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Definitions of key
words |
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Color code: Words in red
are under
dispute,
those which are green are the suggested
changes, and those in purple are new
additions All points are open for debate, in perpetuity. See
The Rules of Debate before participating in
the list.
Fundamental Beliefs
Innate equality among all peoples everywhere
- That all human beings are created equal in an essential
way.
- That political groups which use differences of religion,
caste,
or language, to come to power, have hurt India very badly both before and
after independence.
- That about 250 years ago, India occupied complete economic equality with the advanced nations of
today. Even 50 years ago, India was much more equal to the West than
it is today. The current economic inequality is primarily rooted in
systems created by us.
Liberty and mutual respect
- That human rights and liberty are more precious than
wealth.
- That we may differ from our brothers in the way of achieving
the goals, but we shall respect all dissenters and hear them out, in full,
carefully understanding their argument. Democracy needs real freedom of
speech, as well as patience of all concerned.
- That we believe in democracy, both conceptually, and
practically in the way it is defined in the Indian Constitution.
Dictatorship is the worst enemy of the people.
- That religion is a purely personal matter never to be
brought into the area of poltical discourse, and no religion is
supreme nor worth fighting about. All religions are to be fully respected.
Belief in self
- That each human life counts, or can count, if one makes it
count. Each of us can consciously choose for
ourselves a courageous role in life, standing up for what we believe in.
We are a nation of one.
- That India has a destiny to fulfil; a role to play on the
stage of the world. That role is not small. But it has to be earned
through technological superiority, and by promoting innovation at all
levels. Nobody is waiting to gift us this role, for free.
- That Indians shall be not merely considered as spiritual
curiosities but respected as the leaders of the world. We shall
make this happen. At the moment the world perhaps chuckles to hears such
"tall claims." Perhaps rightly so. But it is within our capacity to get
the respect we think we deserve.
Nation, government, citizens and markets
- To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who
compose it, not something over and above them.
- The citizens of a free nation, when voluntarily exchanging goods and
services, and valuing these goods and services through their interaction
are said to constitute a market. In this mode of interaction, individual
choice is given full respect. This mode may not be the best mode or even a
feasible mode of interaction, for all situations. Therefore, "pure"
capitalism, where markets resolve all problems of human cooperation, does
not exist.
- Government is an entity which can be said to have a contractual
obligation to fulfil certain tasks given to it to do by the People. It
cannot unilaterally take on tasks which it is not asked by the People to
do. One of the key tasks given to government is to determine the 'rules of
the game' of markets and to upmire and enforce these rules.
- Civil society is premised on individual freedom
and responsibility, and on limited and accountable government. It
protects the individual from the intrusive state, and connects the
individual to the larger social and economic order.
- A simple methodology to analyze the kind of role that the citizens and
government need to play is given below:
- Is it possible for citizens to solve the problem themselves, if
properly guided by government? Yes/ No.
- If No, then is there any logic or evidence which says that the
government will do a much better job? Yes/ No.
If Yes, then give the job to government.
If No, give it back to the citizens.
- If Yes, then leave it with the citizens
straight-away.
Ultimately, this is an empirical question. In practice (as opposed to
theory), do imperfect markets work better than imperfect governments. In
practice, do competition, incentives to effort and innovation, and
survival of the fittest in the marketplace - however flawed the market may
be - work better than bureaucrats supposedly pursuing the public
interest?
- Clearly, there is a role for government not only in the basic tasks of
governance, but in economic activity. But that role is very, very small.
There is much to be said in favour of an intelligent, small government,
applying strong economic incentives to get the best results out of the
people.
Orientation toward action, using the scientific
attitude.
- That we have no time to listen to a discourse on India's problems, or
whence they came about, but only in finding the best solution to those
problems, TODAY.
- A major solution to the problem is perhaps as follows: promoting
competition in the production of the best goods in the world. This means
that people need to be provided opportunities commensurate with their
effort, and suitable incentives to compete.
- That regardless of the purpose for which one intends to use it, wealth
must first be produced. Whatever it takes to convert India into a land of
entrepreneurs, will be done. Wealth creation is the supreme objective. The
only logical way to rid of poverty is to make everyone richer.
- That communism and socialism are defective in their fundamental
understanding of human motivation and incentives and hence people have to
be persuaded to throw out these theories of social organization. Even
Germany and Britain (nations associated with Marx) cared not for this fake
intellectualism which has only brought ruin to each peoples who embraced
these utopian theories. We can respectfully bid goodbye to these failed
views of human behavior, and focus on the scientific study of human
beings, instead.
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What we need are policies and laws which ensure that in the event that
the government is in any way less than perfect, the system will make
it impossible for anyone with ulterior motives to even attempt to be
dishonest and corrupt.
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