January 31, 2005
by atanu
12 Comments
The principle that exposure to economics should convey is that of the spontaneous coordination which the market achieves. — James M. Buchanan The last time I was out having lunch with my economics guru, I pondered the question that is … Continue reading
January 31, 2005
by atanu
1 Comment
… Professional publicists know there is always a good living to be made by catering to the public’s craving for optimistic reports. Such behaviour finds no justification in the attitude of the Buddha, expressed five centuries before Christ: “I teach … Continue reading
January 28, 2005
by atanu
7 Comments
Natural disasters bring in their wake a feast for scavengers who find the victims easy pickings. Here is a story about Christian missionaries feasting among the vulnerable victims of the tsunami.
January 27, 2005
by atanu
16 Comments
Imagine you get invited to a feast and when you arrive, at the door they hand you a ticket randomly drawn out of a hat. That ticket determines which of three different meals you will receive at this feast. You, … Continue reading
January 26, 2005
by atanu
6 Comments
“Another damned, thick, square, book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr. Gibbon? – William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, upon receiving the second volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire from the author, 1781. Well, what do you … Continue reading
January 21, 2005
by atanu
6 Comments
I will be traveling till the 25th and will not have access to the web. That is why I will maintain web silence and not because I am done with the topic at hand. I stand corrected by TTG on … Continue reading
January 21, 2005
by atanu
16 Comments
The last posting, Why is India Poor?, has drawn sufficient attention that there needs to be a follow-up addressing some of the points raised in the comments. It is interesting to note that the arguments against my view of Nehru … Continue reading
January 20, 2005
by atanu
15 Comments
What India is today is to a large extent the result of policy choices made by its leaders — especially post India’s independence. Prior to 1947, India’s fortunes were dictated by the British. The British were in India for — … Continue reading
January 20, 2005
by atanu
0 comments
From my friend, Barbara Murphy, in California: I do not like thee Doctor Dey The reason isn’t hard to say Although you are so far away I do not like thee Doctor Dey. Not terribly original, as it is based … Continue reading
January 18, 2005
by atanu
6 Comments
To my mind, the ability to make distinctions is one of the more important characteristics of a fully civilized human being. Savages, very small children and animals do not share that characteristic. An untutored person will not be able to … Continue reading
January 18, 2005
by atanu
0 comments
Yesterday I wrote about the small stuff. That brought to mind some related stuff that I had written earlier and I thought I would refer to them here, for the record. Adopting Innovations: People, societies, economies which can successfully adopt … Continue reading
January 17, 2005
by atanu
10 Comments
Some months ago, I had recorded here the ideas of the Tathagata (It’s the small stuff, stupid) on the importance of taking care of the itsy-bitsy small bits. Today I was struck yet one more time about that truth. I … Continue reading
January 17, 2005
by atanu
1 Comment
Economic development is clearly possible. Examples of economies which have developed are not hard to find. Western Europe developed following the industrial revolution first and later the United States also developed rapidly. Japan’s development was closely followed by the development … Continue reading
January 14, 2005
by atanu
5 Comments
It is morning in Africa and As the sun rises over the plains The gazelle awakens knowing that If it cannot outrun the fastest lion It will be dead. It is morning in Africa and The lion awakens knowing that … Continue reading
January 13, 2005
by atanu
2 Comments
Suhit Anantula reports that globally an astonishing US$4 billion has been pledged for tsunami relief till date. That is an incredible amount. Assuming that about 4 million people are directly affected (certainly an upper bound), $4 billion implies a lower … Continue reading
January 12, 2005
by atanu
5 Comments
The story goes that a man goes to a Chinese acupuncturist for treating his headache. The doctor examines the man thoroughly and then starts to stick needles into the patient’s forearm. “Doctor,” the patient complains, “I have a headache. Why … Continue reading
January 11, 2005
by atanu
5 Comments
The IndiBloggies 2004 voting is under way. Some well-meaning person nominated this blog in the category Best Indiblog. I kid you not. So if you are one of the half a dozen readers of these ramblings, and if you have … Continue reading
January 10, 2005
by atanu
8 Comments
When Kamala, the courtesan in Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha asked the young brahmin ascetic what skills he had, he replied that he has learnt “how to think, how to wait, and how to fast.” To my mind, that is a … Continue reading
January 9, 2005
by atanu
1 Comment
Calvin: It’s true, Hobbes. Ignorance is bliss. Once you know things, you start seeing problems everywhere… And once you see problems, you feel like you ought to try to fix them… And fixing problems always seems to require personal change… … Continue reading
January 6, 2005
by atanu
3 Comments
The extent of the damage and loss of life due to the tsunami has now become clear. Soumen Chakrabarti emailed me and wrote: You recently wrote: That is why I claim that natural disasters like the recent tsunami cannot hold … Continue reading