Praxeology: My Reflexions on India

Democracy is our present world's new political religion. India supposedly is world's largest democracy. We are being bombarded everyday by politicians, media pundits, academicians and other intellectuals about the virtues of democracy. It is seen as the highest form of political system; a goal which every nation state must strive for and achieve to safeguard happiness of its citizens. Democracy is a God. It is given such commanding heights that nation states like USA are bombing and destroying other countries - e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran etc. - for imposing democracy on them from outside (see this )! Democracy is a political system having its roots in 5th century BC Greece, especially the city-state of Athens. Here is Wikipedia on the origins of democracy: The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (kratos) "power" or "rule"

In my last post, we saw how the state arose during the middle of the seventeenth century in Western Europe by conquering its rival institutions like Church, Nobility, Empires and Independent City-States. After rising to power, beginning in the nineteenth century, it consolidated its position and became a God like creature- an end in itself - by co-opting the belligerent nationalism movement. From Western Europe, it then spread to other parts of the world via imperialist policies of these Western Powers. Once set to rule without any kinds of constrains all over the world, it unleashed its wrath on humanity in the form of World War I and II  - and countless other mini wars - in the twentieth century killing millions of innocent people. Twentieth century saw the apogee of state power. In this article I will discuss Martin Van Creveld's analysis of state's demise beginning in 1970s, which is still on-going. Creveld discusses five major factors as a sign of waning power of the s

Many people with whom I talk think that the political system of the centralized State is with us since time immemorial; that this system is going to be with us forever, and we can't do anything about it. They held such false notions because they haven't looked into the human history, especially the history of the state. If they studied the political history, then, they would know that the state is not with us since time immemorial. In fact, the state is with us only since last 500 years or so! Knowing its history also tells us, that it is not going to be with us forever too. Things have always changed, and this time won't be any different.  I am reading Martin van Creveld's important book, The Rise and Decline of the State where he discusses the past, present and future of the state. In particular, he addresses the following questions: How the state arose in the middle of the seventeenth century? How it consolidated power? How it achieved its apotheosis and went b

On 5th November, 2013, Indian State space agency, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization,) will launch its maiden mission to Mars . Media and the government scientists themselves are hailing this mission as an historic mission: “ It is a historic mission as its an inter-planetary mission using all indigenous payloads. Since it is the 25th PSLV mission, we are all the more excited,” says A Lawrence, the man in-charge of the launch pad. " This mission's main purpose according to ISRO head K Radhakrishnan, is to prove the country's capabilities in rocket technology and collect details about the presence of methane in the Mars atmosphere . This mission has cost whopping 450 crore rupees to the Indian tax payers. This Mars mission and the government space agency ISRO is a quintessential example of how the stupid government wastes tax payers' precious resources on things which are of no priority. I am not against scientific research per se, but there are economic l