Category: Random Draws

Wanted to wish you all a quick happy Ganesh Chaturthi. I have to run for a talk at the Center for Civil Society in New Delhi right now but later in the day I will do my traditional post on Ganesh. See Ganesh in Ireland for now.

We all know that politicians by and large are corrupt. They steal from the public by a variety of means, ranging from kickbacks on purchases (defense equipment is a favorite) to allocation of scarce resources (radio spectrum and land are examples.) But as I have argued before on this blog, public corruption is a consequence of government control of the economy which is mandated by Nehruvian socialism. Being in control of the economy is hugely privately profitable. The profits from public office are well publicized. That’s one side of the equation of profit and loss. What about the loss?

Continue reading “How much did the Congress Cost India?”

The topic is “Comprehensive Freedom and Economic Prosperity.” I will post the presentation and if I get a good audio recording, perhaps that too.

Like last year in September, I am once again in Bangalore. Once again I am going to be speaking at Infosys on Wednesday. This week’s presentation (not yet composed) will be on the relationship between positive rights, freedom and prosperity. These are some of my thoughts related to last year’s presentation.

Continue reading “India: Past, Present & Possible Futures”

The following excerpt is the tail end of a post from March 2011 — over two years ago. Read it now in the context India’s precipitous economic decline brought about by Manmohan Singh.
Continue reading “Hauled from the Archives: Manmohan Singh Epitomizes Evil”

My unwavering opposition to Kejriwal & AAP because they will help Congress continue raping India http://t.co/CsTVR3ToWs

— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) August 24, 2013

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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.
Continue reading “Change is a Vector, not a Scalar”

Aug 15, 1872: Sri Aurobindo was born. He fought for India's independence. That struggle is still incomplete.

— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) August 15, 2013

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Aug 15, 1945: Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast announcing the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allies.

— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) August 15, 2013

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Aug 15, 1947: British Raj 2.0 commences with the transfer of power to the pseudo-British in India. Same rules, different rulers.

— Atanu Dey (@atanudey) August 15, 2013

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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.”

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.
Continue reading “Bhagwati on Democracy and Markets”

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.
Continue reading “Is Endogenous Change Possible?”

Bigger is Better

Here I will address, as promised, the matter of why the argument — that India’s failure to develop cannot be compared with Singapore’s enviable success due to differences in size — is meaningless. It is based on an absolute misapprehension of the way the world works. All we need to do to see through the matter is a little bit of common sense, a quiet place, and a bit of time to turn things around in one’s head.
Continue reading “Hauled from the archives: Bigger is Better”