My column has appeared in Mint today, where I discuss New Public Management (NPM), which is the public administration of Capitalism. I advocate the sacking of public service bureaucracies, as in the case of garbage removal.
There is one small error in the document, though. The second sentence in para #5 reads:
Thatcher’s 3Es slogan for her government was “economy, efficiency and effectiveness”.
Actually, her 3Es were “economy, efficiency, and economy.” That’s right, economy came twice. Someone altered the text thinking it was an error on my part. I have written to Mint and also received a reply, so the error should be out of the internet edition soon.
In the column I have taken several swipes at the baboos of the Indian Administrative Service – swipes that I think are well-deserved, for if the country is a total mess, they must surely be as culpable as the political leadership. Note that today it is a bureaucrat who is prime minister.
The feeling I get from our netas and baboos is that they are NOT interested in making our lives better, in making our country a better place to live. Their main interest lies in carrying out the charade of government – that is, of a government that only pretends to govern.
That said, the big news of today is the Swiss referendum banning new minarets. The Express has even commented on it in an editorial. Yes, Swiss democracy is really unique – and Rousseau was a citizen of Geneva. When I visited Geneva I carefully noted that the coat of arms on the city’s cannons was the coat of arms of The City of Geneva. I was in Switzerland about a week, and asked every Swiss person I met to tell me the name of their President – and none knew who he was. We never hear of Swiss elections, ever. In the present instance, the law was passed by referendum: direct democracy. I still have some souvenirs from my trip, among them a medal of the flag of Switzerland, surrounded by the flags of all the 26 cantons. There is much we can learn from the Swiss.
I have nothing against minarets. I like them, in fact. The call for prayer sounds sweet to my ears. And I enjoyed living in that part of Goa where there are churches, temples and mosques. I am glad we are not a homogenous people; that we are not of one culture. We can truly aspire to become a “catallaxy.” Beats a “nation-state” any day.
I only wish that the Swiss didn't make this minaret thing a national issue, but let each canton make its own rule (based on referendums or otherwise) on minarets.
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to address such things in the Swiss national constitution, na? Because that brings the danger of majoritarianism without any principles.
Minarets, headscarfs, saris,temple domes - in a globalising world where many things are mass produced and everyone eats more or less the same thing and dresses in more or less the same way, it is these and other differences (which people cling to for it is part of their identity) that we should, in fact, celebrate. How boring if everyone was the same. In any case there will come a time when the world will either be forced to accept these differences or learn to live within narrow boundaries, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteYou have a great way of getting to the root of the matter. Since direct democracy works for them, our opinions of the Swiss become irrelevant.
ReplyDelete