Right to Property – India

“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”

– Frederick Bastiat

In my previous post, Right to Property, I claimed that Indians don’t have a fundamental right to property, and instead it’s a constitutional right. I am not trained in law or constitutional law of India. Therefore it was not an expert opinion. Continue reading “Right to Property – India”

Right to Property

The US “Declaration of Independence”, 1776, states that “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”are unalienable rights given to all humans by their Creator. In incorporating the phrase “pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson (1743 -1826), a Founding Father and the 3rd president of the US,  was inspired by the English Enlightenment thinker and philosopher John Locke (1632 – 1704).

The pursuit of happiness requires one to be free from coercion by others, and the material means to follow one’s goals. That implies right to property. Continue reading “Right to Property”

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”