Sen and Banerjee

I would have written about Amartya Sen’s interview and book, and Mamata Banerjee’s stand on land acquisition earlier but couldn’t, for some reason. In short, Sen shouldn’t be deciding who gets the flute, and Banerjee is bang on target when she says the government should have no role to play when it comes to the [...]

Life and death

The Indian constitution doesn’t guarantee anything – all “rights” can be suspended/ disregarded both in theory and practice. So nothing that happens in this country, including decisions by the various courts, should surprise anyone. Like the decision of the Supreme Court allowing a mentally retarded woman who was raped to continue the pregnancy—after a High [...]

(Mis)Rule of Law

From Reuters- The wrangle over an energy deal between the billionaire Ambani brothers has highlighted the risks inherent in an economy dominated by big family businesses and spurred calls for the government to intervene. The latest dispute between the feuding brothers could discourage investment in the energy sector as the country scrambles to shore up [...]

“The Dictatorship Complex”

The Mises blog links to a post which is supposedly refuting Mises’ economic calculation argument against socialism. Nothing of that sort is happening, but as a commentator noted in a different context, the post is “revealing.” I don’t like utilitarian defenses of any position. I do engage in them myself, most times without realizing that [...]

Legislation

[This is part of the series of posts on Bruno Leoni's "Freedom and the Law," and covers chapter five—"Freedom and Legislation."] Leoni concluded at the end of the previous chapter that “certainty of the law” refers to long-run certainty, the guarantee that laws will not change overnight. And legislation does not offer such certainty. The [...]