Author: Atanu Dey

Economist.

Public Choice Theory

During my formal training in economics, I mainly learned price theory (also known as microeconomics) and theories related to economic development.  Only after I was done with my Ph.D. did I learn about public choice theory and constitutional political economy. Those are my favorites. Let’s talk about public choice.

What is public choice? It is not “private choice.” When you choose something in your private capacity, that’s private choice. You are self-interested and choose to do the best you can for yourself and your loved ones. You try to get the most bang for your buck, so to speak. Your private choices affect you only and you reap the benefits or suffer the costs of your choices. It’s karma. Continue reading “Public Choice Theory”

Is the Deep State Going to Win?

Diwali is over and now to some less fun topics. I am seriously worried that Trump may lose the election. We’ll know the outcome on Nov 6th early morning. I am dreading what could happen in case Trump loses. I hope the gods are kind and spare humans the destruction of the world.

I don’t really care about Trump’s tariffs, or Harris’s idiocy. They are minor and inconsequential in the long run. To me, the most critically important issue is which of the two potential POTUS is likely to lead the world into the third (and certainly, the final) world war. Trump is not a war monger; Harris, a deep state puppet, is likely to force a war on the world. Continue reading “Is the Deep State Going to Win?”

Goethe on Commitment

Thus spake the great Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I have not read any of his works, I sadly confess. But I regularly read his quotes that are easily found on the web (wikiquotes and goodreads are great sources.) And of course he is quoted frequently in books and articles.

Goethe said, “All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, until they take root in our personal experience.”

I think over honestly what great minds have already thought. Who was Goethe? Continue reading “Goethe on Commitment”

AMA – the Very Large Numbers edition

It’s been a while since the last AMA post. Actually, I’ve been hugely distracted with the presidential race. I end up spending inordinate amounts of time on X and on YouTube.

And on top of that, I am easily distracted. If I see an interesting book, it immediately goes on my reading list. When comes time to get some work done, I decide to just dip into the pile of books just for a few minutes, and the next thing I know is that I’ve spent hours reading.

But that has its rewards. I learn stuff. Learning stuff is joy. Here’s something I enjoyed. Continue reading “AMA – the Very Large Numbers edition”

The US Presidential Elections

In just 11 days, on Nov 5th, it will be time once again for the US to elect its next president. It appears to me that the die is cast and there’s unlikely to be an October Surprise to change anyone’s mind on whom to vote for.

I am in the Trump camp. It’s a no-brainer for me because his opponent Harris is a cackling retard. Trump is no John von Neumann, for sure. But he’s clearly better than Harris. What matters to me the most is the fabulous team that Trump will bring to his administration if he’s elected. Here they are: Continue reading “The US Presidential Elections”

Limits to Growth

Costco Business Center in San Jose, CA

Are there limits to growth? There must be because the planet we live on is finite. Therefore, it must be that there are limits to growth. But I believe that there are no practical limits to growth. The distinction between the theoretical and practical is important because it has implications regarding our moral imperatives.

In this bit, I continue my reply to Akshay’s comment. The previous bit was Energy and Power. In his comment, Akshay wrote: Continue reading “Limits to Growth”

Energy and Power

The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. And I say it’s time to address a few recent comments. Let me begin with Akshay’s comment:

Quoth he:

You are right that energy is not an immediate limit to growth. While total energy usage today is about 20 TW (20E12 Watts), solar energy received by Earth at any given time is about: pi * R^2 * Solar_constant = 3.14 * 6.378E6^2 * 1.361E3 = 173843 TW. So, yes there is enormous room for growth in energy usage.

Them are impressively large numbers. It makes my brain numb. But let me being. Continue reading “Energy and Power”

Shubho Bijoya

Ma Durga with (l to r) Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik.

Today was visarjan and Ma Durga has returned with her children to her husband’s home. After visarjan, people wish each other Shubho Bijoya. So Shubho Bijoya to all.

For Bengalis, and a few other Indian communities, Ma Durga’s annual visit to her maternal home is an occasion of great celebrations. She visits with her children: sons Ganesh and Karthik, and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati. Continue reading “Shubho Bijoya”

Economic Growth and Degrowth

Growth is a feature of the natural world. All sorts of processes at various scales — from the molecular to the galactic — lead to growth. Plants and animals grow through their life cycles, as do stars and galaxies. The opposite process of degrowth is also part of the natural world. Growth invariably leads to dissolution and death. Nothing lasts forever. Whatever has a beginning has an end. Creation and destruction are inextricably linked. Shiva, as Nataraja, ceaselessly dances the universe into existence and also dances it out of existence.[1]

Though growth and its opposite continue, overall growth wins over degrowth. The universe and its various subsystems grow with the passage of time.

Narrowing our focus to the processes that are involved in the evolution of life on earth, we see the same cyclical story: birth, growth, dissolution and death followed by renewal. All these processes are by definition dynamic and therefore have the potential to be creative. Continue reading “Economic Growth and Degrowth”

Benjamín Labatut – When We Cease to Understand the World

There are many wonders of the modern world. Which matters most to us depends on our individual preferences. To me, the easy access to the written word is a miracle that was not available even a generation ago.

Sure there were books in the past but access was costly in terms of time and money. Today, most of us have broadband internet connections. That means not only text but vast quantities of quality audio, video, text and graphics are at our fingertips, on our computers and smartphones.

What’s more, the marginal cost of all that awesome stuff is near zero. There’s more material being added every hour than one can consume in an entire lifetime. Time and attention is the scarce resource, not material. Continue reading “Benjamín Labatut – When We Cease to Understand the World”