Mind Your Own Business, Chacha

One of my favourite expressions in the English language is “mind your own business.” Anyone who uses this expression tells the other that he does not want any outside interference in his affairs. He also tells the other that instead of poking his nose in others’ affairs, that person would be better advised to stick to his own. The word “own” is also important here, indicating Property.

The expression “mind your own business” is therefore the motto of Capitalism and Private Property.

Socialists like our great and glorious Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi (and his master, Amartya Sen) believe in a different motto – one that places their The State at the “commanding heights of The Economy.”

In other words, this The State will mind all the businesses of all the people. This is a recipe for disaster. Not only will all businesses run aground, such thinking paves the way for Totalitarianism. There cannot be any Liberty in such a society, for liberty is meaningful especially in the context of the freedom to engage in business.

Where the market economy is not free, where The State directs all businessmen, such a nation can only rapidly head towards ruin – not just economic ruin, but political ruin as well. In such socialist society, businesses will not flourish, and the personnel of The State will become predatory and dictatorial. To the loss of economic freedom must be added the loss of honest politics.

I have written some posts on the Olde City of London, and its Lord Mayor. One of the histories I read of this institution put it this way:

Once in every year, the citizens of Olde London would gather together to elect their Lord Mayor and two Sheriffs. Once that was done, the people returned to “minding their own businesses.” However, these newly elected officials now had to look after civic affairs – and could not mind their businesses during their terms in office. This is why many refused the post even if elected. They were then heavily fined.

Now, the institution of Lord Mayor of London dates back to 1183 AD, and is older than the Magna Carta (1215 AD). Very few were literate then; only a robust common sense prevailed. It took another 1000 years of history, and lots of stupid books, to get everything wrong. The greatest error, of course, was getting The State to monopolize money through a central bank. This paved the way for economic totalitarianism – a State that purported to mind every business but its own.

Of course, the modern State, like the one that lords over us, does far worse than interfere in business. It also snoops on the citizens, collecting information on prominent people that will be of use to the political masters.

Who are these political masters?

If you look at them – from Chacha Manmohan to Sonia and Rahul to Advani to Jyoti Basu – you will find that they have no businesses of their own. They make their living by interfering in the affairs of other people. They tell others what to do.

This is the Total Disaster of a State.

It has occurred because we lost sight of principles. The greatest principle being, of course, that every man must mind his own business.