Category Archives: Analysis

Capitalism, Overpopulation and the Environment

It is difficult to place oneself in the national conversation without entering the hotly debated sphere of “sustainability,” and what needs to be done to create a “sustainable” future, characterized by the usage of resources such that future prosperity is not hindered. It would seem as though the key to ensuring the existence of sufficient […]

The Wisdom of Étienne Bonnot, Abbé de Condillac – Part II

We saw the brilliant insight of Condillac in my last article. In the second part of his book Condillac discusses the evil effects of many different kinds of government restrictions on the free trade. He brilliantly uses the economic principles developed in the first part to prove his points. His arguments are so lucid and […]

The Wisdom of Étienne Bonnot, Abbé de Condillac

In this article I am going to review French philosopher Étienne Bonnot, Abbé de Condillac’s monumental work, Commerce and Government considered in their Mutual Relationship. Condillac originally published this book in 1776, just few months before Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Today the book is published by the Liberty fund and is available in both […]

RBI vs. Government

The RBI vs. Government battle is intensifying. The Narendra Modi government intends to keep pressing demands for the country’s central bank to relax lending curbs and hand over surplus reserves, amounting to whopping 3.6 lakh crore, even if it risks provoking a resignation by the bank’s governor. After the debacle of demonetization and GST, the […]

The Economics of Boom and Bust Cycle

Stock markets around the world are collapsing off late. The Indian stock market lost some 5000 points in one month time. The US stock market NASDAQ and S&P 500 erased all their 2018 gains. News headline in Reuters says the world markets are captured by the bears now. The so-called emerging market economies are slowing […]