I believe that the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution is wonderful. The first of the 10 amendments (which together are known as the Bill of Rights) the full text reads– Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of… Read More ›
Constitution
The British are Gone but the British Raj Lives on
“It was [in India] the British learned the art of imperial power. … India was decisive. It gave Britain the resources, the market, the manpower, and the prestige to build a world-wide empire. And in the years to come they… Read More ›
India Needs an Actually New Constitution
“Why India Needs a New Constitution.” is the title of the chapter I contributed to a Festschrift published in November 2016 by the Center for Civil Society in Delhi. That idea rubs Indians the wrong way because Indians generally believe that… Read More ›
Constitution for a Free India
I have been arguing for a while that the fountainhead of India’s troubles is the Indian Constitution. Recently I contributed a chapter to the CCS publication “Liberalism in India: Past, Present and Future“, and also wrote an opinion piece for… Read More ›
Liberalism in India: Past, Present and Future
The Center for Civil Society convened a day-long conference on Nov 20th at The Claridges Hotel, New Delhi, to honor the memory of S V Raju. I attended and had the opportunity to meet with many friends and also some… Read More ›
The Preamble to Iceland’s New Constitution
The most important thing for the constitution of any civilized society is the guarantee that it provides that all people are treated equally and without discrimination by the government. The other bits follow logically from that principle. And the back… Read More ›
Two First Amendments to two Constitutions
The First Amendment to the US Constitution is 45 words long. The full text reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the… Read More ›
Constitution, Government, Economy – Part 3
In the previous parts (first and second) of this essay, I discussed some aspects of constitutions and governments. The discussion was general and was principles based. In this part, I examine the particular case of the Indian constitution and the… Read More ›
Constitution, Government, Economy – Part 2
In part 1 of “Constitution, Government, Economy”, I had explored what a state is, what an economy is, the need for a constitution, the restrictions that must be imposed on a government, etc. This is a continuation of the same…. Read More ›
Hayek on the Abstract Rules of Just Conduct
Hayek’s monumental work “Law, Legislation and Liberty” contains deep insights into what the proper functions of governments are, and how they should be understood and implemented. Every paragraph is worth quoting in full. But here are a few select bits… Read More ›
