What Would Gandhi Do?

That’s the question that my friend CJ asked me. I don’t know, I replied. I am not a Gandhian. We were discussing yesterday’s bomb blast in the reception area of the Delhi High Court which left as of last count 11 dead and scores injured.
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The Three-ring Anti-corruption Circus in in Town

As some of you may have noticed, I have been away. That is why this blog has been dormant. Oh I have not been physically absent. I was only mentally away, taking a break to learn some economics. I was teaching a couple of courses for the Summer term at UC Berkeley. I am sure that teaching is the most rigorous and effective way to learn something. It is impossible to teach the fundamentals without coming away with a renewed appreciation and understanding of what really matters. What did I re-learn this time around? Lots of very interesting stuff, but one thing stands out.
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Manmohan Singh is a Seriously Despicably Dishonest Spineless Toady Who Will Pay for his Crimes Against India

Madhu Kishwar writing in OutlookIndia.com says, “I fail to understand why almost every commentator, every TV anchor, every editorial writer feels compelled to pay ritual obeisance to the “personal honesty and integrity” of Dr Manmohan Singh.” I note that Madhu qualifies the statement with “almost every.” As a blogger, I have been insisting that the appointed prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh is despicably dishonest man, and that he will be remembered for his venality. That he is getting a free pass right now can only be because Indians are not the most clued in people in the world and it takes a few generations for the truth to dawn on the country. But eventually, as the Indian motto goes, satyam eva jayate.
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The Coming “Citizen War”

The Citizen at War 

Political freedom must be used to fight for economic freedom

July 2011.

Witnessing the recent skirmishes between some segments of the “civil society” and the central government of India, it is hard to keep cynicism at bay. On the one side there are sincere people with not inconsiderable following who are trying to bring about change in governance and the reduction of public corruption which has reached astronomical proportions. While they may be motivated by worthy goals, not all their means are above reproach. Their passion is not matched by their understanding of what should be done and how.

On the other side are powerful people in the government who are not particularly perturbed about the reports that allege, often with substantial evidence, their involvement in scams that run into billions of dollars. These people have the power of the state on their side and are not hesitant in using overwhelming force to defeat the people on the other side. Not just the police force, but they have used government agencies—such as investigative and taxation institutions—to fight their opponents. Continue reading “The Coming “Citizen War””

Weekend Edition: They Fell From Grace

This is the weekend edition — a round up of things that have caught my eye over the week. As it happens, there appears to be a theme: how the powerful have fallen. Three tales about three entities — two people and one firm — tell about their descent from rarefied heights to close to the mean sea level. They are about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Rajat Gupta, and Infosys.
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The Age of Superfluous Information — Revisited

The Economist’s article, “Too much information: How to cope with data overload,” deals with information overload. (Hat tip Prasanna Viswanathan @prasannavishy for the link.) For a few years I have been concerned about it since I have a very low threshold for information. In 2005, I pondered the matter in a number of blog posts. I realize the irony in writing yet another blog post on information overload, but there you have it. The Economist article underlines my fears.
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