The disparity in the wealth and poverty of nations is starkly evident and has been a perpetual source of puzzlement and inquiry for centuries. Why do some nations languish in heartbreaking poverty while others prosper? Is there a poverty trap… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 8
Things change. That’s the nature of the universe we live in. There’s little we can do about that, and the change is not always to our liking. Still, we are better off with change. Had it been an unchanging world,… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 7
People value freedom. Actually, not just humans, all sentient beings want to be free. But only in human beings does the impulse to enslave others find expression so widely across space and time. The desire to control others is a… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 6
There are two broadly defined systems of organizing the production and allocation of goods and services in a society. One system is called the market and the other command and control. We all have first-hand experience with both systems since… Read More ›
Question the Assumptions
When you find that there’s a disconnect between expectations and reality, it is no use denying the reality. It may be time to question the assumptions that underlie the expectations.
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 5
Counterfactuals are generally instructive and entertaining. But in some cases, it can be deeply distressing to consider them. Those leave us sadder although wiser. And at times they provoke us to anger and outrage because we finally understand what might… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 4
There comes a time in every endeavour when it becomes imperative that one does a bit of arithmetic. As the late John McCarthy used to say, “Those who refuse to do arithmetic are doomed to speak nonsense.” Doing a bit… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 3
Different parts of the world have different degrees of prosperity, as is clearly evident if you look around even cursorily. Indeed that fact is so obvious, persistent and ubiquitous that it is not the least surprising to us. It is… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 2
Economic prosperity is neither impossible nor inevitable. There are scores of examples on either side of the prosperity divide. From these we can learn quite a bit about what it takes to be economically successful. Prosperity eludes some countries while… Read More ›
Stealing is a Bad Thing — Part 1
Why are some countries poor while others rich? That’s a more complex question than the question why a particular person is rich and another poor. The difficulty in the latter case arises because an individual is at the mercy of… Read More ›
