Comments on: Economic Freedom

by: Nitin

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Yazad,

I have not yet read your op-ed in the Times.

But economic freedom is too abstract an idea for the masses to grasp.

Like Gandhi did, there needs to be a simple way for a common man to (a) understand what it means and (b) a simple way to fight for it.

Current discussion on economic freedom is not unlike sessions of the Indian National Congress under Hume and others.

by: Yazad

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Yes. One of the conclusions that we came to very soon. Read Parth's intro (pdf file) to the Indian edition of the Econ Freedom book. He talks of livelihood issues amongst the urban poor. (cycle rickshaw wallahs in Delhi)

by: sauvik

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

what is’economic freedom’? simply this: as adam smith put it - “according to the SYSTEM OF NATURAL LIBERTY every man is left PERFECTLY FREE to pursue his own ends in his own way, SO LONG AS HE DOES NOT VIOLATE THE LAWS OF JUSTICE.”
the ’system’ he referred to, as well as ‘the laws of justice’ he talked about, was the COMMON LAW. under the common law, private property was inviolate. indian socialist legislators and other ‘democratic despots’ have used LEGISLATION worldwide to take away the NATURAL LIBERTY that private property rights afforded human beings under the common law.
a good way to tell ordinary indians what ‘economic freedom’ means is to say: suppose the customs deptt was abolished and the entire land mass of india became the world’s largest duty free area, would not even the paanwallah benefit? if all licencing was abolished and all LEGISLATION ignored by the common courts - and there was gambling (in casinos - private property), and prosptitution (in brothels - private property), erotic dance, pornography, ganja and cocaine apart from the ‘duty free India’ we talked about - that would truly be an economically free, prosperous and ‘moral’ india, living in NATURAL JUSTICE UNDER THE COMMON LAW.

by: RKB

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

And what is “economic freedom”? I contend it is nothing but the freedom to pursue our unlimited desires within the bounds of limited resources. Specifically, the primary restriction on economic freedom is competition for limited resources. In this competition, we must deal with those who will use extra-legal means and not just with those who willingly agree to abide by the “laws of justice”. May I suggest that the the solution to the problem of economic freedom - is government!

by: Gautam

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

What happens when government becomes the extra-legal player with a monopoly to set the rules, and the right to soveriegn immunity?

by: RKB

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Guatam,

Without said monopoly, a government is useless. Balance and Agreement are the keys. We collectively agree on the correct balance, and we agree to act in accordance with the agreement (Law). If the system becomes unbalanced, the agreement fails, and economy becomes stagnant (or worse) until such time as a new agreement is reached.

by: MadMan

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Testing comments

by: The Acorn

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Fixing India’s education system

India’s education sector needs economic freedom

Rajiv Kumar makes a case for greater investment in higher education, arguing that India needs to allocate more than even the target of 6% of GDP that the government has announced. But beyond throwing …

by: The Examined Life

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Freedom for the cycle-rickshaw pullers

Reading this introduction (PDF link) (via Anarcaplib) to the Economic Freedom Report written by Parth Shah brought back a memory to me. In it, he restates the story of how the License Raj causes misery to the cycle-rickshaw pullers of…

by: varnam

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Economic Freedom

The Heritage Foundation came up with its 2005 Index of Economic Freedom and India was ranked 118 in a list of 155 nations. India’s neighbours did not perform well either, except Sri Lanka which was ranked 79. The New Nation…