is that The State has a big role to play in The Market. It is this idea that is corrupt.
Perhaps political corruption of this sort can never be ended. But then, I would much prefer to live in a country where the corrupt among the “small fish” are weeded out. It is these small fish that we encounter in our day-to-day existence – and they are the ones who should be straightened out. So Chacha gets a big “zero” from me on his latest soundbytes.
Apart from “cannabliss,” which is my flag, and this flag flies high, I am also a big votary of cheap beer for the masses. Today, they are all hooked to sugary tea. Too much sugar is bad for the health. Beer contains neither sugar nor salt. And it has been boiled, so there are no germs. It is made with barley – so there is some nutrition in it.
In my view, beer should be totally delicensed, so that microbreweries sprout all over the nation, selling draught beer on tap to all comers, cheap. Let beer displace tea and the national drink.
In the meantime, while cannabliss is illegal and beer is over-regulated, these new “energy drinks” like Red Bull and Cloud Nine are to be found selling everywhere. They are also very expensive. And they pack a mighty punch. One young lad who tried these said that he felt completely drained out when the trip was over. These cannot be good for the health. A tea of coca leaves is surely much healthier if you want some faux energy.
So, no matter what you look at, the policies of The State are not only corrupt, but actually harmful.
We need complete freedom, so we can choose our highs. These choices must not be made for us by The State, which encourages the wrong things and discourages the good.
No more prohibitions.
We need the Freedom to Get High.
Why is our The State so keen on running Delhi’s booze shops? The answer lies not in the retail monopoly, but in the purchase monopoly: The State is the monopoly buyer of booze and can decide what brands to push through its retail shops. This is the real ugly side to this policy: the "monopsony." It is designed for corruption – and also for the exploitation of the consumer. The consumer, of course, in their scheme of things, is just a daroobaaz with an addiction problem. No thought is ever given to him.
I can contrast this to Goa, where I lived in a sleepy village for long. There, beer is no problem. Of course, I have to drive out, but once I reach the crossing where the shops are located – barely 300 yards away from home – there is a booze shop on the left, one on the right, and another if I go straight ahead. Alternatively, if I want to just drink a cold beer, there are two bars right at the crossing itself. Somehow, Goa seems much more “civilized” than Delhi – and both are in the same country. Why can’t the Goa scenario be replicated in the Capital?
I can therefore only “look and laugh” at Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi’s exhortation to anti-corruption officials to “catch the big fish.” The real corruption in India is political – that is, the corruption lies in their evil idea as to what the “Role of State” should be. Their core belief is that The State has a big role to play in The Market. It is this idea that is corrupt.
Perhaps political corruption of this sort can never be ended. But then, I would much prefer to live in a country where the corrupt among the “small fish” are weeded out. It is these small fish that we encounter in our day-to-day existence – and they are the ones who should be straightened out. So Chacha gets a big “zero” from me on his latest soundbytes.
Apart from “cannabliss,” which is my flag, and this flag flies high, I am also a big votary of cheap beer for the masses. Today, they are all hooked to sugary tea. Too much sugar is bad for the health. Beer contains neither sugar nor salt. And it has been boiled, so there are no germs. It is made with barley – so there is some nutrition in it.
In my view, beer should be totally delicensed, so that microbreweries sprout all over the nation, selling draught beer on tap to all comers, cheap. Let beer displace tea and the national drink.
In the meantime, while cannabliss is illegal and beer is over-regulated, these new “energy drinks” like Red Bull and Cloud Nine are to be found selling everywhere. They are also very expensive. And they pack a mighty punch. One young lad who tried these said that he felt completely drained out when the trip was over. These cannot be good for the health. A tea of coca leaves is surely much healthier if you want some faux energy.
So, no matter what you look at, the policies of The State are not only corrupt, but actually harmful.
We need complete freedom, so we can choose our highs. These choices must not be made for us by The State, which encourages the wrong things and discourages the good.
No more prohibitions.
We need the Freedom to Get High.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Must See, Must Read
There are two must see videos I have for you today: the first is a snippet from a town hall meeting in America. Now, this is what I call a Real American. We need many Indians like this. The attitude is of this marine veteran is simply incredible.
The second video I have is of the dance group of day labourers I had earlier blogged about – this is a video of their final performance, which won them the prize. (Thanks to Mint: read their report here.)
India does have talent. Indians need Liberty, not education.
And talking about education, here is a must read news of the corrupt activities of the vice-chancellor of a prestigious south Indian university. There have been many such reports before, but this one is truly disgraceful. We must wind up all higher education from our The State.
In the meantime, while the Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi State worries over our intellectual development, here is an interview from the ToI today of a human rights activist that is titled “Manipur has become a lawless state.” Do read the entire interview. He also talks of other states like Kashmir and Chattisgarh as “lawless.”
There is another report of lawlessness, this time from the Indian Express, with a headline that says it all: “Maoists blow up railway station in Orissa, mobile tower in Jharkhand.” Do read the full report here.
What is our The State doing? From what I recall of what I just read, scanning many newspapers, they are dealing in hydrocarbons, they are worrying about climate change, they are worrying about Jinnah and Gandhi, they are not allowing FDI into domestic civil aviation or retail, they are worrying about the drought, they want to protect farmers, and yes – the food subsidy is gonna go up a lot because they are raising the procurement prices of various crops: that is, The State is dealing in food.
On climate change, do read Deepak Lal's column in today's Business Standard. He "spikes the road to Copenhagen," saying that the West's obsession with carbon emissions is both "wicked" as well as "economically foolish." (Thanks to Chandra.)
This socialist and democratic idea of the "Role of The State" doesn’t make much sense to me.
It is as senseless as the State-owned booze shop from which I picked up some cases of beer yesterday.
It seems our The State is doing all the wrong things.
As the Hindi proverb goes: Bandar ke haath mein talwar. (The sword is in the hands of a monkey.)
And please, let us not raise the flag of democracy. As I have said right at the outset of this post, you MUST watch the town hall meeting video to know what democracy should mean.
Our democracy – if you factor in the rampant “lawlessness” – is not very different from Afghanistan. Manipur, in fact, must be even worse. As in Afghanistan, so in Manipur, so in Kashmir, foreign mercenary soldiers rule the roost.
And there is an excellent article on LRC today that outlines what needs to be done to restore trade and peace in Afghanistan. Topping the list of what should be done is the assertion that US and NATO must completely withdraw. Do read this great article, here.
And THINK!
How do we restore "civil government" to Manipur, Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa, and Lalgarh?
I leave you today with that important question to ponder over.
The second video I have is of the dance group of day labourers I had earlier blogged about – this is a video of their final performance, which won them the prize. (Thanks to Mint: read their report here.)
India does have talent. Indians need Liberty, not education.
And talking about education, here is a must read news of the corrupt activities of the vice-chancellor of a prestigious south Indian university. There have been many such reports before, but this one is truly disgraceful. We must wind up all higher education from our The State.
In the meantime, while the Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi State worries over our intellectual development, here is an interview from the ToI today of a human rights activist that is titled “Manipur has become a lawless state.” Do read the entire interview. He also talks of other states like Kashmir and Chattisgarh as “lawless.”
There is another report of lawlessness, this time from the Indian Express, with a headline that says it all: “Maoists blow up railway station in Orissa, mobile tower in Jharkhand.” Do read the full report here.
What is our The State doing? From what I recall of what I just read, scanning many newspapers, they are dealing in hydrocarbons, they are worrying about climate change, they are worrying about Jinnah and Gandhi, they are not allowing FDI into domestic civil aviation or retail, they are worrying about the drought, they want to protect farmers, and yes – the food subsidy is gonna go up a lot because they are raising the procurement prices of various crops: that is, The State is dealing in food.
On climate change, do read Deepak Lal's column in today's Business Standard. He "spikes the road to Copenhagen," saying that the West's obsession with carbon emissions is both "wicked" as well as "economically foolish." (Thanks to Chandra.)
This socialist and democratic idea of the "Role of The State" doesn’t make much sense to me.
It is as senseless as the State-owned booze shop from which I picked up some cases of beer yesterday.
It seems our The State is doing all the wrong things.
As the Hindi proverb goes: Bandar ke haath mein talwar. (The sword is in the hands of a monkey.)
And please, let us not raise the flag of democracy. As I have said right at the outset of this post, you MUST watch the town hall meeting video to know what democracy should mean.
Our democracy – if you factor in the rampant “lawlessness” – is not very different from Afghanistan. Manipur, in fact, must be even worse. As in Afghanistan, so in Manipur, so in Kashmir, foreign mercenary soldiers rule the roost.
And there is an excellent article on LRC today that outlines what needs to be done to restore trade and peace in Afghanistan. Topping the list of what should be done is the assertion that US and NATO must completely withdraw. Do read this great article, here.
And THINK!
How do we restore "civil government" to Manipur, Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa, and Lalgarh?
I leave you today with that important question to ponder over.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Building A Small Temple Of Learning
I debuted on LewRockwell.com yesterday. The article is titled “Austrians! The Indian Market Beckons,” and it argues that there is a market for Austrian economics (or catallactics) in India. Many letters have poured in extending support to the idea. These have come from students, from teachers, from activists, and even from investors. With all this encouragement, I hope to take the idea fast-forward.
In particular, this letter from a young American student was hugely inspiring:
I also facebooked the idea some days back – and received encouraging responses immediately from many students.
Now, there is some good news that I would like to add; and that is, Lew Rockwell has written to me saying that the Mises Institute would be willing to extend intellectual support to the venture. All I now need is a suitable edupreneur. And I am looking.
Read “Austrians! The Indian Market Beckons” here.
In particular, this letter from a young American student was hugely inspiring:
I read your article today on lewrockwell.com and must say I found it very moving and inspiring. I am a 25 year old American citizen who is trying to become as educated in free market economics and Austrian Economics as possible via the internet and websites such as mises.org but I must confess I have found myself experiencing the same want of a formal Austrian Economics university or college as the students you mentioned in your article. I truly hope your vision of a temple of learning in India reaches fruition, I think it would be a phenomenal event for India as a nation and possibly a huge move forward for the world as a whole, as well. I believe the demand is so strong, I would legitimately look into leaving my home country of the United States to travel and learn in such an Austrian taught institute of learning in India, if it were ever realized. Thank you for sharing your phenomenal article.
I also facebooked the idea some days back – and received encouraging responses immediately from many students.
Now, there is some good news that I would like to add; and that is, Lew Rockwell has written to me saying that the Mises Institute would be willing to extend intellectual support to the venture. All I now need is a suitable edupreneur. And I am looking.
Read “Austrians! The Indian Market Beckons” here.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Some Good News, Some Bad
In an earlier post, “In Praise of the Illiterate,” I had spoken of the many other skills and talents that such people possess. They don’t need “education,” I said, they need Liberty.
Well, there is a story in the ToI today that confirms my assessment. A group of daily wage labourers has won a prestigious tv talent contest with their dance routine. They come from some poverty-stricken part of Orissa. I doubt whether they possess much education. And I also doubt whether the educated can dance like they can. What has made them rich and famous is private tv – which try and entertain people with dance shows. What if the nightlife industry were freed up? How many more such talents would get rich – without education?
Indeed, there is a plethora of talent shows on tv. I have even watched them in Bengali. These shows drive home the point that our people are naturally gifted. They must have Liberty. Just as the blacks in America had New Orleans.
On education, I found another story in the Toi today that is heartening: Some maulvis in Bombay, who have graduated from the Deoband seminary, are mastering the English language, thanks to private effort. Over 300 maulvis have already learnt the language. This is indeed a heartening trend. It is good for Islam. It also shows that a competitive market for education in the English language is best. The State can never impart this knowledge more efficiently.
Finally, here is a report on the Afghan elections – or, more precisely, about irregularities in the conduct of this meaningless ritual of democracy.
I fail to understand the overseas policies of the USSA. Does Afghanistan need their own The State? Or do they need peace, law and trade – The Market? The USSA seems hell-bent on giving the Afghans a The State. That too, a modern, democratic one. I do believe this project is doomed to failure.
Funny old world. Illiterate day labourers show off talent and win. While a powerful The State, advised by the best and brightest, commits folly after folly.
There is a lesson for all of us in this.
Well, there is a story in the ToI today that confirms my assessment. A group of daily wage labourers has won a prestigious tv talent contest with their dance routine. They come from some poverty-stricken part of Orissa. I doubt whether they possess much education. And I also doubt whether the educated can dance like they can. What has made them rich and famous is private tv – which try and entertain people with dance shows. What if the nightlife industry were freed up? How many more such talents would get rich – without education?
Indeed, there is a plethora of talent shows on tv. I have even watched them in Bengali. These shows drive home the point that our people are naturally gifted. They must have Liberty. Just as the blacks in America had New Orleans.
On education, I found another story in the Toi today that is heartening: Some maulvis in Bombay, who have graduated from the Deoband seminary, are mastering the English language, thanks to private effort. Over 300 maulvis have already learnt the language. This is indeed a heartening trend. It is good for Islam. It also shows that a competitive market for education in the English language is best. The State can never impart this knowledge more efficiently.
Finally, here is a report on the Afghan elections – or, more precisely, about irregularities in the conduct of this meaningless ritual of democracy.
I fail to understand the overseas policies of the USSA. Does Afghanistan need their own The State? Or do they need peace, law and trade – The Market? The USSA seems hell-bent on giving the Afghans a The State. That too, a modern, democratic one. I do believe this project is doomed to failure.
Funny old world. Illiterate day labourers show off talent and win. While a powerful The State, advised by the best and brightest, commits folly after folly.
There is a lesson for all of us in this.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Goodbye Growth Rate, Hello Liberty
Last evening, some local lads dropped by to share a smoke with me, and among them was a young guitarist. We spoke of the lack of opportunities for performing artists in India; and to buttress my argument for Liberty I recounted my own experience as a young musician in the mid-70s. My story contains many lessons for the youth of today – especially those who play music, for this is the story of “the day the music died,” at least in India.
In school, I had been the lead vocalist of our rock band; and in college, I naturally drifted into the music scene, picking up a little guitaring on the way. I went about performing solo: one man with one guitar. Looking back, I can say it was the music that I focused on in my college years: the Economics being taught to me did not attract my mind.
Those days, during the summer vacations, I used to head to the hills of Mussoorie. There, I would jam with the band at Whispering Windows. People would dance. The band liked me. The crowd liked me. Even the management liked me. And I got a free holiday in cool weather, some free drinks, and a little money. It kept me going. I also felt I was heading in the right direction – towards a musical career.
Then came Morarji Desai and prohibition. All the bars that employed musicians closed down. I gave up music. Tried higher studies. And my life took a different course because of the whims of a silly Gandhian politician pretending to be a moral force.
Indeed, music is still dead in India. I now live in south Delhi and within a 10km radius from my house, there isn’t a single place where you can enjoy a drink and listen to live music. There are shows sometimes, organized by FM radio stations and the like – but the regular scene is rather sad. This is an “unhappening” city as far as bars and music are concerned – and the two go together.
If we are to revive the music scene, then we must kill the excise department. They are killing the music. So we can “swear it was in self-defence.”
When I see the market-places in Delhi today, I try and imagine another world – a world of Liberty. My nearest market sells fish, vegetables, fruit and provisions – and not much more apart from some street food. There are no bars, no hash cafés, no “pubs,” no discotheques, no live dance joints, no casinos – these are all “what is not seen.” These are not seen because of official restrictions that are better called “economic repression.” All these must go.
Rukawatein Hatao!
If these go, think of what the “growth rate” will be.
I daresay it will be so high that no statistician will be able to measure it.
Good-bye growth rate.
Hello Liberty.
In school, I had been the lead vocalist of our rock band; and in college, I naturally drifted into the music scene, picking up a little guitaring on the way. I went about performing solo: one man with one guitar. Looking back, I can say it was the music that I focused on in my college years: the Economics being taught to me did not attract my mind.
Those days, during the summer vacations, I used to head to the hills of Mussoorie. There, I would jam with the band at Whispering Windows. People would dance. The band liked me. The crowd liked me. Even the management liked me. And I got a free holiday in cool weather, some free drinks, and a little money. It kept me going. I also felt I was heading in the right direction – towards a musical career.
Then came Morarji Desai and prohibition. All the bars that employed musicians closed down. I gave up music. Tried higher studies. And my life took a different course because of the whims of a silly Gandhian politician pretending to be a moral force.
Indeed, music is still dead in India. I now live in south Delhi and within a 10km radius from my house, there isn’t a single place where you can enjoy a drink and listen to live music. There are shows sometimes, organized by FM radio stations and the like – but the regular scene is rather sad. This is an “unhappening” city as far as bars and music are concerned – and the two go together.
If we are to revive the music scene, then we must kill the excise department. They are killing the music. So we can “swear it was in self-defence.”
When I see the market-places in Delhi today, I try and imagine another world – a world of Liberty. My nearest market sells fish, vegetables, fruit and provisions – and not much more apart from some street food. There are no bars, no hash cafés, no “pubs,” no discotheques, no live dance joints, no casinos – these are all “what is not seen.” These are not seen because of official restrictions that are better called “economic repression.” All these must go.
Rukawatein Hatao!
If these go, think of what the “growth rate” will be.
I daresay it will be so high that no statistician will be able to measure it.
Good-bye growth rate.
Hello Liberty.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Recalling Jaswant Singh, The Planner
India’s principal opposition party, the BJP, is becoming a laughing stock. Jaswant Singh has been expelled over a book he has written; and the book has been banned in Gujarat by the Narendra Modi government because it contains remarks critical of Sardar Patel, a Congressman who was a Gujarati.
Jaswant Singh has responded by pointing out that, in 1948, immediately after the assassination of Gandhi, it was the Congressman Patel who, as police minister, banned the RSS. Why should the BJP and the RSS get so uppity over remarks against Sardar Patel?
This is indeed a crippling blow to the credibility of Narendra Modi – the “star” of the BJP. Modi is actually running a government. He has banned a book – that is bad enough. But now it seems that Modi’s “ideology” is foggy. And the BJP is very proud of its “ideology.”
I remember Jaswant Singh from 1998, when he was the head of our Planning Commission and I had just been inducted into the editorial team of the Economic Times. One day, I was told by a senior editor that our The State was holding an Economic Editors’ Conference, and that I was to represent the paper there. I went.
I had expected to meet some of the big-wigs of economic journalism, but the room was full of journalists from small towns all over the country, who had been invited to Delhi for this conference at State expense. It was not really an economic editors’ conference at all.
Anyway, the opening act was by Jaswant Singh. He waxed eloquent on his forthcoming visit to Washington DC to discuss economic policy with the World Bank and the IMF. He then spoke of how he remained a village boy at heart, talking about his childhood in rural Rajasthan (which elicited loud cheers from some Rajasthani patriots in the audience), and then he said the most bizarre thing:
I walked out after that, without attending the official lunch. I never attended an economic editors’ conference again.
Why do villagers move to cities? It certainly cannot be for “environmental” reasons. They have homes in the villages. The air is clean there. There is greenery. Birds twitter. Why do they leave all this to live in nasty city slums? There is only one reason: The Market.
And the head of India’s Planning Commission, who plans for a billion people, does not understand The Market.
None of these morons do.
And they want to teach!
Jaswant Singh has responded by pointing out that, in 1948, immediately after the assassination of Gandhi, it was the Congressman Patel who, as police minister, banned the RSS. Why should the BJP and the RSS get so uppity over remarks against Sardar Patel?
This is indeed a crippling blow to the credibility of Narendra Modi – the “star” of the BJP. Modi is actually running a government. He has banned a book – that is bad enough. But now it seems that Modi’s “ideology” is foggy. And the BJP is very proud of its “ideology.”
I remember Jaswant Singh from 1998, when he was the head of our Planning Commission and I had just been inducted into the editorial team of the Economic Times. One day, I was told by a senior editor that our The State was holding an Economic Editors’ Conference, and that I was to represent the paper there. I went.
I had expected to meet some of the big-wigs of economic journalism, but the room was full of journalists from small towns all over the country, who had been invited to Delhi for this conference at State expense. It was not really an economic editors’ conference at all.
Anyway, the opening act was by Jaswant Singh. He waxed eloquent on his forthcoming visit to Washington DC to discuss economic policy with the World Bank and the IMF. He then spoke of how he remained a village boy at heart, talking about his childhood in rural Rajasthan (which elicited loud cheers from some Rajasthani patriots in the audience), and then he said the most bizarre thing:
“My greatest desire is that no villager should move to a city.”
I walked out after that, without attending the official lunch. I never attended an economic editors’ conference again.
Why do villagers move to cities? It certainly cannot be for “environmental” reasons. They have homes in the villages. The air is clean there. There is greenery. Birds twitter. Why do they leave all this to live in nasty city slums? There is only one reason: The Market.
And the head of India’s Planning Commission, who plans for a billion people, does not understand The Market.
None of these morons do.
And they want to teach!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Great Bikes, Horrible Roads
Now, this is the kind of news I like to read – that India is trading with the USSA: Harley-Davidson is entering the Indian market finally. Now, that’s a bike I am going to buy – as soon as these manuscripts get sold.
Note that Chacha Manmohan went overboard on the State-to-State nuclear deal. Harley is different: it is a people-to-people deal, one that benefits people both here and there. These are the kinds of deals that will dominate the scene if we announce unilateral free trade. As I have recently blogged, a better deal than the nuclear deal would be a “clunker deal”: we buy up all the old cars Obama is shelling out taxpayer money to destroy. Every Indian home gets a car.
But what about the roads? Mint has an editorial on this today. It paints a dismal picture. Our The State has taken a World Bank loan of 1 billion USD when they need $500 billion. And they are going to loan these cheap World Bank funds to private players for toll projects and so on. This is sheer nonsense. We already have a Central Road Fund in place for many years. Specific tax streams have been dedicated to this fund. What is Chacha doing?
There is another way.
We could publicly admit that Nehru got it all wrong. The State is not required to make steel; The State is required to make roads.
This simple admission would allow us to change track. We then sell off the steel plants, the hotels, the airlines, and all the rest and invest the entire proceeds on a brand new toll free roads and highways network of top quality.
The automobile scene in India is exciting. This is one area where there has been genuine liberalization. The sector is growing at more than 9 per cent on average. There is keen competition. The streets are awash with great cars – but the roads of Nehruvian socialism are letting us all down.
In the meantime, Chacha rides his white Ambassador from Race Course Road to North Block and back, four times a day.
And his The State is making steel.
Flying planes.
Running hotels.
Yeah. The System Sucks.
PS: Among the columnists of today, I particularly liked Jerry Rao’s demolition of Amartya Sen and his good friends – the Left. Well worth a read.
Note that Chacha Manmohan went overboard on the State-to-State nuclear deal. Harley is different: it is a people-to-people deal, one that benefits people both here and there. These are the kinds of deals that will dominate the scene if we announce unilateral free trade. As I have recently blogged, a better deal than the nuclear deal would be a “clunker deal”: we buy up all the old cars Obama is shelling out taxpayer money to destroy. Every Indian home gets a car.
But what about the roads? Mint has an editorial on this today. It paints a dismal picture. Our The State has taken a World Bank loan of 1 billion USD when they need $500 billion. And they are going to loan these cheap World Bank funds to private players for toll projects and so on. This is sheer nonsense. We already have a Central Road Fund in place for many years. Specific tax streams have been dedicated to this fund. What is Chacha doing?
There is another way.
We could publicly admit that Nehru got it all wrong. The State is not required to make steel; The State is required to make roads.
This simple admission would allow us to change track. We then sell off the steel plants, the hotels, the airlines, and all the rest and invest the entire proceeds on a brand new toll free roads and highways network of top quality.
The automobile scene in India is exciting. This is one area where there has been genuine liberalization. The sector is growing at more than 9 per cent on average. There is keen competition. The streets are awash with great cars – but the roads of Nehruvian socialism are letting us all down.
In the meantime, Chacha rides his white Ambassador from Race Course Road to North Block and back, four times a day.
And his The State is making steel.
Flying planes.
Running hotels.
Yeah. The System Sucks.
PS: Among the columnists of today, I particularly liked Jerry Rao’s demolition of Amartya Sen and his good friends – the Left. Well worth a read.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
On Democracy... And Social Order
The elections in Afghanistan are hogging the news. Ho hum. America’s obsession with democracy. But democracy need not mean Freedom: ask us. Democracy can also mean a centralized State – without any “civil government” or even any local self-government – as in our case. Even America is no poster boy of democracy: theirs is also a central State that seems to be out of control. Give me Swiss democracy any day. Ever heard of the Swiss elections? No one has. Sarkozi, Obama, Brown – these “world leaders” are known to all. Anyone even know the name of the Swiss president?
There is a great political lesson in this: that the society with the least politics is the best society. Afghanistan, Burma, Kashmir, Manipur, Chattisgarh – these areas need The Market to bring about normalcy, to wean people away from the predatory gun culture. There is Law that needs to prevail – the law of private property. If the vast majority agree to live under this law, then things will soon return to normal – business as usual, as they say – and the problem of social order will be solved.
The British were much more practical in dealing with these frontiersmen, as compared to the American fixation with democracy. The British came to administer the north-west frontier only in the 19th century, yet there are tales of many “civilian” heroes. Philip Mason’s The Men Who Ruled India tells of many of these heroes, but the one I have selected for today is Herbert Edwardes in Bannu, on the Af-Pak border, whose tale runs as follows:
Indeed, the British often spoke of their empire as “an empire of laws and not of men.” The law came first. This was the moral purpose. But here on the frontier everything devolved upon a handful of men – and what extra-ordinary men these were. And all this in the day’s of the Company Bahadur.
When we read about these men and their key administrative skills, two words stand out: They were “minutely just.” Punjab had no laws when the Lawrences took over. The Punjabis too were wild people. But every British administrator relied on his own “sense of justice,” applying the same general principles to all individual cases. This is how they won confidence, respect – and even submission. They were just a handful of chosen men. They proved that a working government upholding a moral social order is not at all difficult to accomplish – if you know the subject. Luckily for them, mass democracy was not a fashionable idea then. Interestingly, John Lawrence was a “leveller.”
The key problem of this region today is social order. This requires laws to which the majority will willingly submit. This moral purpose must come first. After this should come the free market – Liberty Under Law. All this can be accomplished without party politics. Putting democracy first cannot work – the only outcome is party politics. And politics, as we saw in the contrasting cases of Switzerland and the USSA, is what we should seek to minimize. With sound laws and free markets, no one will seek politics as a means of survival, of obtaining the good things of life. That is a good society.
To conclude: About Kabul, there is much in the Baburnama on this great city, which Babar loved and ruled over. In those days, it was not considered an “Afghan” city; rather, it was cosmopolitan and seven or eight languages were spoken there. There was trade with all the surrounding regions, including India. Babar died in Delhi, but left instructions for his body to be buried in Kabul. It is there he lies.
Even then there were Muslim zealots creating trouble. But the city was cultured and cosmopolitan, a far more advanced city than the Delhi of the Lodis which Babar conquered.
So there is Hope.
There is a great political lesson in this: that the society with the least politics is the best society. Afghanistan, Burma, Kashmir, Manipur, Chattisgarh – these areas need The Market to bring about normalcy, to wean people away from the predatory gun culture. There is Law that needs to prevail – the law of private property. If the vast majority agree to live under this law, then things will soon return to normal – business as usual, as they say – and the problem of social order will be solved.
The British were much more practical in dealing with these frontiersmen, as compared to the American fixation with democracy. The British came to administer the north-west frontier only in the 19th century, yet there are tales of many “civilian” heroes. Philip Mason’s The Men Who Ruled India tells of many of these heroes, but the one I have selected for today is Herbert Edwardes in Bannu, on the Af-Pak border, whose tale runs as follows:
The Afghans had ceded Bannu to the Sikhs but neither had ever administered this high desolate valley, where every man went armed and no one had ever willingly paid a tax. Every three years, the Sikhs sent an army to punish the Bannuchis for their failure to pay tribute….
The time came to send out another of those punitive expeditions. Sir Henry Lawrence agreed, but on condition that a British political officer went too and tried to make a peaceful settlement. The Sikhs smiled and agreed; Herbert Edwardes set out, the only Englishman with an army of Sikhs, recently defeated. He was not even in command. But he began by enforcing an order that the army must pay for everything.
This transformed the situation. The Bannuchis were astonished by an army that did not plunder; they came and talked. They sold provisions to the army. Night after night, they came to Edwardes’ tent and sat talking to him…. When he came the next year for three months, he achieved miracles. They dismantled their forts; they agreed to pay a reduced land revenue and he began a field-by-field survey that would lead to an accurate assessment. Finally he decided that they needed a legal code, and wrote it one night. He turned it into Persian next day and made a beginning of administering his code single-handed. The Political Adviser became judge as well as financier, tax-gatherer, commander-in-chief, engineer and legislator – Moses as well as Napoleon.
Even Edwardes himself seems hardly to have realized quite how miraculous his achievement was. He was alone among these people who obeyed him because of the certainty with which he spoke to them, because of the intensity of his moral fervour…
Indeed, the British often spoke of their empire as “an empire of laws and not of men.” The law came first. This was the moral purpose. But here on the frontier everything devolved upon a handful of men – and what extra-ordinary men these were. And all this in the day’s of the Company Bahadur.
When we read about these men and their key administrative skills, two words stand out: They were “minutely just.” Punjab had no laws when the Lawrences took over. The Punjabis too were wild people. But every British administrator relied on his own “sense of justice,” applying the same general principles to all individual cases. This is how they won confidence, respect – and even submission. They were just a handful of chosen men. They proved that a working government upholding a moral social order is not at all difficult to accomplish – if you know the subject. Luckily for them, mass democracy was not a fashionable idea then. Interestingly, John Lawrence was a “leveller.”
The key problem of this region today is social order. This requires laws to which the majority will willingly submit. This moral purpose must come first. After this should come the free market – Liberty Under Law. All this can be accomplished without party politics. Putting democracy first cannot work – the only outcome is party politics. And politics, as we saw in the contrasting cases of Switzerland and the USSA, is what we should seek to minimize. With sound laws and free markets, no one will seek politics as a means of survival, of obtaining the good things of life. That is a good society.
To conclude: About Kabul, there is much in the Baburnama on this great city, which Babar loved and ruled over. In those days, it was not considered an “Afghan” city; rather, it was cosmopolitan and seven or eight languages were spoken there. There was trade with all the surrounding regions, including India. Babar died in Delhi, but left instructions for his body to be buried in Kabul. It is there he lies.
Even then there were Muslim zealots creating trouble. But the city was cultured and cosmopolitan, a far more advanced city than the Delhi of the Lodis which Babar conquered.
So there is Hope.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
For Young India, Against The Fuddy-Duddies
The top headline in the ToI this morning reads:
Why? Have the aged failed?
I would tend to think so, looking not only at the BJP but also at the Congress, their government led by a man with white eyebrows and white eyelashes.
This old man is also a stark failure. The lead editorial in Mint today is titled “Unease in the bond market,” referring to this old man’s mammoth 4.5 trillion rupee government borrowing programme aimed at funding government expenditure, not capital assets. The edit refers to the “huge increase in money poured into politically attractive social sector schemes.” This is the same old tired Congress recipe of rural employment generation, State education, cheap rice and all that crap. The editors call for a return to “fiscal sanity.” Sanity? Is Chacha insane?
I think so. Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi is borrowing our hard savings to fund these expenditures. This is “capital consumption.” As any economist of the Austrian School will tell you, this leads to “decivilization.” Our totally wrecked civilization, wherein every city and town SUCKS, is being further destroyed – to bring about a happy world of happy villagers, all employed on the rolls of The State, all their intelligent children brainwashed into statolatry by Congress teachers. This is the rural uptopia Chacha and all the Gandhis idealize.
Libertarians like me – and there are quite a few around – are calling for unilateral free trade, sound money, private property and the rule of law. We champion Economic Freedom. We also want a civil government based on the principle of “subsidiarity” so that mayors can effectively run cities and towns independently. No more centralization. This is an entirely new recipe for an entirely new dish. Topping the dish is an excellent roads and highways network, built as TOP PRIORITY.
But we were talking about youth and age.
Why are all these overaged fuddy-duddies ruling the roost? Surely, this must be the most important question our youth need to ask.
The culprit is bureaucracy. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out in an eponymously titled volume, bureaucracy means “the rule of the aged.” In a bureaucracy, you start young, right at the bottom. Since promotion is strictly by seniority, by the time you reach the top you must be aged. Mises says bureaucracies "sacrifice youth to age." You can see this in the Roman Catholic Church, for example, which is bureaucratically run: every Pope is invariably aged. In India, you can see this in the IAS-IPS types; but it is even more visible in the centralized, hierarchical political parties like the Congress, the BJP or the Communists – the entire political elite of this country is overaged.
If young people join these centralized, hierarchical political parties they will lose their youth serving the overaged.
So be warned.
PS: Ludwig von Mises’ Bureaucracy has been published in India by Liberty Institute. I played a small role in its publication. Get your copy now.
Of course, the Mises Institute has made it available online. For a free download click here.
BJP should get younger leaders, says RSS chief
Why? Have the aged failed?
I would tend to think so, looking not only at the BJP but also at the Congress, their government led by a man with white eyebrows and white eyelashes.
This old man is also a stark failure. The lead editorial in Mint today is titled “Unease in the bond market,” referring to this old man’s mammoth 4.5 trillion rupee government borrowing programme aimed at funding government expenditure, not capital assets. The edit refers to the “huge increase in money poured into politically attractive social sector schemes.” This is the same old tired Congress recipe of rural employment generation, State education, cheap rice and all that crap. The editors call for a return to “fiscal sanity.” Sanity? Is Chacha insane?
I think so. Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi is borrowing our hard savings to fund these expenditures. This is “capital consumption.” As any economist of the Austrian School will tell you, this leads to “decivilization.” Our totally wrecked civilization, wherein every city and town SUCKS, is being further destroyed – to bring about a happy world of happy villagers, all employed on the rolls of The State, all their intelligent children brainwashed into statolatry by Congress teachers. This is the rural uptopia Chacha and all the Gandhis idealize.
Libertarians like me – and there are quite a few around – are calling for unilateral free trade, sound money, private property and the rule of law. We champion Economic Freedom. We also want a civil government based on the principle of “subsidiarity” so that mayors can effectively run cities and towns independently. No more centralization. This is an entirely new recipe for an entirely new dish. Topping the dish is an excellent roads and highways network, built as TOP PRIORITY.
But we were talking about youth and age.
Why are all these overaged fuddy-duddies ruling the roost? Surely, this must be the most important question our youth need to ask.
The culprit is bureaucracy. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out in an eponymously titled volume, bureaucracy means “the rule of the aged.” In a bureaucracy, you start young, right at the bottom. Since promotion is strictly by seniority, by the time you reach the top you must be aged. Mises says bureaucracies "sacrifice youth to age." You can see this in the Roman Catholic Church, for example, which is bureaucratically run: every Pope is invariably aged. In India, you can see this in the IAS-IPS types; but it is even more visible in the centralized, hierarchical political parties like the Congress, the BJP or the Communists – the entire political elite of this country is overaged.
If young people join these centralized, hierarchical political parties they will lose their youth serving the overaged.
So be warned.
PS: Ludwig von Mises’ Bureaucracy has been published in India by Liberty Institute. I played a small role in its publication. Get your copy now.
Of course, the Mises Institute has made it available online. For a free download click here.
Monday, August 17, 2009
On Naxals, Ambedkar And Gold
A Naxalite document presented at the chief ministers’ conference on security by the central police minister, P Chidambaram, reveals interestingly that these armed rebels are enthusing their supporters with anti-capitalist jingoism. They oppose the “liberalization” of India’s markets, which they dub “neo-liberal reforms.”
Ludwig von Mises becomes relevant here. He said:
By ignoring The Market, these poor, unlettered tribals are ushering in a militaristic order. They are heading for disaster.
Of course, the real problem is socialist “politics” – none of these jokers on our political stage today champion the liberalization process or seek to extend it to the fullest extent imaginable.
But ideas have to be fought with ideas. Our political elite are devoid of political beliefs; hence they are devoid of ideas. Yet, armed might can hardly contain this popular revolt across four states. It requires “politics” – by which I mean liberal politics. This is unconstitutional in India. The good guys, the sane guys, are debarred from the scene.
In the meantime, our The State keeps on rapidly losing all credibility. The news today says that the governor of Assam has been asked to quit after it was found that he engaged in serious corruption while he was governor of Jharkhand – a state where Naxals are strong. Such incidents erode State legitimacy even further.
And there is more: Replying to the government’s demand that the courts immediately clear their backlog of 30 million cases, “chief justices of 21 High Courts met in the Supreme Court and unanimously passed a resolution seeking uninterrupted power supply for trial courts.” How can courts function without fans? they ask. Actually, courts functioned extremely well in the 18th and 19th centuries under the British – when there was no electricity. I would suggest that the judges stop making lame excuses and hire punkha-wallahs.
Moving on from State failure, a fact of life, nothing new, let us turn our attention to some unknown facets of Ambedkar that Chandra has brought to our attention on his blog today. It is heartening to note that Ambedkar, also considered a “founding father of the nation,” was firmly a Gold Standard man. Chandra has referred us to Professor S Ambirajan’s Ambedkar Memorial Lecture delivered at Madras University, available online here. Ambirajan speaks of Ambedkar thus:
Ambirajan’s scholarly assessment of Ambedkar reveals the dimensions of this great man, who was much, much more than a mere “dalit leader.” Ambirajan says:
To conclude, let us contrast something our The State is doing now with what Ambedkar understood as good economics. It is reported in Mint today that the central minister for commerce has announced that “the government plans to explore export markets.” That is, our The State has become an "export agent"!
This is, of course, nonsensical when the same The State disallows imports: like selling and selling and never buying. However, Ambedkar had a different take on this. He clearly saw what was against the interests of the poor, whose cause he relentlessly championed. According to Ambedkar:
Gold: The Only Answer.
Ludwig von Mises becomes relevant here. He said:
The desire for an increase of wealth can be satisfied through exchange, which is the only method possible in a capitalist economy, or by violence and petition as in a militarist society, where the strong acquire by force, the weak by petitioning.
By ignoring The Market, these poor, unlettered tribals are ushering in a militaristic order. They are heading for disaster.
Of course, the real problem is socialist “politics” – none of these jokers on our political stage today champion the liberalization process or seek to extend it to the fullest extent imaginable.
But ideas have to be fought with ideas. Our political elite are devoid of political beliefs; hence they are devoid of ideas. Yet, armed might can hardly contain this popular revolt across four states. It requires “politics” – by which I mean liberal politics. This is unconstitutional in India. The good guys, the sane guys, are debarred from the scene.
In the meantime, our The State keeps on rapidly losing all credibility. The news today says that the governor of Assam has been asked to quit after it was found that he engaged in serious corruption while he was governor of Jharkhand – a state where Naxals are strong. Such incidents erode State legitimacy even further.
And there is more: Replying to the government’s demand that the courts immediately clear their backlog of 30 million cases, “chief justices of 21 High Courts met in the Supreme Court and unanimously passed a resolution seeking uninterrupted power supply for trial courts.” How can courts function without fans? they ask. Actually, courts functioned extremely well in the 18th and 19th centuries under the British – when there was no electricity. I would suggest that the judges stop making lame excuses and hire punkha-wallahs.
Moving on from State failure, a fact of life, nothing new, let us turn our attention to some unknown facets of Ambedkar that Chandra has brought to our attention on his blog today. It is heartening to note that Ambedkar, also considered a “founding father of the nation,” was firmly a Gold Standard man. Chandra has referred us to Professor S Ambirajan’s Ambedkar Memorial Lecture delivered at Madras University, available online here. Ambirajan speaks of Ambedkar thus:
In his memorandum given to the Hilton Young Commission in 1925 he [Ambedkar] pointed out: “a managed currency is to be altogether avoided when the management is to be in the hands of the government”. While there is less risk with monetary management by a private bank because “the penalty for imprudent issue, or mismanagement is visited by disaster directly upon the property of the issuer”. In the case of the government “the chance of mismanagement is greater” because the issue of money “is authorised and conducted by men who are never under any present responsibility for private loss in case of bad judgment or mismanagement”. In short, Ambedkar’s conclusion is clearly towards price stability through conservative and automatic monetary management. This is of such current relevance that in these days of burgeoning budget deficits and their automatic monetisation, it would appear that we could do with an effective restraint on liquidity creation through an automatic mechanism.
Ambirajan’s scholarly assessment of Ambedkar reveals the dimensions of this great man, who was much, much more than a mere “dalit leader.” Ambirajan says:
Ambedkar firmly belonged to the Judeo-Greek-enlightenment tradition and was an uncompromising modernist. This shows in his approach to economics, politics, law, society and everything else including the matter of sartorial habits. He himself was always impeccably dressed in western clothes, and chastised Mahatma Gandhi for going to the Round Table Conference in London to discuss political settlement “as though he was going to a Vaishnava shrine singing Narsi Mehta’s Songs”. His preference for a modernist approach comes most clearly when he compared Ranade and Gandhi: “In the age of Ranade the leaders struggled to modernise India. In the age of Gandhi the leaders are making her a living specimen of antiquity. In the age of Ranade leaders depended upon experience as a corrective method of their thought and their deeds. The leaders of the present age depend upon their inner voice as their guide. Not only is there a difference in their mental make up, there is a difference even in their viewpoint regarding external appearance. The leaders of the old age took care to be well clad while the leaders of the present age take pride in being half-clad”. But more importantly he believed in material progress, constitutional approach to solving problems, rule of law, right to property, civil liberties, democracy based on the liberty, equality and fraternity principles enunciated by the French Revolution. His extensive critique of the caste system is also based on enlightenment principles of economic efficiency through private initiative, individual liberties and human equality.
To conclude, let us contrast something our The State is doing now with what Ambedkar understood as good economics. It is reported in Mint today that the central minister for commerce has announced that “the government plans to explore export markets.” That is, our The State has become an "export agent"!
This is, of course, nonsensical when the same The State disallows imports: like selling and selling and never buying. However, Ambedkar had a different take on this. He clearly saw what was against the interests of the poor, whose cause he relentlessly championed. According to Ambedkar:
Low exchange rate increases exports and boosts internal prices. This benefits the trading classes at the expense of the poorer people at home.
Gold: The Only Answer.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
On Idiots... And My Smile
“Cops Call The People ‘Idiots’; Their Deaths 'Collateral Damage'"
This should have been the headline of this elaborate report on Chattisgarh, where Naxalism is rife, from the Hindustan Times this morning. Here is an extract:
The report tells of how tribal property is insecure – entire villages are wiped out routinely; and there is an interesting bit on how land is being “acquired” by our The State to hand over to the Tatas for setting up a steel plant.
Actually, I do believe that it is the Chattisgarh administration who are a bunch of idiots. They have disregarded all the basic principles of civil government – which is why the situation on the ground is described by their police chief as “war.”
The opposite of war is Peace – which means The Market, voluntary exchanges, and cities and modernization: as in the story of Shillong and British rule over the north-east, which commenced only in the 1850s. The country’s only Bob Dylan fest is held in Shillong, and it has been held there annually for decades now. Dylan is not headbanger stuff; his lyrics have great cerebral appeal.
Uncivilised savages, indeed.
Scene 2: The Roads of India, built by our The State and policed by their The Cops.
A WHO report says that India tops the world in road deaths – 13 every hour. 1,25,000 die every year, over 350 a day. An expert says the figure could be considerably higher, for many deaths go unreported; also, many people die days or even weeks after the accident and are not counted. Of this total, 24,000 deaths are of truckers. Next come people on two-wheelers.
The expert, Rohit Baluja, says:
>"We don't have scientific traffic engineering which forms the basis of road safety improvement practised in US and UK since 1930s. This still remains a matter of consultancy in India as we are yet to have our own traffic engineering wings," Baluja adds.
Idiots?
Scene 3: Government-issued fiat paper currency
Mint has stuck its neck out today and in an editorial which says that the recession is not over yet, goes further in congratulating governments and central bankers the world over for vastly increasing the money supply since the recession hit. The editors await the boost in consumer and corporate spending that Keynesian theory predicts. They say it is yet to happen.
Of course, in a paper, different editors are thinking different things – and so it was heartening to read a column in Mint's inner pages explaining the basic tenets of Austrian economics for the lay reader. The explanation leaves much to be desired – but, that said, it was heartening to see that more and more people are getting interested in Austrian ideas. In this column, the manner in which Austrians look at inflation is shown to be totally different from mainstream teachings – and this means that their theories of business cycles must differ as well.
Looking only at the data of money supply increases and the surge in government deficits, Austrians would say that the worst is yet to come. If it was so easy to create prosperity by printing money, poverty would have been wiped out in India ages ago.
To conclude: The 3 scenes presented today – all from the morning papers – show contrasting views of the Role of The State. In Chattisgarh we found it clueless. On road safety we found them equally clueless. Finally, we looked at their idea of money – equally clueless.
Anyway, I have for long been wanting to do some “body art.” In Goa, I much admired other people’s tattoos. I have now decided on what I will do. I am going to wear a gold front tooth.
Seeing me smile, I hope everyone will get my drift.
This should have been the headline of this elaborate report on Chattisgarh, where Naxalism is rife, from the Hindustan Times this morning. Here is an extract:
A senior police officer in the district had little idea how his men might distinguish between a militant and an innocent villager on the ground. In a conversation in his office, interrupted every minute by calls as he deployed troops in the forests, he said: “Most tribals are uncivilised savages. They are all idiots.”
Chhattisgarh’s police chief, Vishwa Ranjan, shrugs: “In any war, there is bound to be collateral damage.”
The report tells of how tribal property is insecure – entire villages are wiped out routinely; and there is an interesting bit on how land is being “acquired” by our The State to hand over to the Tatas for setting up a steel plant.
Actually, I do believe that it is the Chattisgarh administration who are a bunch of idiots. They have disregarded all the basic principles of civil government – which is why the situation on the ground is described by their police chief as “war.”
The opposite of war is Peace – which means The Market, voluntary exchanges, and cities and modernization: as in the story of Shillong and British rule over the north-east, which commenced only in the 1850s. The country’s only Bob Dylan fest is held in Shillong, and it has been held there annually for decades now. Dylan is not headbanger stuff; his lyrics have great cerebral appeal.
Uncivilised savages, indeed.
Scene 2: The Roads of India, built by our The State and policed by their The Cops.
A WHO report says that India tops the world in road deaths – 13 every hour. 1,25,000 die every year, over 350 a day. An expert says the figure could be considerably higher, for many deaths go unreported; also, many people die days or even weeks after the accident and are not counted. Of this total, 24,000 deaths are of truckers. Next come people on two-wheelers.
The expert, Rohit Baluja, says:
Idiots?
Scene 3: Government-issued fiat paper currency
Mint has stuck its neck out today and in an editorial which says that the recession is not over yet, goes further in congratulating governments and central bankers the world over for vastly increasing the money supply since the recession hit. The editors await the boost in consumer and corporate spending that Keynesian theory predicts. They say it is yet to happen.
Of course, in a paper, different editors are thinking different things – and so it was heartening to read a column in Mint's inner pages explaining the basic tenets of Austrian economics for the lay reader. The explanation leaves much to be desired – but, that said, it was heartening to see that more and more people are getting interested in Austrian ideas. In this column, the manner in which Austrians look at inflation is shown to be totally different from mainstream teachings – and this means that their theories of business cycles must differ as well.
Looking only at the data of money supply increases and the surge in government deficits, Austrians would say that the worst is yet to come. If it was so easy to create prosperity by printing money, poverty would have been wiped out in India ages ago.
To conclude: The 3 scenes presented today – all from the morning papers – show contrasting views of the Role of The State. In Chattisgarh we found it clueless. On road safety we found them equally clueless. Finally, we looked at their idea of money – equally clueless.
Anyway, I have for long been wanting to do some “body art.” In Goa, I much admired other people’s tattoos. I have now decided on what I will do. I am going to wear a gold front tooth.
Seeing me smile, I hope everyone will get my drift.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
On the USSA, Europe, And Friedman
I spent a long time this morning on Lew Rockwell’s blog, my favourite blog, which is also a means of knowing what’s really happening in the USSA.
[That is, the United Socialist States of America.]
Today, LRC has posted a video clip of a tv interview with Gerald Celente, a man known for his ability to forecast trends. Celente is now predicting a second American revolution, the rise of a third party he calls Progressive Libertarian and perhaps even the break up of the USSA. Watch the interview here.
Today, LRC also has something from Europe: Max Keiser and Thorsten Polleit in a tv interview on the differences between the major European economies and that of the USA – the fact that the former did not spend a few trillions on the pointless invasion of Iraq. This is the main reason why France and Germany are in better financial health than the USSA.
I know of Polleit from his many learned articles I have received from the Mises Institute. Keiser is a private banker who concludes that the USSA is messing up badly; that Obama is a failure, being “in the pocket of Wall Street.”
This video is a must watch today, for popular newspapers are floating the foolish idea that the worst is over, that happy days are here again. If you watch this, you can get real on a very important issue – The Economy, on which your survival depends, and the fact that The State inevitably damages The Economy when it intervenes.
But my favourite on LRC this morning was an old article by Murray Rothbard on Milton Friedman and the “Chicago School.” Rothbard shows up the deep errors of this important school of thought, calling Friedman a “statist-inflationist.” Students of Economics would do well to read this article. In this essay, Rothbard admits to having omitted matters concerning economic theory and methodology, where too there are extremely serious differences between the “positivism” of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School and the methodological apriorism of the Austrian School, the gentlemen from Vienna. I hold that it is in methodology that the greatest errors have been committed. Instead of logic, we got measurement. Instead of words pregnant with meaning, we got mathematics and statistics.
However, Milton Friedman got it right on India. He visited India in the 50s to advise the central planners – and told them they were bound to fail. His brief essays written on India then have been republished by the Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi. They make for good reading. I also like Friedman’s “Law of Spending”: that central planners spend “other people’s money on other people.” He might have been a friend of the US establishment, but he was an enemy of ours. Indeed, as Rothbard points out, the core idea of the Friedmanites – an erroneous one – was that the “micro” was to be under laissez-faire while the “macro” was to be under The State. The Chicago School is essentially Keynesian in this respect. Rothbard says that their founder, Irving Fisher, was a “pre-Keynesian Keynesian.”
I heard a funny story about Milton Friedman while he was in India. He was taken to the Delhi School of Economics to deliver a lecture. While introducing Friedman, the director of the DSE told the class: “If you write in your exams what this man says, I will fail you.”
Goes to show why this great science is in such a sorry shape in this country – because of our The State.
[That is, the United Socialist States of America.]
Today, LRC has posted a video clip of a tv interview with Gerald Celente, a man known for his ability to forecast trends. Celente is now predicting a second American revolution, the rise of a third party he calls Progressive Libertarian and perhaps even the break up of the USSA. Watch the interview here.
Today, LRC also has something from Europe: Max Keiser and Thorsten Polleit in a tv interview on the differences between the major European economies and that of the USA – the fact that the former did not spend a few trillions on the pointless invasion of Iraq. This is the main reason why France and Germany are in better financial health than the USSA.
I know of Polleit from his many learned articles I have received from the Mises Institute. Keiser is a private banker who concludes that the USSA is messing up badly; that Obama is a failure, being “in the pocket of Wall Street.”
This video is a must watch today, for popular newspapers are floating the foolish idea that the worst is over, that happy days are here again. If you watch this, you can get real on a very important issue – The Economy, on which your survival depends, and the fact that The State inevitably damages The Economy when it intervenes.
But my favourite on LRC this morning was an old article by Murray Rothbard on Milton Friedman and the “Chicago School.” Rothbard shows up the deep errors of this important school of thought, calling Friedman a “statist-inflationist.” Students of Economics would do well to read this article. In this essay, Rothbard admits to having omitted matters concerning economic theory and methodology, where too there are extremely serious differences between the “positivism” of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School and the methodological apriorism of the Austrian School, the gentlemen from Vienna. I hold that it is in methodology that the greatest errors have been committed. Instead of logic, we got measurement. Instead of words pregnant with meaning, we got mathematics and statistics.
However, Milton Friedman got it right on India. He visited India in the 50s to advise the central planners – and told them they were bound to fail. His brief essays written on India then have been republished by the Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi. They make for good reading. I also like Friedman’s “Law of Spending”: that central planners spend “other people’s money on other people.” He might have been a friend of the US establishment, but he was an enemy of ours. Indeed, as Rothbard points out, the core idea of the Friedmanites – an erroneous one – was that the “micro” was to be under laissez-faire while the “macro” was to be under The State. The Chicago School is essentially Keynesian in this respect. Rothbard says that their founder, Irving Fisher, was a “pre-Keynesian Keynesian.”
I heard a funny story about Milton Friedman while he was in India. He was taken to the Delhi School of Economics to deliver a lecture. While introducing Friedman, the director of the DSE told the class: “If you write in your exams what this man says, I will fail you.”
Goes to show why this great science is in such a sorry shape in this country – because of our The State.
Friday, August 14, 2009
No Reason To Celebrate Independence
There is little point in celebrating independence from the Brits unless we simultaneously come to grips with the fact that Congress rule and socialism for these 62 years has been an unmitigated disaster. A column in Mint by Aakar Patel on this occasion is therefore essential reading. He writes:
About Bombay, history says that around 1860, when Sir Bartle Frere was the city’s governor, he received a letter from Florence Nightingale congratulating him on the low death rate in his city, lower than any European city, including London. She jokingly tells Frere that she will soon have to begin suggesting that sick Europeans should shift to Bombay to improve their health.
Today, Mumbai is famous for its slums, its filth, its impossible traffic, and for flooding up with every rain.
Every Indian city, every town, and even every hill-station is a disaster today.
Our habitat has been destroyed.
Our civilization is a great big almighty mess.
The blame must fall on those who occupied the “commanding heights” in this centralized State - and from these dizzying heights pursued that great big nonsense called "rural development."
And it is certainly not true that our “freedom” has been augmented. The current regime practices “economic repression.” The World Economic Freedom Index says we are “mostly unfree.”
This means that there is nothing to celebrate today.
Anyway, it's a "dry day."
The British left in 1947, and they left too soon. We celebrate Independence Day, but another six decades of dependence as Great Britain’s colony would have been good for us. We could have learnt how to run cities. No harm in admitting what is obvious for all to see: We cannot even manage traffic.
Mumbai, not Hong Kong, would have been the centre for finance in Asia, instead of the second-rate city it has become since the British left.
Delhi would have more bits like the ones the British built, the only elegant parts of the city, just as British South Bombay is the only elegant part. Cities such as Surat and Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and Indore would have become civilized. Under English and Scottish bureaucrats, architecture, certainly civic architecture, would not be as ugly as it is.
About Bombay, history says that around 1860, when Sir Bartle Frere was the city’s governor, he received a letter from Florence Nightingale congratulating him on the low death rate in his city, lower than any European city, including London. She jokingly tells Frere that she will soon have to begin suggesting that sick Europeans should shift to Bombay to improve their health.
Today, Mumbai is famous for its slums, its filth, its impossible traffic, and for flooding up with every rain.
Every Indian city, every town, and even every hill-station is a disaster today.
Our habitat has been destroyed.
Our civilization is a great big almighty mess.
The blame must fall on those who occupied the “commanding heights” in this centralized State - and from these dizzying heights pursued that great big nonsense called "rural development."
And it is certainly not true that our “freedom” has been augmented. The current regime practices “economic repression.” The World Economic Freedom Index says we are “mostly unfree.”
This means that there is nothing to celebrate today.
Anyway, it's a "dry day."
Thursday, August 13, 2009
In Praise Of The Illiterate
I have always been an admirer of the illiterate – in the precise sense that I am an admirer of all the other skills they possess.
Just the other day, Dilip the master-mason passed under my window and, seeing me, waved a friendly hello. I recall an incident a few years ago when he was engaged in carrying out some modifications to my flat, that some precise measurements had to be noted down. Dilip confessed to being unable to write. He could read the numbers, but couldn’t write them. Yet, he is a master-mason.
I can recount countless others: unlettered jungle-dwellers who distil great mahua; unlettered singers and musicians; unlettered tailor-masters; unlettered cooks who can whip up a great bhang ki thandai… the list is endless.
Chandra’s blog today has a quote from Professor S Ambiranjan, referring to observations made in a largely illiterate Tamil village, that is truly astounding:
These words should be written down in gold.
Once we understand this, that the illiterate are not a “problem,” that they possess human minds with the same logical structure as the rest of us, the same “a priori categories” that Ludwig von Mises talks of, then Liberty assumes a much higher significance than “education.”
Indeed, I have a sad story to tell that drives this home: The other day I met a young lad who was reputed to be a good cook. He spoke of some new restaurant coming up wherein he was getting a job. When I met him a few weeks later, I asked about the new job. He said it hadn’t worked out. Someone else said he was now working as a beldaar – which is a day labourer, who works under a mason, who works under a master-mason – like the illiterate Dilip.
Think about it: The State has strangulated the hospitality trade with red tape. Education? Or Liberty?
Before printing was invented, there were millions of “scribes” to do the writing. They were always poor. Outside every Indian court you will see people who type out petitions and so on – and they are poor. Just literacy is of no value at all. Give me the thumb impression of a great chef any day.
About Ambirajan: He and I were neighbours on the editorial page of The Economic Times for many years. His column, titled “View from the periphery,” would appear along with my “Antidote” every alternate Tuesday. This continued for many years. However, his column ended rather tragically. It seems he wrote some really strong stuff which the editors refused to publish. He then withdrew his column. He died shortly afterwards.
Professor Ambirajan is the author of an exhaustive, deep and scholarly study on the impact of classical liberal political economy on British colonial policy in India. He proves that not only were British civil servants well trained in classical liberal political economy, their every decision was guided by these liberal principles. The book is published by Cambridge University as part of a South Asia series. I bought it years ago at a British Council library sale. And I have just lent this book to Chandra. Which is probably why there is so much on Ambirajan suddenly on his blog.
Undoubtedly, Professor S Ambirajan was one the most distinguished economists India has ever produced.
But the quote above is the result of Chandra’s own research.
Thanks, Chandra.
Just the other day, Dilip the master-mason passed under my window and, seeing me, waved a friendly hello. I recall an incident a few years ago when he was engaged in carrying out some modifications to my flat, that some precise measurements had to be noted down. Dilip confessed to being unable to write. He could read the numbers, but couldn’t write them. Yet, he is a master-mason.
I can recount countless others: unlettered jungle-dwellers who distil great mahua; unlettered singers and musicians; unlettered tailor-masters; unlettered cooks who can whip up a great bhang ki thandai… the list is endless.
Chandra’s blog today has a quote from Professor S Ambiranjan, referring to observations made in a largely illiterate Tamil village, that is truly astounding:
“A person who may not be able to sign his name in paper will nevertheless have a thorough grip over interest rates, profitability ratios, geometrical proportions and other such mathematical knowledge needed for both his economic relationships and constructional activities.”
These words should be written down in gold.
Once we understand this, that the illiterate are not a “problem,” that they possess human minds with the same logical structure as the rest of us, the same “a priori categories” that Ludwig von Mises talks of, then Liberty assumes a much higher significance than “education.”
Indeed, I have a sad story to tell that drives this home: The other day I met a young lad who was reputed to be a good cook. He spoke of some new restaurant coming up wherein he was getting a job. When I met him a few weeks later, I asked about the new job. He said it hadn’t worked out. Someone else said he was now working as a beldaar – which is a day labourer, who works under a mason, who works under a master-mason – like the illiterate Dilip.
Think about it: The State has strangulated the hospitality trade with red tape. Education? Or Liberty?
Before printing was invented, there were millions of “scribes” to do the writing. They were always poor. Outside every Indian court you will see people who type out petitions and so on – and they are poor. Just literacy is of no value at all. Give me the thumb impression of a great chef any day.
About Ambirajan: He and I were neighbours on the editorial page of The Economic Times for many years. His column, titled “View from the periphery,” would appear along with my “Antidote” every alternate Tuesday. This continued for many years. However, his column ended rather tragically. It seems he wrote some really strong stuff which the editors refused to publish. He then withdrew his column. He died shortly afterwards.
Professor Ambirajan is the author of an exhaustive, deep and scholarly study on the impact of classical liberal political economy on British colonial policy in India. He proves that not only were British civil servants well trained in classical liberal political economy, their every decision was guided by these liberal principles. The book is published by Cambridge University as part of a South Asia series. I bought it years ago at a British Council library sale. And I have just lent this book to Chandra. Which is probably why there is so much on Ambirajan suddenly on his blog.
Undoubtedly, Professor S Ambirajan was one the most distinguished economists India has ever produced.
But the quote above is the result of Chandra’s own research.
Thanks, Chandra.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
For Unilateral Free Trade
Today, let us discuss free international trade. The ToI has a lead editorial on the China-India bilaterals underway. But here is something from BBC News I got thanks to Vipin Veetil – that our The State is refusing to open the old Stillwell Road that connects north-eastern India, via upper Burma, to south-western China. Opening up this road is crucial for the region’s development – and also for regional peace.
Remember: Where the local economy doesn’t exist, young men have no option but to carry a gun and join one predatory group or another. The BBC story says that many local politicians in the north-east are in favour of opening the Stillwell Road. I am on their side.
Note that they have opened the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road (but refused to rebuild the old Mughal Road); that they have opened the Sikkim-China trade route; and that they are therefore being inconsistent by not opening up the Stillwell Road.
Of course, the ocean is the biggest highway – and they have not opened up our 5,500 km coast for free international trade.
Inconsistent thinking marks our The State’s actions.
Unlike our Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi State, John Prince-Smith was a clear thinker. He was the father of the German free trade movement in the mid-19th century. I discovered him last week in Detmar Doering’s great collection of liberal readings. My copy was published in Kabul in 2002. I hope many learned Afghans have read this important book.
In a nutshell: John Prince-Smith says that the issue of free trade is directly linked to ideas of the legitimate powers of The State. He says that “the demand for freedom of trade is the demand for unlimited division of labour between inhabitants of different states.” He goes on to show why political forces have no business in interfering with the “economic community” – which includes foreigners. This economic community transcends all national boundaries, its growth is good for all, and this is the best way to prevent war – which is always political. John Prince-Smith decries politics in international trade. He says: “Freedom of trade can become general only through unilateral action.” I agree. Let us get The State out of international trade. Let an international economic catallaxy flourish.
In this context, here is an interview with Jagdish Bhagwati I found thanks to Chandra, which speaks a different language, the language of “policy” – that is, trade policy.
In particular, Bhagwati recommends "export orientation" as a policy worth pursuing, which is something Peter Bauer dismissed long ago as nonsensical. In reality, imports are more valued than exports. There are huge profits to be made in importation - and these profits are always accompanied by huge gains for consumers.
What I say is No Trade Policy. In the latter scenario, the Consumer is King. John Prince-Smith would have agreed. According to him, the only role of The State is the "production of security." I wonder what he would have thought if he knew about the Indian State Police. Hear the Indian rap song, "Ban the police" by clicking here.
There is much on John Prince-Smith online – thanks to Googleda.
There is a Wikipedia entry here.
Ralph Raico has written a detailed essay on Prince-Smith, published by the Mises Institute. It is well worth a read.
And google books has digital images of a book by John Prince-Smith on – guess what? – MONEY. This book is dated 1813, so it must be by the father of the Prince-Smith we are discussing here, who was born in 1809.
Wonderful to find another great hero of Liberty, of Unilateral Free Trade. Of economics above politics.
Remember: Where the local economy doesn’t exist, young men have no option but to carry a gun and join one predatory group or another. The BBC story says that many local politicians in the north-east are in favour of opening the Stillwell Road. I am on their side.
Note that they have opened the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road (but refused to rebuild the old Mughal Road); that they have opened the Sikkim-China trade route; and that they are therefore being inconsistent by not opening up the Stillwell Road.
Of course, the ocean is the biggest highway – and they have not opened up our 5,500 km coast for free international trade.
Inconsistent thinking marks our The State’s actions.
Unlike our Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi State, John Prince-Smith was a clear thinker. He was the father of the German free trade movement in the mid-19th century. I discovered him last week in Detmar Doering’s great collection of liberal readings. My copy was published in Kabul in 2002. I hope many learned Afghans have read this important book.
In a nutshell: John Prince-Smith says that the issue of free trade is directly linked to ideas of the legitimate powers of The State. He says that “the demand for freedom of trade is the demand for unlimited division of labour between inhabitants of different states.” He goes on to show why political forces have no business in interfering with the “economic community” – which includes foreigners. This economic community transcends all national boundaries, its growth is good for all, and this is the best way to prevent war – which is always political. John Prince-Smith decries politics in international trade. He says: “Freedom of trade can become general only through unilateral action.” I agree. Let us get The State out of international trade. Let an international economic catallaxy flourish.
In this context, here is an interview with Jagdish Bhagwati I found thanks to Chandra, which speaks a different language, the language of “policy” – that is, trade policy.
In particular, Bhagwati recommends "export orientation" as a policy worth pursuing, which is something Peter Bauer dismissed long ago as nonsensical. In reality, imports are more valued than exports. There are huge profits to be made in importation - and these profits are always accompanied by huge gains for consumers.
What I say is No Trade Policy. In the latter scenario, the Consumer is King. John Prince-Smith would have agreed. According to him, the only role of The State is the "production of security." I wonder what he would have thought if he knew about the Indian State Police. Hear the Indian rap song, "Ban the police" by clicking here.
There is much on John Prince-Smith online – thanks to Googleda.
There is a Wikipedia entry here.
Ralph Raico has written a detailed essay on Prince-Smith, published by the Mises Institute. It is well worth a read.
And google books has digital images of a book by John Prince-Smith on – guess what? – MONEY. This book is dated 1813, so it must be by the father of the Prince-Smith we are discussing here, who was born in 1809.
Wonderful to find another great hero of Liberty, of Unilateral Free Trade. Of economics above politics.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
On Mint... And Gold
I thoroughly enjoyed reading my copy of Mint first thing this morning. The lead editorial on the rights of street vendors is noteworthy, and commendable for a business newspaper. Yes, the poor need The Market.
Liberty!
At the bottom of the same page, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, editor of the paper, writes of the harsh reality of total government failure. He concludes:
I liked the word “transition.” It implies we must immediately commence restructuring the apparatus of our The State, and thereby head towards a better world we can all visualize, of liberty, property and justice. It is this malfunctioning State that is holding this talented and gifted nation back.
In the inner pages, all of them quite interesting, there is a hilarious column on Mao and Keynes (and the RBI) by Manas Chakravarty – but I could not find it on the website. It is well worth a read. I liked "a spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of Keynesianism." Ha ha.
But topping them all was a piece by A.M. Godbole at the bottom of the op-ed page on the need for “gold banks.” I could not agree more. Further, I do not see any regulatory reasons why such gold banks cannot be freely established under traditional commercial and legal principles – like Property and Contract.
In my travels in the western Ghats of Karnataka, I noticed that there were indeed many such “gold banks” in the towns – even the smallest ones. In Bangalore, during a severe financial crisis, I even had the opportunity to pawn my laptop with one of these establishments – and that was what saved my skin. While taking custody of the laptop (containing all my works) the informal banker (not bankster) assured me with these words:
Frankly, given the huge monetary inflation that looms ahead, gold banks run under basic legal principles will be a huge success. A huge amount of gold will flow into them as people everywhere seek refuge from monetary inflation in all fiat currencies. This is precisely why the Bank of Amsterdam became the biggest bank in Europe (praised by both Adam Smith and David Hume) while France and Britain were both in financial turmoil. It is interesting that, after India, France is the nation with the biggest private hoards of gold. There are now ATMs in Germany that dispense gold coins.
So Godbole’s piece is important. It is in the direction of sound money and legitimate banking.
Good paper – Mint. Good job they’re doing. Excellent product, excellent website. It’s something about start-ups – they try harder. And usually succeed.
And don’t forget – I write there too.
Liberty!
At the bottom of the same page, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, editor of the paper, writes of the harsh reality of total government failure. He concludes:
It has often been said that the Indian state does too little in some areas and too much in others. That is the whole point of economic reforms: A free economy can boost growth and thus provide the government with tax revenues to spend on what should be its key functions. Administrative reforms and rebuilding of state capacity have to be important parts of this transition.
I liked the word “transition.” It implies we must immediately commence restructuring the apparatus of our The State, and thereby head towards a better world we can all visualize, of liberty, property and justice. It is this malfunctioning State that is holding this talented and gifted nation back.
In the inner pages, all of them quite interesting, there is a hilarious column on Mao and Keynes (and the RBI) by Manas Chakravarty – but I could not find it on the website. It is well worth a read. I liked "a spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of Keynesianism." Ha ha.
But topping them all was a piece by A.M. Godbole at the bottom of the op-ed page on the need for “gold banks.” I could not agree more. Further, I do not see any regulatory reasons why such gold banks cannot be freely established under traditional commercial and legal principles – like Property and Contract.
In my travels in the western Ghats of Karnataka, I noticed that there were indeed many such “gold banks” in the towns – even the smallest ones. In Bangalore, during a severe financial crisis, I even had the opportunity to pawn my laptop with one of these establishments – and that was what saved my skin. While taking custody of the laptop (containing all my works) the informal banker (not bankster) assured me with these words:
“We are more honest than the RBI.”
Frankly, given the huge monetary inflation that looms ahead, gold banks run under basic legal principles will be a huge success. A huge amount of gold will flow into them as people everywhere seek refuge from monetary inflation in all fiat currencies. This is precisely why the Bank of Amsterdam became the biggest bank in Europe (praised by both Adam Smith and David Hume) while France and Britain were both in financial turmoil. It is interesting that, after India, France is the nation with the biggest private hoards of gold. There are now ATMs in Germany that dispense gold coins.
So Godbole’s piece is important. It is in the direction of sound money and legitimate banking.
Good paper – Mint. Good job they’re doing. Excellent product, excellent website. It’s something about start-ups – they try harder. And usually succeed.
And don’t forget – I write there too.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Chacha's "New Deal"... And Mine
There is a news report here that says Chacha Manmohan has announced a “new deal” for urban street vendors. Actually, a decade ago, prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee too made such noises. But nothing happened.
Why?
Take a look at the situation on the ground:
About a week ago, I was surprised to see that my neighbourhood tea stall, which operates from a pavement, was closed. Suspecting the worst, I looked around for the stall owner, Raju, and, when I found him, inquired as to why he had shut shop.
He said it was the police.
Why? I asked.
Apparently, the reason given was “security.” Independence Day was approaching and the tea shop must therefore close down, two weeks prior to the day.
Gross misuse of power.
I told Raju a tale from my student days in London:
It was a bright sunny day and I decided to take a walk along the Thames. Classes were in the evening. After walking a fair distance, I chanced upon a pub on the waterfront. A nasty thirst had developed by then, so I stepped in for one small beer – all that a poor Indian student could afford. However, luck was quite a lady that morning. Seeing me approach, the publican pulled a big mug of beer and handed it to me, saying, “This one is on the house.”
I said thank you, took a big gulp and then politely asked what the occasion was. The reply: “It is the Queen Mum’s birthday.”
I raised a toast to the Queen Mum's health.
And then I thought to myself: in India, on any great leader’s birthday, or any “national day,” our The State invariably declares a “dry day.” Whereas in England, the people actually “celebrate.”
Independence Day, the day of Freedom, should be a huge mela. Instead, it means tyranny.
It is indeed tyranny that forces business closures on flimsy pretexts. Raju’s tea shop has been closed for many days now. The last time I met him he showed me all his official “papers” – from his “tehbazari license” to a host of other documents, all carefully preserved in plastic covers.
All these official papers – to no effect.
Yet, the fact remains that very few street-level businessmen actually possess such papers. They are routinely harassed, beaten, robbed and worse.
There is only one solution to this: All markets, all pavements, and all parks must be free for all hawkers and vendors.
Further, the State police should be ordered to keep off the markets. All markets should engage private security and conduct their own affairs.
The police should be instructed to leave the "good guys" making money alone - and focus on the bad guys. No predation.
New Deal.
We call it Liberty!
Why?
Take a look at the situation on the ground:
About a week ago, I was surprised to see that my neighbourhood tea stall, which operates from a pavement, was closed. Suspecting the worst, I looked around for the stall owner, Raju, and, when I found him, inquired as to why he had shut shop.
He said it was the police.
Why? I asked.
Apparently, the reason given was “security.” Independence Day was approaching and the tea shop must therefore close down, two weeks prior to the day.
Gross misuse of power.
I told Raju a tale from my student days in London:
It was a bright sunny day and I decided to take a walk along the Thames. Classes were in the evening. After walking a fair distance, I chanced upon a pub on the waterfront. A nasty thirst had developed by then, so I stepped in for one small beer – all that a poor Indian student could afford. However, luck was quite a lady that morning. Seeing me approach, the publican pulled a big mug of beer and handed it to me, saying, “This one is on the house.”
I said thank you, took a big gulp and then politely asked what the occasion was. The reply: “It is the Queen Mum’s birthday.”
I raised a toast to the Queen Mum's health.
And then I thought to myself: in India, on any great leader’s birthday, or any “national day,” our The State invariably declares a “dry day.” Whereas in England, the people actually “celebrate.”
Independence Day, the day of Freedom, should be a huge mela. Instead, it means tyranny.
It is indeed tyranny that forces business closures on flimsy pretexts. Raju’s tea shop has been closed for many days now. The last time I met him he showed me all his official “papers” – from his “tehbazari license” to a host of other documents, all carefully preserved in plastic covers.
All these official papers – to no effect.
Yet, the fact remains that very few street-level businessmen actually possess such papers. They are routinely harassed, beaten, robbed and worse.
There is only one solution to this: All markets, all pavements, and all parks must be free for all hawkers and vendors.
Further, the State police should be ordered to keep off the markets. All markets should engage private security and conduct their own affairs.
The police should be instructed to leave the "good guys" making money alone - and focus on the bad guys. No predation.
New Deal.
We call it Liberty!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Sad Tale Of Bad Theory
“The Sad Tale of Indian Retail” – such is the title of an informed article in Mint today, an article that saddens the reader. As with another potential boom sector – civil aviation – in retailing too it is our The State that is screwing up the whole scene. As I recently blogged, IKEA has opted out of India – and we consumers are losing. But when an entire sector is prevented from growing by State diktat, there are lots of other losers as well – employees, real estate and construction, supply chain vendors and so on.
And all this to “protect” mom-n-pop stores. What a joke on the sheeple!
Recall that our The State has always been in the big-ticket retailing business itself. Super Bazaar is a State-owned retailer, as is Kendriya Bhandar. I wonder why our Nehruvians of today, led by Chacha Manmohan, didn’t think of the harm they would do to small shopkeepers when their The State entered large scale retailing in the 50s and 60s – when there was nothing much to sell!
It shows: These guys have no Principles.
They are confused. Duds.
And they want to teach!
About retailing, allow me to tell the tale of Chaudi, the main market town of South Goa, which lay 3 km from the small cottage I lived in. So, for almost all my shopping needs, I had to drive there.
The biggest shop in Chaudi is a government sponsored co-operative supermarket. It is no Wal-Mart. It is no Tesco’s. It is no Sainsbury’s. But it is the most popular shop in Chaudi. It is always packed with customers. Chaudi is the main market town for villagers in a 15 km radius – and all these villagers like to shop at the co-op supermarket.
The question I wish to pose is this: Would the people of South Goa not be better off if real supermarkets – like Wal-Mart, Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s – opened up in Chaudi? Indeed, just by entering the market these retailers would raise the value of all the real estate in the town. Locals would shop better, obtain better buys at better prices. Locals would get jobs. Tourists would be happier too.
The critical error in official policy in India remains the same: They do not care for the consumer. Of course, socialist theory is to blame, because this theory looks at the “capitalist” as being in control of the market economy. In reality, the capitalist only serves the consumer. It is consumers who are the real bosses in Capitalism. The socialists cannot admit that.
Away with socialist theory. Away with their errors. Away with their teachings.
And full power to the Consumer.
And all this to “protect” mom-n-pop stores. What a joke on the sheeple!
Recall that our The State has always been in the big-ticket retailing business itself. Super Bazaar is a State-owned retailer, as is Kendriya Bhandar. I wonder why our Nehruvians of today, led by Chacha Manmohan, didn’t think of the harm they would do to small shopkeepers when their The State entered large scale retailing in the 50s and 60s – when there was nothing much to sell!
It shows: These guys have no Principles.
They are confused. Duds.
And they want to teach!
About retailing, allow me to tell the tale of Chaudi, the main market town of South Goa, which lay 3 km from the small cottage I lived in. So, for almost all my shopping needs, I had to drive there.
The biggest shop in Chaudi is a government sponsored co-operative supermarket. It is no Wal-Mart. It is no Tesco’s. It is no Sainsbury’s. But it is the most popular shop in Chaudi. It is always packed with customers. Chaudi is the main market town for villagers in a 15 km radius – and all these villagers like to shop at the co-op supermarket.
The question I wish to pose is this: Would the people of South Goa not be better off if real supermarkets – like Wal-Mart, Sainsbury’s or Tesco’s – opened up in Chaudi? Indeed, just by entering the market these retailers would raise the value of all the real estate in the town. Locals would shop better, obtain better buys at better prices. Locals would get jobs. Tourists would be happier too.
The critical error in official policy in India remains the same: They do not care for the consumer. Of course, socialist theory is to blame, because this theory looks at the “capitalist” as being in control of the market economy. In reality, the capitalist only serves the consumer. It is consumers who are the real bosses in Capitalism. The socialists cannot admit that.
Away with socialist theory. Away with their errors. Away with their teachings.
And full power to the Consumer.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I Want My Clunker
A photo feature of the top 10 vehicles being traded in the “Cash for Clunkers” programme of the Obama administration clearly reveals the sheer madness that now grips US policymaking.
Who in India would not pay $4500 or 225,000 rupees for any of these beauties?
How can destruction of material assets be “good”?
And anyway, where is Obama getting all the money from?
Note that Obama, a social-democrat, is actually hurting poor people. Poor people (and students) buy used cars. Destroying loads of them will jack up the prices of used cars for all poor people in America. They will be further fleeced by monetary inflation.
In fact, the destruction of so many working automobiles will not only hurt the poor American, it will hurt the poor everywhere – for these gas guzzlers could have been auctioned off to the Third World poor. I am sure that my neighbourhood used car dealer, a happy sardarji by the name of Jolly, would be overjoyed to bid for them.
Indeed, Chacha Manmohan should phone Obama and offer, on behalf of the All India Used Car Dealers' Association, to buy up all the clunkers.
I was actually faced with the offer of a free clunker in Germany many years ago. My uncle had an old Benz with a big petrol engine that had failed some mandatory tests. So the choice was to either undertake expensive repairs or junk the car. But junking the car also cost money: you have to pay the car junkers. The better alternative was to sell it to some East European – who would drive the clunker to Poland or Estonia or wherever, and be forever grateful. And so my uncle began making arrangements to sell the clunker to an East European.
Sometime then, my uncle hit upon a better idea: Why not gift the old blue Benz to me? I could drive it to India and travel like a lord ever after. I pointed out the 200 percent customs duty on used cars – and regretfully declined.
The point is this: Policies in the US are stupid, yes; but policies over here are even more stupid.
We should open up used car imports – and buy all those clunkers.
Who in India would not pay $4500 or 225,000 rupees for any of these beauties?
How can destruction of material assets be “good”?
And anyway, where is Obama getting all the money from?
Note that Obama, a social-democrat, is actually hurting poor people. Poor people (and students) buy used cars. Destroying loads of them will jack up the prices of used cars for all poor people in America. They will be further fleeced by monetary inflation.
In fact, the destruction of so many working automobiles will not only hurt the poor American, it will hurt the poor everywhere – for these gas guzzlers could have been auctioned off to the Third World poor. I am sure that my neighbourhood used car dealer, a happy sardarji by the name of Jolly, would be overjoyed to bid for them.
Indeed, Chacha Manmohan should phone Obama and offer, on behalf of the All India Used Car Dealers' Association, to buy up all the clunkers.
I was actually faced with the offer of a free clunker in Germany many years ago. My uncle had an old Benz with a big petrol engine that had failed some mandatory tests. So the choice was to either undertake expensive repairs or junk the car. But junking the car also cost money: you have to pay the car junkers. The better alternative was to sell it to some East European – who would drive the clunker to Poland or Estonia or wherever, and be forever grateful. And so my uncle began making arrangements to sell the clunker to an East European.
Sometime then, my uncle hit upon a better idea: Why not gift the old blue Benz to me? I could drive it to India and travel like a lord ever after. I pointed out the 200 percent customs duty on used cars – and regretfully declined.
The point is this: Policies in the US are stupid, yes; but policies over here are even more stupid.
We should open up used car imports – and buy all those clunkers.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Staring At Our Socialist Doom
Today, the ToI has reported on Lalgarh, and this is big news: The rebels held and armed rally yesterday. Thousands were in attendance.
Now, this is a purely “government” problem. It has nothing to do with occupying the “commanding heights of the economy” – and it is here, on basic issues of civil government, that our The State is clueless.
Not that they are doing too well on the economic front either: the news is that Air India is 16,000 crore rupees in debt (100 crores is a billion). Of this, 11,000 crores is “high cost debt.” The managing director of Air India told the press that he plans to turn the company around in 3 years, mainly by entering the low cost domestic aviation market.
This is totally unethical. The government cannot enter into “competition” with the citizenry, who are operating many private low cost airlines. This cannot be the “Role of the State.” And anyway, no one can compete with an entity that can accumulate unlimited losses and still operate. It is like a loss making State bus company “competing” with private bus operators (read earlier post).
Thus, whether on matters related to the nitty gritty of civil government – like maintaining the peace or keeping land records – or on economic issues, we are forced to conclude that our socialist Chacha Manmohan State is clueless. This is stark evidence of the deep errors in socialist thinking.
And they want to teach.
By force!
Where are we headed?
Thanks to LRC, here is a cartoon-based essay on the differences between the pessimism of Aldous Huxley and that of George Orwell. Both saw doomsday ahead – but there were vital differences, which this very well illustrated essay brings out.
And then you decide: Where are we headed? Which doomsday are we looking at?
Now, this is a purely “government” problem. It has nothing to do with occupying the “commanding heights of the economy” – and it is here, on basic issues of civil government, that our The State is clueless.
Not that they are doing too well on the economic front either: the news is that Air India is 16,000 crore rupees in debt (100 crores is a billion). Of this, 11,000 crores is “high cost debt.” The managing director of Air India told the press that he plans to turn the company around in 3 years, mainly by entering the low cost domestic aviation market.
This is totally unethical. The government cannot enter into “competition” with the citizenry, who are operating many private low cost airlines. This cannot be the “Role of the State.” And anyway, no one can compete with an entity that can accumulate unlimited losses and still operate. It is like a loss making State bus company “competing” with private bus operators (read earlier post).
Thus, whether on matters related to the nitty gritty of civil government – like maintaining the peace or keeping land records – or on economic issues, we are forced to conclude that our socialist Chacha Manmohan State is clueless. This is stark evidence of the deep errors in socialist thinking.
And they want to teach.
By force!
Where are we headed?
Thanks to LRC, here is a cartoon-based essay on the differences between the pessimism of Aldous Huxley and that of George Orwell. Both saw doomsday ahead – but there were vital differences, which this very well illustrated essay brings out.
And then you decide: Where are we headed? Which doomsday are we looking at?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
On The News... And A Confession
Yeah, their pants are still on fire: here is news that the West Bengal administration has admitted that its operations in Lalgarh have been a failure. Note that this news has not been published in any of the major newspapers. Strange?
There is also a statement made in parliament by the petroleum minister that is noteworthy: he has clearly stated that “the age of nationalization is gone.”
And good riddance, I say.
Mint has also published the transcript of the discussion they hosted on infrastructure. Today, they have put up the transcript of that part of the discussion that pertained to land acquisition and “eminent domain.” I read it, and I think the panel is in broad agreement with my earlier post on the subject.
But what I really want to discuss today is this:
Who is to be responsible for “development”? The Individual, or The State? Libertarians say give the Individual his liberty – and he will “develop” himself. Étatists of all hues call for State action.
This debate lies at the core of “development economics.”
There are those who believe that the poor of the Third World possess adequate economic skills and only need Liberty Under Law to prosper – thereby taking the entire nation on the highway to “development.” The greatest thinker of this school is the late Peter, Lord Bauer.
At the other end stands Gunnar Myrdal, Nobel laureate (he shared it with Hayek!). Myrdal believed that the poor of the Third World are hopelessly so. They are unable to take “rational” economic decisions in markets, and so need public authorities who would function as an “intellectual-moral elite” and take these decisions on their behalf: planners.
This is how central economic planning in the Third World received intellectual legitimacy. The socialist Indian State presented Gunnar Myrdal with a high public honour. Hayek and Bauer were kept out of the classrooms.
Now that you know this, you can easily see which side Amartya Sen is on. And Manmohan. Indeed, their insistence on State education reveals the same mindset: that The State comprises an “intellectual-moral elite” while the people are dumb and dumber.
Actually, I heard someone in London say that “a bania can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot and still emerge with a profit.” We Indians are the world’s greatest traders. Indeed, we now own all the cornershops in London, the capital city of a people Napoleon dismissed as “a nation of shopkeepers.” There is an Asian pop band in London called Cornershop.
In India, there are various skills that people already possess that are denied entry into the market: street-food is just one example. Music, dance and the performing arts are another. This is a “repressed economy.” The poor need Liberty – not “education.”
If I may record who was my first influence, who it was that made me an ardent supporter of Liberty, then I must say it was Peter Bauer. At the first Freedom Workshop of Liberty Institute in 1994 I presented a paper titled “Bauer Power: Getting the State out of Development.” I may not have heard of Bastiat – but Bauer I had devoured. It was only at the second workshop that I first heard of Bastiat – from a dentist! The rest is history.
Bauer’s works are peppered with close observations of the Third World, and the markets, cities and villages there. There are acute observations made in Africa, in India and Pakistan, in Malaysia and elsewhere. If you are an aspiring economist, do read Peter Bauer. In particular, I recommend The Development Frontier and From Subsistence to Exchange. The latter has an introduction by Amartya Sen in which Sen grudgingly admits that Bauer got it right on population – that this was a resource and not a problem.
I also wrote an essay in honour of Peter Bauer that can be accessed here. It will tell you how much I have personally gained from studying the works of this great classical liberal, the greatest development economist ever.
There is also a statement made in parliament by the petroleum minister that is noteworthy: he has clearly stated that “the age of nationalization is gone.”
And good riddance, I say.
Mint has also published the transcript of the discussion they hosted on infrastructure. Today, they have put up the transcript of that part of the discussion that pertained to land acquisition and “eminent domain.” I read it, and I think the panel is in broad agreement with my earlier post on the subject.
But what I really want to discuss today is this:
Who is to be responsible for “development”? The Individual, or The State? Libertarians say give the Individual his liberty – and he will “develop” himself. Étatists of all hues call for State action.
This debate lies at the core of “development economics.”
There are those who believe that the poor of the Third World possess adequate economic skills and only need Liberty Under Law to prosper – thereby taking the entire nation on the highway to “development.” The greatest thinker of this school is the late Peter, Lord Bauer.
At the other end stands Gunnar Myrdal, Nobel laureate (he shared it with Hayek!). Myrdal believed that the poor of the Third World are hopelessly so. They are unable to take “rational” economic decisions in markets, and so need public authorities who would function as an “intellectual-moral elite” and take these decisions on their behalf: planners.
This is how central economic planning in the Third World received intellectual legitimacy. The socialist Indian State presented Gunnar Myrdal with a high public honour. Hayek and Bauer were kept out of the classrooms.
Now that you know this, you can easily see which side Amartya Sen is on. And Manmohan. Indeed, their insistence on State education reveals the same mindset: that The State comprises an “intellectual-moral elite” while the people are dumb and dumber.
Actually, I heard someone in London say that “a bania can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot and still emerge with a profit.” We Indians are the world’s greatest traders. Indeed, we now own all the cornershops in London, the capital city of a people Napoleon dismissed as “a nation of shopkeepers.” There is an Asian pop band in London called Cornershop.
In India, there are various skills that people already possess that are denied entry into the market: street-food is just one example. Music, dance and the performing arts are another. This is a “repressed economy.” The poor need Liberty – not “education.”
If I may record who was my first influence, who it was that made me an ardent supporter of Liberty, then I must say it was Peter Bauer. At the first Freedom Workshop of Liberty Institute in 1994 I presented a paper titled “Bauer Power: Getting the State out of Development.” I may not have heard of Bastiat – but Bauer I had devoured. It was only at the second workshop that I first heard of Bastiat – from a dentist! The rest is history.
Bauer’s works are peppered with close observations of the Third World, and the markets, cities and villages there. There are acute observations made in Africa, in India and Pakistan, in Malaysia and elsewhere. If you are an aspiring economist, do read Peter Bauer. In particular, I recommend The Development Frontier and From Subsistence to Exchange. The latter has an introduction by Amartya Sen in which Sen grudgingly admits that Bauer got it right on population – that this was a resource and not a problem.
I also wrote an essay in honour of Peter Bauer that can be accessed here. It will tell you how much I have personally gained from studying the works of this great classical liberal, the greatest development economist ever.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Hey, Teacher, Your Pants Are On Fire
I read three editorials today in favour of free and compulsory State education. The Economic Times was gushing in its praise, saying that this is “indeed historic.” Ditto the ToI. And the Express. The same State that cannot cultivate a field is going to cultivate minds. These editors are unabashedly Reichwing; they are étatists. They believe in central planning, central banking and centrally directed education. They are doing the cause of Truth great harm. Their ideas will also cause harm to millions of poor Indian kids.
That said, let us turn to something pleasant: Thanks to Chandra, we have the link to an interview with Maharani Gayatri Devi. She talks about the Swatantra Party and Rajaji, about Nehru, about Indira Gandhi, and her stint in jail during the Emergency. Do read it here. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
And now let us turn to the ugly face of reality: An indefinite curfew has been imposed on Imphal in Manipur; shoot-at-sight orders have been issued. It seems the State’s soldiers murdered a reformed militant in cold blood.
Now, Manipur is a state that has been declared a “disturbed area” since the 50s, when the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was imposed there.
Read this detailed story with exclusive photographs.
In the meantime, Pakistan has supported the idea of an independent Kashmir.
All these étatist editors will soon be seen lambasting the idea.
I was in Srinagar, Kashmir, some years ago on a lecture tour. There is an armed soldier every 5 yards. Traffic roundabouts are all concrete military bunkers. There are slits with guns sticking out of them. “Mera Bharat Mahaan” is emblazoned on top. This is not “civil government.” This is “military occupation.”
And so is the case with Manipur.
Incidentally, Manipur is famous for its ganja. In a free world, the people would prosper.
Kashmiri hash is famous too – and I smoked some while I was there.
Liberty, not State education.
Roads, not State education.
Peace, not State education.
That said, let us turn to something pleasant: Thanks to Chandra, we have the link to an interview with Maharani Gayatri Devi. She talks about the Swatantra Party and Rajaji, about Nehru, about Indira Gandhi, and her stint in jail during the Emergency. Do read it here. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
And now let us turn to the ugly face of reality: An indefinite curfew has been imposed on Imphal in Manipur; shoot-at-sight orders have been issued. It seems the State’s soldiers murdered a reformed militant in cold blood.
Now, Manipur is a state that has been declared a “disturbed area” since the 50s, when the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was imposed there.
Read this detailed story with exclusive photographs.
In the meantime, Pakistan has supported the idea of an independent Kashmir.
All these étatist editors will soon be seen lambasting the idea.
I was in Srinagar, Kashmir, some years ago on a lecture tour. There is an armed soldier every 5 yards. Traffic roundabouts are all concrete military bunkers. There are slits with guns sticking out of them. “Mera Bharat Mahaan” is emblazoned on top. This is not “civil government.” This is “military occupation.”
And so is the case with Manipur.
Incidentally, Manipur is famous for its ganja. In a free world, the people would prosper.
Kashmiri hash is famous too – and I smoked some while I was there.
Liberty, not State education.
Roads, not State education.
Peace, not State education.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
On An Optimistic Note
Now that Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi has armed himself with coercive legislation in order to forcibly teach socialism to the young, the very same children he calls the “population problem,” let us consider the validity of the label “liberalizer” that is applied to him.
Chacha used to be a teacher himself. I once met a man who had been taught by Chacha. He said that Chacha used to lecture his class on the benefits of exchange control. Anyone remember the bad old days of exchange control? Anyone want to attend a class on the benefits of exchange control?
Or should we sit Chacha & Co. down in a classroom and give them a lecture on sound money?
Who needs education?
In my view, Chacha is making a last-ditch attempt to keep the errors of Nehruvian socialism alive. This is his sole purpose. He is aiming for ultimate control – thought control. And that too, towards prolonging our collective suffering under socialism. Chacha is no great liberalizer. Chacha is a die-hard socialist. And a Gandhi family loyalist. This new act of parliament is aimed at upholding their brand of socialism (which includes central economic planning – ugh!). This Great Big Lie is what he aims to teach. Glory to The State. Damn truth. Damn justice. Damn the people.
Should I feel despondent? I don’t think so. As Ludwig von Mises put it, “the truth remains the truth.” We are armed with the right theories, Chacha is not. And bad theories backfire, because they cannot work. For example, take ballistics.
If you want to make a gun that shoots straight, you will need to know the science of ballistics. If you deliberately adopt a wrong theory you cannot produce a good gun. In all likelihood, when you fire that gun it will explode in your face. Thus, the right theories matter. So let us be optimistic:
We shall overcome someday.
Socialism has collapsed all over the world. It will collapse here as well. Someday. Someday soon.
Chacha used to be a teacher himself. I once met a man who had been taught by Chacha. He said that Chacha used to lecture his class on the benefits of exchange control. Anyone remember the bad old days of exchange control? Anyone want to attend a class on the benefits of exchange control?
Or should we sit Chacha & Co. down in a classroom and give them a lecture on sound money?
Who needs education?
In my view, Chacha is making a last-ditch attempt to keep the errors of Nehruvian socialism alive. This is his sole purpose. He is aiming for ultimate control – thought control. And that too, towards prolonging our collective suffering under socialism. Chacha is no great liberalizer. Chacha is a die-hard socialist. And a Gandhi family loyalist. This new act of parliament is aimed at upholding their brand of socialism (which includes central economic planning – ugh!). This Great Big Lie is what he aims to teach. Glory to The State. Damn truth. Damn justice. Damn the people.
Should I feel despondent? I don’t think so. As Ludwig von Mises put it, “the truth remains the truth.” We are armed with the right theories, Chacha is not. And bad theories backfire, because they cannot work. For example, take ballistics.
If you want to make a gun that shoots straight, you will need to know the science of ballistics. If you deliberately adopt a wrong theory you cannot produce a good gun. In all likelihood, when you fire that gun it will explode in your face. Thus, the right theories matter. So let us be optimistic:
We shall overcome someday.
Socialism has collapsed all over the world. It will collapse here as well. Someday. Someday soon.
Monday, August 3, 2009
On Royalty... And Democracy
Warm tributes have poured in for Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, who died recently at the age of 90. After the Princely States – some 600 of them – were forced to accede to India, Gayatri Devi turned to democratic politics, winning the Jaipur seat for the Swatantra Party in election after election. During the notorious Emergency years, she was jailed for 5 months on trumped up tax evasion charges – after which she quit politics. Read more here.
The Swatantra Party, led by C. Rajagopalachari, Minoo Masani, Piloo Modi, NG Ranga and others, was the only free market, free enterprise party in India those days. Much of its support came from former royals like Gayatri Devi, who was undoubtedly their most glamorous candidate.
The story I heard from old Swatantra hands went as follows: the real motive behind Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalization and withdrawal of privy purses for royals was to kill the Swatantra Party, who were funded mainly by private banks and the erstwhile royals. This worked, for the party soon folded up and is no longer in existence.
This year, 2009, marks the 50th year of the founding of the Swatantra Party. On this occasion, the “21 Principles” of this party have been posted online. However, these make for poor reading, as modern liberalism has advanced well beyond the ideas held 50 years ago. There are many who long for a new Swatantra Party – and they should list out their basic principles anew.
Gayatri Devi was a princess of Cooch Behar – now a district in communist West Bengal famous for Naxalism. She became the third wife of the Jaipur prince, whom she met in Calcutta when he came there to lead his polo team to victory in an important tournament. In Jaipur, she played a major role in the education of girls, starting a school. The Swatantra party came later.
I read a funny story of Gayatri Devi as a mischievous little princess. She was holidaying in London with her mother and her English governess, staying in an apartment on Knightsbridge, just across the road from Harrod’s. Often, she would be taken to the store by her mother, who would buy whatever she needed and, while departing with her purchases, would tell the store manager, imperiously, to “put it on the Cooch Behar account.”
One day, the little princess decided to try this out for herself. She went alone into Harrod’s, bought hundreds of toys, and told the manager, imperiously, “put it on the Cooch Behar account.” And it worked!
The prank only came to light when the English governess complained to Gayatri’s mother saying that her ward was being spoilt with too many toys!
Funny how, under British tutelage, all these little Princely States were rich – and well-governed. According to British “political service” officers, who guided royal policies in all these states, the best government in India was that of a local ruler ruling an area the size of a district in British India. These rulers were closer to the people and did a better job than British ICS officers in the districts.
Today, our The State is broke. They want to borrow 4,50,000 crores. They want to “monetize the deficit.”
And what about our Parliament? Well, the news from there is much the same – the house was “rocked” by a host of issues, and adjourned several times.
Anyone wants to set up another Swtantra Party and try and enter this “rocking house”?
Perhaps we need a better idea than Democracy.
Perhaps a “natural order” under the Rule of Law is best.
Think about it – and stay tuned.
The Swatantra Party, led by C. Rajagopalachari, Minoo Masani, Piloo Modi, NG Ranga and others, was the only free market, free enterprise party in India those days. Much of its support came from former royals like Gayatri Devi, who was undoubtedly their most glamorous candidate.
The story I heard from old Swatantra hands went as follows: the real motive behind Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalization and withdrawal of privy purses for royals was to kill the Swatantra Party, who were funded mainly by private banks and the erstwhile royals. This worked, for the party soon folded up and is no longer in existence.
This year, 2009, marks the 50th year of the founding of the Swatantra Party. On this occasion, the “21 Principles” of this party have been posted online. However, these make for poor reading, as modern liberalism has advanced well beyond the ideas held 50 years ago. There are many who long for a new Swatantra Party – and they should list out their basic principles anew.
Gayatri Devi was a princess of Cooch Behar – now a district in communist West Bengal famous for Naxalism. She became the third wife of the Jaipur prince, whom she met in Calcutta when he came there to lead his polo team to victory in an important tournament. In Jaipur, she played a major role in the education of girls, starting a school. The Swatantra party came later.
I read a funny story of Gayatri Devi as a mischievous little princess. She was holidaying in London with her mother and her English governess, staying in an apartment on Knightsbridge, just across the road from Harrod’s. Often, she would be taken to the store by her mother, who would buy whatever she needed and, while departing with her purchases, would tell the store manager, imperiously, to “put it on the Cooch Behar account.”
One day, the little princess decided to try this out for herself. She went alone into Harrod’s, bought hundreds of toys, and told the manager, imperiously, “put it on the Cooch Behar account.” And it worked!
The prank only came to light when the English governess complained to Gayatri’s mother saying that her ward was being spoilt with too many toys!
Funny how, under British tutelage, all these little Princely States were rich – and well-governed. According to British “political service” officers, who guided royal policies in all these states, the best government in India was that of a local ruler ruling an area the size of a district in British India. These rulers were closer to the people and did a better job than British ICS officers in the districts.
Today, our The State is broke. They want to borrow 4,50,000 crores. They want to “monetize the deficit.”
And what about our Parliament? Well, the news from there is much the same – the house was “rocked” by a host of issues, and adjourned several times.
Anyone wants to set up another Swtantra Party and try and enter this “rocking house”?
Perhaps we need a better idea than Democracy.
Perhaps a “natural order” under the Rule of Law is best.
Think about it – and stay tuned.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sibal's Principle... And Capitalism
The Congress lawyer, Kapil Sibal, currently education minister, is piloting the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill in the lower house of parliament. The upper house has already passed it.
In his speech in parliament supporting this bill, Sibal said that the objective was to create “intellectual assets.” He added that any opposition to the bill is “anti-national.” Of particular interest is the following sentence from the minister’s speech, quoted in this news report:
This will be socialist indoctrination by force. It will create zombies, not intellectual assets.
Let us step back for a moment and look at a simple property dispute over a gas field that is occupying much column space. Many prominent Communists, including Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and D. Raja, have suggested their own solution to this property dispute. What is a Communist solution? As this report says:
They added that this “nationalized” gas should be “distributed” by The State through a national grid, according to “priorities” set by The State. Soma Banerjee, who has covered this sector for more than a decade now, writes of the “confusion and wooliness” of present “utilization policy” in this vital area. But while she wants The Market in, these commies want The Market out.
Now, this “confusion and wooliness” must take us back to the basic principles of our political order. Is it based on Private Property or is it based on Collective Property? If it is the latter, then Yechuri, Karat, et. al. are right. And their principles should be taught to all by Sibal.
But as we all know, nationalization spells disaster. Soma Banerjee writes that the demand-supply gap in gas is close to 50 per cent. Only half the current demand is being supplied. There are also no pipelines, so we see these giant tankers ferrying gas along our “notional highways.” The only way to get gas piped to every home is via The Market – what has happened to phones. Thus, the opposite principle must prevail.
So, the only question is: Who owns the gas field? The courts have to establish ownership based on the principles of jurisprudence which belong to classical liberalism – like Locke’s “mixing his labour with the original soil.” In no way can The State be an owner. This is how gold miners functioned under law in California during the Gold Rush. There will be no disorder if these principles are followed. Nationalization will add to endless litigation. And anyway, we oppose nationalization.
But let us get back to Kapil Sibal, the sharp lawyer. What principles should his schools teach?
All I can advise is that don’t put your own children in their schools, colleges or universities.
Save their Precious Minds.
In his speech in parliament supporting this bill, Sibal said that the objective was to create “intellectual assets.” He added that any opposition to the bill is “anti-national.” Of particular interest is the following sentence from the minister’s speech, quoted in this news report:
“We do not want an education that defies Constitution”.
This will be socialist indoctrination by force. It will create zombies, not intellectual assets.
Let us step back for a moment and look at a simple property dispute over a gas field that is occupying much column space. Many prominent Communists, including Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and D. Raja, have suggested their own solution to this property dispute. What is a Communist solution? As this report says:
“The government has rightly asserted that the country's natural gas reserves, including the gas of KG Basin, is a national asset and this asset and the interests of the economy cannot be held hostage to the benevolence and mercy of some private players,” the Left MPs said in the letter.
They added that this “nationalized” gas should be “distributed” by The State through a national grid, according to “priorities” set by The State. Soma Banerjee, who has covered this sector for more than a decade now, writes of the “confusion and wooliness” of present “utilization policy” in this vital area. But while she wants The Market in, these commies want The Market out.
Now, this “confusion and wooliness” must take us back to the basic principles of our political order. Is it based on Private Property or is it based on Collective Property? If it is the latter, then Yechuri, Karat, et. al. are right. And their principles should be taught to all by Sibal.
But as we all know, nationalization spells disaster. Soma Banerjee writes that the demand-supply gap in gas is close to 50 per cent. Only half the current demand is being supplied. There are also no pipelines, so we see these giant tankers ferrying gas along our “notional highways.” The only way to get gas piped to every home is via The Market – what has happened to phones. Thus, the opposite principle must prevail.
So, the only question is: Who owns the gas field? The courts have to establish ownership based on the principles of jurisprudence which belong to classical liberalism – like Locke’s “mixing his labour with the original soil.” In no way can The State be an owner. This is how gold miners functioned under law in California during the Gold Rush. There will be no disorder if these principles are followed. Nationalization will add to endless litigation. And anyway, we oppose nationalization.
But let us get back to Kapil Sibal, the sharp lawyer. What principles should his schools teach?
All I can advise is that don’t put your own children in their schools, colleges or universities.
Save their Precious Minds.
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