Society and Culture
Catalytic Philanthropy and the Delegation of Public Responsibility
The catalytic philanthropist seems to have arrived. But is that a good thing? By putting faith in individuals is society not delegating responsibility for improving its lot to wealthy individuals rather than to the elected representatives that are usually mandated that task?
Democracy: Luxury or Necessity for Growth?
Dambisa Moyo suggests that Africa needs “benevolent dictators” to push through reforms. But that term is an oxymoron and the suggestion that democracy is a luxury for the rich is flat out wrong.
Challenging Population-Growth Environmentalists
Population-growth environmentalists assert that immigration threatens Earth’s scarce resources. Yet, a close scrutiny reveals that there is no inherent “absorptive capacity” of the earth. If they are concerned about the environment, these “environmentalists” would do better to focus on consumption, rather than on the immigrants that will pay their pensions.
The Contradiction of Kosovo and Multi-Ethnic Societies
Kosovo’s independence fundamentally weakens the case for multi-ethnic societies and for a multi-ethnic, “integrated” Europe.
The Economist on Private Sector Quotas
For over a year controversy has raged in India over government plans to extend quotas – India’s version of affirmative action for the lower castes – to the private sector. The plans raised the hackles of many, and for the first time led to questioning the real effectiveness of quotas. Now, the Economist has weighed [...]
Reflections on China, Lessons for India
Over the past 2 weeks I traveled to Taiwan, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The trip was ostensibly a vacation, but I met enough people in government and business – that I knew before or ran into in random bars, airports, and planes – that I managed to achieve the real purpose of the trip: establish for [...]
Inequality in the US: India’s Choice
I have written a lot recently on inequality – in India and in Asia. The basic point has been the same – that inequality is bad from a social and moral point, but (as the ADB argues in its report on Asia) also from an economic point of view. In the same vien I pulled [...]
Income Inequality in Asia Growing
The ADB has just released a report titled “Key Indicators 2007: Inequality in Asia” (covered in IHT and BBC). The report concludes that the gini index, a measure of relative inequality had grown in all 15 countries studied, since the 1990s. More alarmingly, absolute inequality had grown even more. The bank identified the trend as [...]
