Private Property Is The Only Solution

While there are many editorials and op-eds on the correct State Police response to the Maoists, who just butchered 76 cops, as I reported yesterday, the only item in the news that caught my eye is an interview with a tribal activist in Chattisgarh conducted by rediff.com. This is an interview truly worth reading, for it points to the fact that this Total Chacha State is nothing but a Predatory State; and its cops, in their "uniforms of brutality," deserve no sympathy. Nowhere in the interview does this activist condemn the killing of 76 cops. Rather, he points to killings and rapes of tribals by cops that always go unreported, that receive no Justice from this predatory establishment. One sentence in this interview is truly worth quoting, for it also shows that the Maoist ideology is wrong. It points to the solution, which is classical liberalism: Private Property.

The man says:

We should ensure that each and every tribal is made to understand that his or her land is not going to be taken away.

According to classical liberals The State exists to uphold and protect the rights of people to their Property. It is this ideology that this activist is suggesting as the solution, not Maoism. In fact, he says that he has nothing to do with the Maoists; he is merely a friend of the State-ravaged tribals.

I also commend a "quick edit" in Mint today, titled "Reaching out to tribals." This is what the "political response" must be, based on Private Property.

If you read the interview and the edit, you get the feeling that the Total Chacha State is a SHARK - a "land shark."

And, as I said yesterday, sometimes sharks too get killed. Our sympathies must lie with the tribals. Not the predatory cops.

Man Eats Shark

The other day, I ate a shark steak at a nearby beach restaurant, and commented: "Man Eats Shark." Somehow, it felt good that a dangerous predator had become the prey. And the shark tasted good.

This is the precise thought that came to mind today reading of the killing of 70 cops by Maoists. These cops were engaged in "Operation Green Hunt." The hunter got hunted.

The editorials I read today are all being "politically correct" - on the side of the regime - but methinks it is time this regime got real. On the ground, the cops possess zero goodwill, and are universally hated throughout the vast territory. I have only recently recounted the story of police predation in New Delhi. I think it is time the mainstream press factored in this widespread perception of the State Police when considering the proper response to Maoism.

My advice to the Morons-on-Top is: Get Real. You morons are busy talking about "food security" while your "security personnel" are insecure! Mint has a great editorial on food security today - and they are saying the idea sucks. It does.

It is time the Morons-on-Top start thinking of physical security - their own. I doubt whether Chidambaram, the Central State Police Minister, feels very "secure" when he visits the Maoist badlands. Yes, it is definitely high time that the regime got real.

As far as the Morons-on-the Bottom are concerned - the "security personnel" of the Total Chacha State - my advice to them is to seek alternative employment in The Market. They will be more secure then. They will no longer be "the hunted." They are but the dogs of war of the Total Chacha State and they should not get themselves killed for the errors of our socialist politicians. Maoism must be tackled politically. The socialists cannot do that. Indeed, even the IAS Academy teaches Maoism to its recruits. So quit. You would be better off selling peanuts or operating a chai-shop - and when you do so, fight the cops who extort haftha.

Let us now turn our attention to the Morons-in-the-Middle - the hired hands of the Total Chacha State who are "embedded" in the media: These morons must open their eyes. Their great idol - The State - is an abject failure at everything. It must be forced to "change its evil ways" - as the Santana classic goes. By mindlessly parroting whatever the regime wants you to say, you are doing yourself and the reading public a great disservice. You are disgracing yourselves, and you are acting against the true interests of the nation. So get real on the sham of "food security."

Food is quite secure here in Goa.

I just ate a shark!

Danger: A New Statism

Whereas the Economic Times has an editorial advising us to cooperate with the Census, ostensibly because it will "change the way the government delivers its services," its rival, Mint, warns that with all this increased "welfare" that the Total Chacha State is embarking on, India could be heading for "a new kind of statism."

This editorial in Mint is really worth reading. It informs the citizen of the basic philosophical differences between classical liberals like Isaiah Berlin (and libertarians like me) and the welfare school led by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze - both of whom are very close to Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi. The concerned citizen will emerge much better informed after reading this editorial, and he will clearly see the danger of this new "welfare statism" that these old Nehruvian socialists are inflicting upon India today.

The ET editorial, on the other hand, is just repeating what The System wants you to hear. This newspaper is just a shill of the regime. It does not inform the reader of the wrongs of government policy. The Census, as I said earlier, is a Horror. None should cooperate with it. Give them only the headcount and no more information.

ET lives in cloudcuckooland if it thinks that a thorough Census with universal fingerprinting and other biometric information, with foolproof ID cards etc., will "change the way the government delivers its services." Rather, we will be ruled by a Predatory Police State that PRETENDS to be a Welfare State.

Here is another report in Mint that says that in two big States of the Union, the number of "below poverty line" households (i.e., those in need of "welfare") exceed the total number of citizens. I quote:

In the case of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the proportion of BPL card holders to total number of households in the state was 142.83% and 120.20%, respectively.

This welfarism is unsustainable.

What is more important, the philosophy behind it is dangerously wrong. It will increase tyranny - increase the number of "tax parasites" - while omitting Liberty from all political discussions. Ultimately, it is only when the Total Chacha State gets out of our way that the people can feed themselves.

Say NO to welfare.

And raise a shout for LIBERTY.

And read Mint regularly.

Freedom For Goa And The Konkan Coast

As with Karwar and Mangalore ports, so too with Goa, the export of LOW GRADE iron ore is all the action that is happening, thanks to the anti-trade policies of New Delhi. We export red mud, and we import nothing. Quite a change from the ages gone by, when these ports on our western coast were bustling centres of foreign trade.

There is news today that New Delhi has sanctioned 100 more mines in Goa – and the port authorities say that the waterways may not be able to handle that much more traffic. Yes, the rivers are chock-a-block full of iron ore barges, where there should be pretty sailing boats, ferries and steamers, and other country craft for the tourists. Goa’s backwaters are now out-of-bounds for tourists; they have been taken over by iron ore barges. Ugly!

The situation is not much better in Karwar and Mangalore, both deep water ports, where the iron ore is delivered by trucks – and these trucks have damaged the roads extensively.

Now, these new mines in Goa have been sanctioned by the Delhi-based central ministry of forests and environment.

The foreign trade policy has been enforced by the Delhi-based ministry of commerce – and the guns of the customs department are paid for by Delhi.

What do Goa, Karwar or Mangalore get – in terms of economic benefits – from these “policy” diktats of New Delhi?

I would answer: Nothing. Rather, they lose. Lose heavily.

Consider the National Highway 17, the lifeline of the Konkan, that connects Bombay to Cochin and passes through Goa, Karwar and Mangalore. It is probably the worst highway in the world. Throughout Goa, at least, it is just an urban thoroughfare. And New Delhi has no plans of providing the area with the kind of highway a coastline dotted with deep water ports needs. The famous “Golden Quadrilateral” bypasses the Konkan Coast entirely.

Not only foreign trade, even the domestic trade policies of New Delhi are working against the interests of Goans – for example, feni is not allowed for sale anywhere in India.

Why do Goans pay taxes to New Delhi?

Why do Goans accept policy diktats from New Delhi?

Why does the Konkan Coast, which should be prime real estate, accept the tyrannical and nonsensical Coastal Zone Regulation Act that prohibits all building on the coast – for “environmental reasons.” Note that the mines are being sanctioned by the same “environment ministry.” There is a huge iron ore mine within the Kudremukh National Park!

Because of this nasty piece of legislation, traditional fisherfolk have no property rights to their beachside properties – which are worth zillions today. This, for the sake of the mythical "environment." Oh! How I HATE environmentalists.

All this calls for a re-think of the relationship between New Delhi and the various States of the Union. The new relationship must be based on “subsidiarity” – and you can find many posts under this label beginning with this one.

Let New Delhi look after defence and foreign affairs only. And let each region think for itself on all other issues, without any central interference whatsoever.

Mining LOW GRADE iron ore in Goa is stupid. The entire state should be prime real estate, a playground for holidaymakers. I read a recent report that some pretty hill somewhere in the hinterland was being flattened out for export. Methinks a snazzy hotel or casino would look fine atop this hill. Let’s build real estate on the Western Ghats. Let’s not export the hills. If you visit the Kudremukh National Park you will see that entire hillsides, dozens of them, have been exported. What nonsense!

How can a revolution happen? First comes awareness, which is what this blog aims at. Then comes a political campaign – a new freedom struggle. In the latest Budget, New Delhi gave Goa 200 crore rupees to celebrate its “liberation” from the Portuguese. Goans should now see that all this liberation entailed is slavery to New Delhi. This slavery must end.

For inspiration, read the chapter on the Magna Carta in my e-book Natural Order: Essays Exploring Civil Government & the Rule of Law available here (and on the right hand bar).

Then, the people of England obtained their Liberties from their monarch’s oppressive rule. One of the clauses said that the City of London and all other borough were to have the “freedom to trade by land and sea.”

Let this be the new battle cry of the Konkani:

Freedom To Trade By Land And Sea.

Sunday Reads - Good And Bad

The worst read today is "Swaminomics" - where this veteran journalist praises "backward Bihar" for fingerprinting and taking other biometric information of the people, for making "smart cards."

Actually, the Census underway is also taking fingerprints and a host of other information, including caste.

What Swami does not see is that these are steps towards making India a Police State. (We are already quite a Police State.)

My advice to all the citizenry is - DO NOT COOPERATE WITH THE CENSUS.

Just give them the total number of people in the house - and nothing more.

Do Not Give The Total Chacha State Any More Information - for this will be used against you.

So what is the best read of this Sunday?

I suggest an article titled "Should the Quantity of Money be Increased?" by Ludwig von Mises and Bettina Bien Greaves. This article is excerpted from lecture notes Ms Greaves took during a Mises seminar. A collection of these seminar notes is also available - and I intend to get a copy. It is an excellent thing to have Mises "talking" to you.

[Incidentally, you can hear Mises live thanks to the Mises Institute. Here is Mises' lecture to the Mont Pelerin Society in 1958, titled "Liberty and Property." Well worth hearing.]

This contribution from Bettina Bien Greaves to the debate over money and inflation should be widely read. It is interesting that the editor of Mint, Niranjan Rajadhakshya, in his latest column, talks of the "politics of currencies." This "politics," of course, is the gravest problem of our times. With a gold standard, politics would be taken out of money. Inflation would end. All money would then be "private money."

Think about that. Read and hear Mises.

And don't cooperate with the Census.

The Libertarian Flag

I have bought a 5ft x 3ft flag of the libertarian rattle-snake from Amazon - and I hope you do so too. It is the true reflection of the "attitude" of he who values his Liberty. Such a person will never allow a State functionary to tread on him.

There is another version of this flag with Patrick Henry's motto "Liberty or Death" inscribed on it. I have ordered that too.

So spread the news about the Libertarian Flag - and get one yourself.

Here is a post from the Natural Order Blog on our very own Amartya Sen in which this flag is featured. Sen's ideas about "social justice" only lead to tyranny and injustice - that is, more State personnel treading on us.

Justice and social justice are very different things.

Read Hayek against "social justice"; don't read Amartya Sen.

Say "NO" To Chacha's Education

As Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi and his Total Chacha State legislate themselves the power to educate every Indian child by force (this education is "compulsory") and as leading opinions do not see this as the greatest horror of all horrors, allow me to offer my reader the words of Frédéric Bastiat, from his own manifesto, on his stand on the role of the State in education:

“If you want to have theories, systems, methods, principles, textbooks and teachers forced on you by the government, that is up to you; but do not expect me to sign, in your name, such a shameful abdication of your rights.”

He added:

“The monopoly of teaching cannot reasonably be entrusted to any but an authority recognized as infallible. Otherwise, there is an unlimited risk that error be uniformly taught to the people as a whole.”

If you are smart, keep away from their schools and colleges. That is the only way you have to save your intellect - and your soul too.