Author: Atanu Dey

Economist.

Change is a Vector, not a Scalar

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The above tweet was prompted by a comment made to an old post “Why a Vote for the AAP is a vote for the Congress” referred to in the tweet. The comment in question was posted yesterday by one Mr Rajesh Debnath.
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The Gutless Über-Monster of India

More and more people are coming around to the realization that the man (I use the term loosely) who has enabled the loot of the country and driven its economy into the ground is despicable. Hundreds of millions already poor people will suffer increased hunger and deprivation. To say that I despise him barely comes close to how I feel. Anyone who feeds the awful monster of poverty with hundreds of millions of humans is an über-monster.

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The Unbearable Collective Stupidity of the Masses

It’s all karma, neh?

I usually use that line as a sign off to some of my posts. But this time I lead with it because — well, let me come to that. Karma is a Sanskrit word whose meaning is difficult to convey precisely but the two (of the many) important facets of the word are salient in this context. First is karma as action, and the second the consequence of action. This bears repetition: the same word refers to action as well as the consequences of action. This is by no means accidental.
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Aug 15th in recent history

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Happy birthday wishes to my friend Rajesh Jain who is continuing the struggle for India’s freedom. Remember that Sri Aurobindo said, “India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and the human peoples.”

India should try freedom for a change

Not sure if that would appeal to the masses but perhaps they may like being free. Perhaps they should think of how to break free of their serfdom.

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Happy “Independence” Day, India.

Bhagwati on Democracy and Markets

Jagdish Bhagwati has been much in the English popular press in India recently. I have been familiar with his work since my econ grad school days. I had done a couple of courses on international trade (taught by the great Prof Pranab Bardhan) and read from Bhagwati & Srinivasan’s venerated textbook “Lectures on International Trade.” I have referred to Prof Bhagwati on this blog several times previously.

I have learned a lot from Prof Bhagwati and find myself on the same side as he on many political economy issues. Which is more than I can say about Prof Amartya Sen. I think Sen is a brilliant man but I am situated almost diametrically opposite to him on the ideological plane. I believe his policy prescriptions are ultimately severely damaging to India and its development. Like most people, present company included, Sen has his biases: his bias happens to be towards socialism and statism (the government control of economic and social policy.) This suits the UPA and the Congress party really well. What surprised me was that Sen waded into the cesspool of Indian politics and showed himself to be a shill for Antonia Maino by declaring that Narendra Modi is not fit to be the PM of India.
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Bradley Manning’s Conviction

Julian Assange of Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden point to a very disturbing trend. The people are losing control of their government. The government is getting bigger and more intrusive. An opinion piece by Jesselyn Radack in The Washington Post (Aug 2nd) says, “Bradley Manning’s conviction sends a chilling message.” Here’s an excerpt, for the record.
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Indira Gandhi and Her Kitchen Helpers

We know that Pratibha Patil was given the job of playing president of India in recognition of her service as a cook in Indira Gandhi’s kitchen. That’s one of the more glaring examples of being a servant in the Nehru-Gandhi household — and now the Gandhi-Maino household — is a necessary qualification for high office in any Congress-controlled government. If one cannot demonstrate loyalty to the Gandhi-Maino clan by debasing himself or herself, one cannot have or even hold on to one’s position. Competency in the job is not a requirement.

This sorry farce started decades ago under Indira but only recently is the general public becoming aware of it. When it started, the government controlled the media. It still controls the main stream media but thanks to the internet, the alternative media (the so-called social media) is uncontrollable because it is decentralized, distributed, immense and presents almost zero barrier to entry. Anyone, yours truly included, can help open the cupboards & reveal the skeletons. The Congress cupboards are full of them.

Here’s an exclusive item from the Economist that was published by The Vancouver Sun in Nov 1980.
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Is Endogenous Change Possible?

In a post last month in which I asked when will we be able to distinguish treachery from fidelity, I wrote —

There is something deeply depressing about a nation that does not recognize merit, that is unable to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. We have a long way to go before we become a modern civilized nation.

To which a friend emailed me saying, “You hit it. We’re not a modern civilized nation. Not only do I think we are not modern and civilized but I think those qualities are declining. The Indian state is made up of the same people that constitute Indian society. Ergo, how is endogenous change possible?” I wrote back in reply and here’s my response, for the record.
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