A panel of “experts” appointed by the Government has recommended raising fuel prices.  The panel, headed by Kirit Parikh,  recommended a hike in domestic LPG by Rs 100 a cylinder and PDS Kerosene by Rs 6 a litre. It is not certain that what the panel called for will be implemented. Rangarajan Committee and the Chaturvedi Committee reports… Continue reading

In absence of central planning and governmental interventions, the production remains in the hands of independent, self-interested, profit-seeking individuals.
In absence of forced laws and regulations, the independent self-interested producers follow the natural laws of market that brings the uniformity and systematically accelerated progress in the free society where the wastage of resources reaches to minimum and overall production tends to reach to maximum and hence the common ills of collectivism such as extreme poverty, unemployment, class differences etc gets the proper remedies in the individualistic, free-society systems.
Whenever government intervenes in such a society by means of central planning and interventionism, the chain of progress breaks and the retardation takes place that brings the common ills of collectivism back to the frame. Continue reading

If you are a loyal reader of this blog you know that two of the major contributor of this blog greatly disagree with each other over the issue of legitimacy of Intellectual property rights. I for one am against intellectual property rights, and I have tried my share to convince my co-author towards my viewpoint. I believe that upto some extent I have managed to convince her, except for I guess patent laws for innovation in Pharmaceutical industry. Continue reading

In the recent illegal liquor death related tragedy in Gujarat about 136 people have been killed and about 150 more are in hospital, getting treatment. Gujarat is one of the states of India where the sale and consumption of liquor is banned. One might expect after such a tragedy that now people understand that prohibition does not benefit anyone, but it harms the same group of people it hopes to benefit, but there is no limitation of number of people coming out and supporting prohibition in Gujarat. Not only people don’t understand that prohibiting consenting adult activities never work. Continue reading

Even in the modern day India, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru are considered as “Gods”. Any attempt to criticize them is met by denial and hatred. I remember that years back, when I made a case against the socialist policies of Nehru in my college hostel, every one of them present there turned emotional. They argued that India is a poor country, and hence need intelligent planning, to which Nehru made significant contributions. Their response was similar to what you would get from sulky children when you point out that their parents could be wrong. “Breaking Free of Nehru”, by Sanjeev Sabhlok, a resigned IAS officer, flies in the face of such an attitude. Sabhlok is one of the very few Indian authors I have read who has a reasonably good understanding of Free Market Economics. He points out with extreme clarity and precision that the legacy of Nehruvian Socialism has done incalculable harm to India. Continue reading

Lets say if you somehow had the psychic ability to be able to predict the future demand and supply of wheat, say up to 6 months to 1 year in future. How do you think you would be able to use this ability to do good in the world? You could go to all the wheat farmers and tell them how much the future supply and demand of wheat would be, so the farmers will now be able to produce wheat more in accordance to how things are going to be at the end of the wheat season. Continue reading

Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels say in their famous work ‘The Communist Manifesto’:
“It is enough to mention the commercial crises that by their periodical return put the existence of the entire bourgeois society on its trial, each time more threateningly. In these crises, a great part not only of the existing products, but also of the previously created productive forces, are periodically destroyed. In these crises, there breaks out an epidemic that, in all earlier epochs, would have seemed an absurdity — the epidemic of over-production.”

The common excuse of politicians for the current economic crisis is, due to well-planned regulations, Indian economy is least suffering and has maintained a good GDP growth rate of 5.3%, while most of the other nations are suffering deep negative growth. By such bombastic claims of growth because of the government regulations, Indian government not only eludes the common man, but the current government also makes a political strongpoint for the upcoming general election.
Yet recently, one of the most prominent economists of India Mr. Surjit Bhalla has claimed that this is false comfort based on incorrect calculations. Citing OECD data, he says India actually had negative growth (-11.8%) in Q4 of 2008, not the 5.3% claimed by the government.
In addition, OECD based report says that in comparison, Indian economy fall with negative growth of 11.8% if we compare the GDP of 2007 for the fourth quarter with the fourth quarter of 2008.
Indian growth is far worse than in the US (-6.2%), UK (-8.4%) or European Union (-8.2%), though better than in Japan (-17.8%) or Korea (-28.8%). Continue reading

Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was often considered as one of the most powerful men on earth. What is interesting about Alan is that he was once an acolyte of the novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand, and a proponent of the Gold Standard. It is indeed an irony that he later renounced his views on Gold Standard and headed the very institution he attacked – The Federal Reserve.
As advocates of a free market economy know, it is a characteristic of the enemies of capitalism that they blame the evils of interventionism on the free market. It is, they say, the “laissez faire” policies of Alan Greenspan, which caused the present economic crisis. They conveniently forget that Greenspan gave up his views on Capitalism long ago. It is also forgotten that the existence of the Federal Reserve is incompatible with a free market economy. How is Government manipulation of money and credit a free market policy? Isn’t it a form of central planning? Isn’t it ridiculous to blame the present mess on Capitalism when Capitalism never existed in the first place?
There is one thing in common between those who blame Capitalism for the present crisis. It is that they are totally ignorant of Economics, and yet hold strong opinions on the topic. Continue reading

Globalization not only has raised a stage of cultural sharing and expansions, it has provided a wider scope in every aspect of common life whole round the world.
National politics is also not unscathed of the global effects. Out national politics and economics, so much depends on the various global international groups, organizations, planning commissions, treaties and protocols.
One of the most important of them is the Kyoto Protocol and Environmentalism is the new political mantra at the helm.
Almost every other country is now whirling around to cut the carbon emission rates.
Now when there are enough evidences that global warming is nothing but a fake idea, the environmentalist politicians have a new way to rush upon their emotional tactics based on the call to “save mother earth”. Continue reading