Blinking links

SA writes; "Political philosophers tracing the evolution of society define the period before governments as the State of Nature where every man was a law unto himself. It is the period before social contracts, commandments and rule of law came into being to bring order in society. It is only after the evolution of social contract, defining rights and obligations, that society migrated from the State of Nature and accepted the Nature of the State. If one looks at the headlines of the day and raging rant beamed into living rooms, it does often seem that India is drifting into an ungovernable chaos. The Nature of the State is seemingly regressing into the State of Nature."


The demand doctor who killed the world economy in the past and is still killing the same.


TCA on the quality of chief economic advisers who served in the Indian Federal Finance Ministry. Just to note (from TCA column):

"The good, the bad and the undeserving

Sometimes, you tend to look back and wonder about this and that. My time has been largely misspent in the company of economists who, I have concluded, are of three types: the good, the bad and the undeserving.

The best amongst the good ones speak in murmurs, the bad ones do regressions and the ugly ones preen like a brigade of frogs at a beauty parade. I write this because recently I had to put up with some very self-congratulatory talk.

My own view, after having studied the matter in depth, and at close range, is that the worst of the last group are the ones who served as chief economic advisors (CEAs) between 1982 and 2002.

During this period there were five and a half, the half being a “chief consultant”. He was the best by far and therefore ousted after 15 months. In the 1980s, one left after two years and another after about a year and half."