On Their News... And Mine

The 15th of August was not just the anniversary of the First Indian Republic: this day also marks the 40th anniversary of the US dollar's link with gold getting broken. The year was 1971 - and the president was Nixon. Then, an ounce of gold was worth 35 dollars; today, it is well over 1300 dollars. Do read Doug French's article on this "unhappy birthday of global fiat paper money." After that, Cris Lingle's piece for The Freeman on the "dangers of central banking" is worth going through too, and slowly. 


Our Great Leader, chacha manmohan s gandhi's Independence Day Address to the Nation from the ramparts of Red Fort was received unenthusiastically here in South India: the local paper I read, in its editorial, called it "uninspiring and repetitive, and full of excuses." But an editorial in The Indian Express carried an excerpt which is worth pasting below for my reader's attention:

"Controlling rising prices is a primary responsibility of any government,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Independence Day speech at Delhi’s Red Fort.  “We have continuously taken steps to rein in prices,” the PM continued, “but, unfortunately, sometimes we have been confronted with a situation in which the reasons for rising prices lay outside the country.”

I hope my reader by now knows that the above statement is a bald lie.


In a Free Market Economy ALL PRICES ARE FREE. The government only acts against ENEMIES OF PEACE AND ORDER. The money is HONEST.


Inflation is a purely monetary phenomenon. It occurs because the central bank increases the supply of money to fund The State, which is a "dissaver," always in "deficit." Inflationist-welfarism is thus a CRUEL JOKE on poor people. It MUST be ended.


Do also read this latest Deutsche Bank Update on Inflation in India.


The main person in the news, however, is Anna Hazare, with his crusade against corruption, aimed at nothing else but the creation of YET ANOTHER government department! 


I have a few posts on this nonsense you can easily search and find, but today I would like you to read two excellent articles against this nonsense by two young fellows whose minds I played no small a role in shaping. These young lads are Vipin Veetil and Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan. The former dropped out of the Delhi School of Mathematical Economics after a few discussions with me (and some talks); he then became an editorial writer for Mint; after which he is now pursuing a PhD in Economics in the USSA. The latter is from the Planning Commission (no less) and writes the Hayek Order and also the Soldier of Freedom blogs, both of which are on my Blog List.


The first of these articles, jointly authored by the two, was published in Forbes Magazine, and can be read here.


The second of these articles, from Pragati Magazine, authored by Vipin, can be read here.


I hope you will all then realise what the ONLY solution to GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION is - and that is, a drastic cutting down of The State and its powers, so as to let all businessmen FREE of State Interference.


This means A Second Republic!


No less.


And now, for my news. An anonymous comment that I did not publish inquired as to why no posts had appeared for five whole days: was I in jail or an asylum? he asked. Well, the answer is a little of both. The cops picked me up from my perch next to the sadhu, took me to a hospital - and from there, by ambulance, to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMHANS) in BANGALORE! What a horrible ride!


Anyway, the first evening, a nurse wanted to inject me with some "sedative" - but when I looked at the pamphlet of this injection, it said it was meant for "serious psychoses and mania." I was horrified! Have I exhibited such symptoms? I asked the nurse, She said if I did not take the injection, she was authorised to use force on me by calling for the security guards. However, better sense prevailed. She called in the Junior Doctor. I told him that I am a student of "reality"; that I have been "calm and composed all day"; and that "psychoses" according to the DSM III mean a "gross distortion of reality." I told him that not I, but all "mathematical economists" suffer from this "gross distortion of reality." I told him that 9.3% inflation rate and 7.7% growth rate are both gross distortions of reality.


They changed my ward.


Things are better now. The doctors are all very friendly.


Oh yes. MY MOTHER was there all the time. But she should be leaving soon.


All should be well.


See you all tomorrow.

On Capitalism - For All The Good People Of Pondicherry: Part 2

To continue from where I left off yesterday - let me now proceed to state that whatever is called Capital in a truly Capitalist System, is "Private Capital." In other words, private busniessmen decide what to accept as money - and what to store away as money. Thus, Capitalism has NOTHING to do with State-printed irredeemable paper notes.

Second: As I said yesterday, Capitalism has NOTHING to do with Politics. Capitalism is all about Individual Enterprise - and in this, we are Competing with others. Socialism and welfarism is all about Politics, and its corollary, which is Bureaucratic Officialdom.

Third: A City is nothing but Capital. Indeed, a City is mostly FIXED CAPITAL - the private homes, the private shops, and even the city roads and streets are all fixed capital. 

What needs to be done in all Indian cities, including Pondicherry, is that useless government departments need to be closed down, and all the tax revenue invested in roads, streets, drainage and sewage - all CAPITAL. Everything else can be private - like tramways, which Pondicherry needs.

Lastly, because of PROTECTIONISM, many poor people in India own very poor quality CAPITAL GOODS - like auto-rickshaws.

Free second-hand car imports will enable these poor people to earn more by using high quality Capital Goods.

One final point: Capitalism is all about LIBERTY. It is NOT about EQUALITY.

They say:

FREE PEOPLE ARE NOT EQUAL

AND EQUAL PEOPLE ARE NOT FREE

Thus, the City Mayor and Aldermen who run the honest civic corporation are NOT RULERS - as with socialist dictators.

Rather, the City is ruled in the manner of a friendly CLUB - and all the people are free.

The few public functionaries who take up civic offices are honoured for their public services - but they do NOT make rules and regulations for all to follow.

And ALL businesses are FREE.

There are Laws, of course - and these are "private laws":

Property, Contract and Torts. 

See you all once again, tomorrow.

On Capitalism - For All The Good People Of Pondicherry

Pondicherry is a Capitalist City - shops, shops, and more shops, everywhere. Traders and traders. Even on pushcarts. And today, I would like to tell all the Good People of Pondicherry, which is all these Capitalists, what Capitalism is all about.


The First Thing to know about Capitalism is that it has NOTHING to do with The State, the government, or any political leader and his political party.


On the contrary, Capitalism is all about Individual Enterprise - and, therefore, what really counts in a Capitalistic society is the enterprising quality of The People.


Second: Some geographical advantages may be useful - as in the case of an open access to The Sea. 


Third: Capitalism is the process by which Civilisation is built - and this word has its root in civitas, which means "city." Capitalism means Urban Markets. And these Urban Markets are where shopkeepers keep their shops open for Strangers. This is an Open Society. Open to Friendly and Peaceable Strangers from Anywhere. 


Fourth: The Capitalist Civilisation is built through the Accumulation of Capital. There is no other way than this. Now, it is Very Important to note that "inflationist-welfarism" ERODES CAPITAL. Thus, inflationist-welfarism leads to "de-civilisation." And, anyway, welfarism is NOT Capitalism. 


Whereas Capitalism is about Saving and Investment - which is the Accumulation of Capital - all welfarism is about Consumption, with nothing either saved or invested. The cheap rice, the free schools, the "right to work" MGNREGA - all this is "funny money" being Consumed, not invested. Thus, inflationist-welfarism must invariably lead to "de-civilisation."


Lastly, Capitalism is a JOHN BULL ATTITUDE - so take another look at the illustration accompanying this post. The John Bull Attitude is all about Courage and Valour - and also about Honesty. The John Bull Attitude does NOT tolerate government restrictions on the Freedom to Trade. It was because of this John Bull Attitude that the British went to WAR against China - just to sell their Indian Opium. This is how they won Hong Kong - and these wars are called The Opium Wars. Things are very different in Britain these days, of course. But maybe you Pondicherrians will be motivated to emulate the John Bull Capitalists of old. 


I'll be back tomorrow.

To Helga, With Love...

It has been a very relaxing time since yesterday - with beer in the afternoon, beer and whiskey in the evening, and some more beer this morning, too. Even the Pondicherry Police came calling - and they were very friendly. And the Good Firemen are always friendly, anyway. The only fuck-ups I had was with the barbershops - and I just could not manage to get myself the shave and the shampoo I desperately needed. I even tried a "spa" - but to no avail.


Anyway, this morning, I composed a little ditty for my Helga, which goes as follows:


Life without Helga,
Is really mighty fine,
We're three men on a footpath,
And things are quite divine.


If Helga had been here,
I'd be getting screwed,
She'd take the fucking beer,
And throw it down the tube.


Anyway, the NEWS about LIBERTY is very good - and it seems all of ENGLAND has woken up. Soon, these IDEAS will spread worldwide. And soon, the poor will get rich, and the rich will get poor, and lots of incompetent rulers will roll. I am happy to have contributed to this process. Very happy, indeed.

Another Night, And Another Day, In Pondicherry

After writing my post of yesterday, I walked back to my place next to the saintly sadhu, and there, Abdullah, the one-legged beggar, offered me a large shot of brandy - which cleared my head somewhat, after which I went to sleep. I awoke at around 1pm - and took an auto-rickshaw to HDFC Bank.


They were very kind to me this time - and, in about half-an-hour or more, I emerged from their premises with 5000 rupees in cash. I proceeded to pay my debts - and I bought a couple of Carlsbergs for the sadhu and me. After that, we slept. Peacefully.


I awoke late in the evening, and the Good Man Muthu came calling.  I gave him the CD "Ideas for a Free Society" - and he offered to get my evening quota of booze from the booze shop nearby. Muthu even offered to pay the money - but I REFUSED, saying that I do NOT accept tax-payer money.  He got the point.


Sometime after Muthu left, it started raining - and it rained really hard. Our party got fucked. The sadhu wandered away. And I went around carrying my bags looking for a hotel room. But the hotels were all full. So I ended up on Beach Road, as usual, and changed into fresh shorts and jacket in order to find some comfort in sleep.


I slept. Soundly. I awoke at dawn. And it was quite beautiful.


I drank some teas. I smoked some cigarettes. I cleared my head, somewhat. When it was 9am I began walking to this Internet place where I do my Daily Work - and I was early, and when the man in-charge of the place arrived, he told me that The Police had been visiting him the day before, and had instructed him that "I" was not to be allowed to use his facilities.


I was thunderstruck.


I happen to have a Creative Commons India License.


And the Fucked Up Indian Police have NO LICENSE to act outside The Law - the law being the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.


Who the FUCK do the Indian Police think they are?


They do not even possess the KNOWLEDGE to look after traffic - which is why 200,000 of us are dying on the roads every year. And many times more are getting seriously injured.


I told Muthu that we need to IMPORT experts on Traffic - which begins with Electronic and Civil engineering.


Anyway, it seems I will be here in Pondicherry for some more days. My friend's 20k infusion into my account has still not transpired. And Barun Mitra informs me that the people in Chakan are not too keen on my visiting them.


So, there is a TRAIN to Mangalore from here, that leaves every Tuesday, as Muthu informed me. I hope to take this train next Tuesday. In Mangalore, I will attempt to meet Professor Rita Naronha and the staff at The Roshni Nilaya School of Social Work, where they are supposed to host some important lectures of mine. If these lectures work out, i will collect my fees and split - to Idikki. I think I will be VERY HAPPY in Idikki.


And I TRUST that the Kerala Police will NOT hassle me too much in Idikki.


And if they do - there will be HELL to pay.

On Ultimate Ends: Heaven & Hell

When I am down and out, I often think of Ludwig von Mises - what a brilliant man, and how neglected, throughout such a long and productive life. I get comfort from his motto, "Tu ne cede malis," which is from Virgil, and which means, "Do not give in to Evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it." Ludwig von Mises said that the Science of Human Action is all about "means and ends." Now, this choosing of means towards ends is firstly a Moral Question - and Adam Smith was a Professor of Moral Philosophy, for there were no "economists" then. Adam Smith therefore encouraged our "natural propensity to truck, barter and exchange," and proposed a System of Natural Liberty as a Moral Solution to Life. But Socialists have done otherwise, and have encouraged Aggression - which even Sigmund Freud told us to "sublimate" - through their System of Legal Plunder.


Now, Ludwig von Mises said that, whereas the choice between means and ends is directed at short term goals, there are what he called "ultimate ends," and Mises said that the choice of ultimate ends are "a matter of the soul and the will." 


When I am down and out, I often think of what were the ultimate ends of Ludwig von Mises. If he chose to steadfastly battle Evil throughout his long life, with his motto from Virgil quoted above guiding him, then, perhaps, his Ultimate End was to go to Heaven after his death. Maybe. For this is "metaphysics," and Ludwig von Mises has never written a word about metaphysics, except to say that this too represents man's eternal search for knowledge.


In Hullsman's biography of Ludwig von Mises, there is mention of a deeply pessimistic conversation he had with George Reisman, some days before his death. And, during this conversation, Mises told Reisman, "Perhaps they will discover my writings a thousand years later like the Dead Sea Scrolls."


Now, the Dead Sea Scrolls are Holy Books.


So Mises' works are all Holy Books, too.


So, Mises must be right now seated in Paradise, "in the Company of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who was an Honest Trader himself."


Yesterday, Sunday, was a very bad day for me - although things did improve after sundown, thanks to the Mango Man, Ramalingam, who advanced me another loan.


Yesterday began with a Big Hangover - a Huge Headache. Then, a young fellow named Kumar stopped by, and we entered into conversation. Turned out he was a businessman - selling newspapers, and having them home-delivered through his employees. And so, I gave him a copy of my The Essential Frederic Bastiat - and told him where he could obtain thousands of copies for free, or for cheap, and thereafter sell them for a profit. He accepted my gift. All I asked for in exchange was two bottles of Carlsberg - to get rid of the hangover. But Kumar never showed up again.


The sweet lady who gave me some packets of cigarettes on credit the previous night did show up - and she gave me some more packets, which helped me clear my head somewhat. I requested her to get me some beer - but later, I found out, to my shock and horror, that she was being harassed by The Police because she was befriending me.


This morning, I awoke to find that all my cigarettes were stolen.


I awoke to find that the Tea Shop was closed.


Luckily, I found another tea shop - and the good owner of this shop gave me some cups on credit, and some cigarettes, too. And a cup for the sadhu as well.


We got talking about Heaven and Hell - which, in my opinion, are ULTIMATE ENDS.


I asked him, and the people around, the question:

Will Policemen go to Heaven?

Or will Policemen go to Hell?

Everyone seemed to think, even the little boy there, that Policemen will surely go to Hell. Even the Good Firemen who were drinking tea with me seemed to think policemen will go to Hell - while they, Good Firemen, all, will surely go to Heaven.


Except for Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, of course, whose garlanded photos are to be seen in the Sikh Heroes Museum in the Golden Temple at Amritsar.


What are Ultimate Ends?


Ludwig von Mises said they are "a matter of the Soul and the Will."


I would like my good reader to ponder over this issue today.


Matters of the Soul and the Will are NOT "short-term goals" - like your next promotion, your next car, or silly things like that.


The Ultimate End is either Heaven of Hell.


And I do draw a lot of Strength and Comfort from the Company of my good friend, the saintly sadhu, who sleeps next to me, in the afternoon as well as the night. He has no possessions. When he awakes, he spends considerable time rubbing vibhuti all over himself. Sometimes, he sits upright, looking squarely at the passers-by, and asks for alms - but most people pass him by. He reminds me much of that Leonard Cohen song, "Oh Please Don't Pass Me By." But most people pass him by.


Someone came and gave him  a packet of fried rice yesterday - but he did not touch it. He just went to sleep. And I went to sleep, too. With my Big Headache. I am sorry - but I simply could not do my Daily Work yesterday, which was a Sunday, and so I hope I will be excused.


I awoke in the early evening. I smoked some cigarettes. Cleared my head a bit. Then the sadhu awoke, too. I went to the Tea Shop and drank some teas - and brought back a cup for the sadhu. He drank it - and then proceeded begging, for now there were many cars about, and lots of rich people had gathered there to enjoy an evening on Beach Road.


An hour or so later, the sadhu returned - with two little bottles of alcohol, one for me. Such a kind soul. We drank the stuff - and it was horrible. I told him about Goan feni - and I do think Goan feni is a Great Drink for Poor People.


Anyway, the rest of the evening passed off quite well, thanks to the loan I received from the Mango Man, Ramalingam. The sadhu and I had some good Tuborg beers, and some Royal Stag whiskey. And some cigarettes, too. 


We enjoyed the evening - during which I sang him some Bob Marley, like:

Why can't we roam this Open Country,

Why can't we be what we want to be,

We wan't to be Free.

And the other one that goes:

Hey Mr. Cop,

Got no Birth Cerfiticate on me now.

The Corrupt "Politics" Of HDFC Bank

It was about 11:30am when I arrived at HDFC Bank, Pondicherry, in an auto-rickshaw with whom I had fixed a return fare of 200 rupees. On entering the bank, I went to the lady at one of the Customer Service Desks and told her my account number, so that she could let me know whether the 20k my friend was supposed to have put into this account had kicked in. Apparently, it had not - and my friend just phoned to say he will be doing the needful on Monday morning. And tomorrow is Sunday. The bank closes at 1pm on Saturdays.

At about 11:30am, the lady at the Customer Service Desk informed me that there were some 5000 odd rupees in my account. And we talked a bit about the currency and stock market collapses that were occurring all around the world, during which conversation I told her that "as long as Money & Banking are not honest, collapses will forever occur."


Now, just the other day, I had used a Withdrawal Slip to withdraw money from my account from this very branch, since both my cheque book as well as my ATM Card had been stolen. At that time, I had also applied for a new ATM Card as well as a new cheque book. And the young lad who handled my affairs that day was very much present today.


So I asked for a Withdrawal Slip by which I could withdraw the 5000 rupees in my account.


The bank REFUSED.


I asked to see the Manager - and I told this Manager some things about myself, and how this is a "Salary Account" from my days as Editor of The Economic Times in Nude Elly. I told him that his computer contained some secret information about me that could be used by him to verify my Identity - like my Date of Birth; like my residential address in Nude Elly; like my Mother's Name and so on. I said that I could verify all of these and more. But he INSISTED that he needs an "Identity Proof" - from our The State. 

I told him that anyone could furnish him with a false driver's license or with a false passport, even. Such identity proofs issued by our The State have NEVER been concrete proof of anyone's identity - ever. On the other hand, if his Customer could verify Personal Information, and, further, if his Signature tallied with the one in his records, there was nothing to worry about.


But this Manager INSISTED that he could NOT allow me to withdraw MY MONEY from MY ACCOUNT without an ID Proof issued by our The State.


So I asked to speak to his Boss - and he connected me on the phone with a Vice-President of HDFC Bank, who was also most unhelpful. He INSISTED on sticking to his silly bureaucratic rule. I called him a chamcha of Nandan Nilekani, in disgust. I also told him that India does NOT need the Nandan Nilekani Unique Identity Scheme, by which all billion of us will get our irises screened and our fingerprints scanned for State records. I told him that India needs All Property to be properly registered and recorded - and that, if this was done, his bank, which claims to be a "housing development finance bank," would be the first to benefit.


But the guy was a compleat moron.


I left in disgust - after telling him that all that had transpired would shortly be put up in the Public Domain on My Blog. I came directly back to this Internet outlet, but a fracas broke out between me and the auto-rickshaw driver, who insisted on his payment. Finally, it was decided that I would give him my bags, which were lying next to the sadhu - and we went there. However, there, things were sorted out by some of the Good Firemen from the Fire Station - and one of them paid him off. I rested the afternoon.


Some cops came by in a patrol vehicle and talked in Tamil with the sadhu - after which they offered him some food, which he accepted. I later told the sadhu that he had done something WRONG - for this food was paid for by TAX MONEY. I told him that if he should accept anything from policemen at all, it should be ganja, for his shawl said OM NAMOH SHIVAY in Tamil.


Now, getting back to this Unique Identity Card of Nandan Nilekani, let me say just one thing: and that is, "good government" is that in which The People, who are ALL businessmen, or employed by businessmen, are fully possessed of their Privacy as well as their secrets, which must include Business Secrets. Swiss Banks USED to be like that. 


Further, "good government" is that in which EVERYTHING about this government is in the open, and there are NO SECRETS at all about the government. The best example of such a government is the one administered by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in Medina, where he was always surrounded by 23 or more scribes, who carefully recorded each and everything he said or did.


The People must have their privacy as well as their secrets.


It is the government that must have no secrets at all.


Nandan Nilekani is taking our country in the wrong direction - and he has sonia gandhi, chacha manmohan s gandhi, the Union Home Ministry (which will keep these records) as well as HDFC Bank on his side.


And I am on The Other Side.


So, all you rockers out there, put on Mr. Jim Morrison REAL LOUD:

And Break On Through To The Other Side