Government’s Right to Coerce and Our Duty to Obey

Do the state (aka the government) has any right to coerce us and we have any duty to obey it? This is the question that philosopher Dr. Michael Huemer addresses in his important work, The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey. The answer at which […]

Indian Culture and Economic Development

Which factors determine country’s economic development? Development scholars have looked into this question for more than a century and they came up with different explanations like the theory of colonial victimization, dependency theory, geography and climate, institutions, culture etc. Out of these explanations the cultural explanation is fundamental. I strongly think that culture is the […]

India’s Border Problems

India has border disputes with Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Are India’s neighbours particularly unfriendly? Is India necessarily so honest that we must trust the map that the Indian government provides us? In reality, any line on the world-map—depending on the scale of the map and the kind of the pen used—represents a […]

The Real Lesson of 2G Scam Verdict

So after a decade the verdict of the CBI court for the very famous 2G scam, which was in a way responsible for the demise of the UPA government, came out yesterday. And it was a dud! The court acquitted all the accused, including two main ones D Raja and Kanimozhi, saying there is no […]

Will imposing import duties on foreign electronic products boost ‘make in India’ campaign?

  Recently the government of India raised import duty on electronic items including cellphones and TVs to allegedly boost its Swadeshi campaign of Make in India as well as government revenues (sic). Let us analyze this protectionist policy of government using sound economic laws and see if it is capable of achieving its stated goals. […]