Should China be allowed to Rise?

Ok whether we like it or not China has already risen. America hegemony has given way and the world is headed once again into an era resembling the cold war.

Since the end of the cold war American system of governance has been taken as an example in many countries and sometime successfully implemented. But with the rise of China, with its communist ideals and heavy hand used to implement them, their "successful' system of governance is being cited by despots who are using or will use the same heavy hand in order to bring the prosperity that the Chinese now enjoy.

This of course brings us back to the age old question, Liberty for Security? Liberty, yes, cause security ain't worth shit if there is no liberty.

Countries across the world should be dissuaded from using the Chinese as an example. India on the other hand despite all its flaws has been enjoying a rise in power along with China. Indian system of governance resembles the American system. Though the Chinese are far ahead, India has found its voice on the world stage as seen in its actions at Copenhagen or its recent siding with Iran on the nuclear issue.

Imagine a world where an opinion cannot be stated without the fear of punishment, and no freedom of press and speech. Thats where this world is headed if China get to be at the helm.

No this is not fear mongering.

Capitlaism is good.....but...

The entire world seems to look down on the capitalistic nature of America, but what they fail to see is that capitalism in its purest form is the best form of society. There is no shoving down of undesired products (like we see in some countries thing cold war) or lack of choice. Capitalism is democracy and evolution mixed into one.

Democratic because it allows individuals to “vote for the best candidate” by buying that particular product over other similar products. The product with the best qualities trumps the inferior ones and “loses the race”. Just as you would see a presidential election

Evolution comes to play, because the inferior products have to evolve to keep up with the market demands. Survival of the fittest, but fittest in one decade is not in the next. So this has brought development in bounds and leaps. TV’s used to be black and white, then Technicolor, then color, then flat screens and now HD. This is what capitalism has brought for us.

Greed is often cited as the driving force behind capitalism, but then every form of society has it s own problems, religion of m0sot kinds induce hate, communism and socialism induce corruption. The purest form of religion, communism and socialism intend to create utopia, and have failed so far due lack of ideal practice. Capitalism has survived but for how long will its foundations last before being corroded by the greed.

Indian people Everyhwere

No I am not a self loathing Indian and I in now way want to convey as such in any part of this post. I have seen or heard about the existence of an Indian community from sparsely populated regions of the world to that of all industrialized countries. Why do we as a people migrate so much, I am trying to understand.

Well the British had a big hand in the forced migrations and by even creating opportunities for migration of Indians during the colonial era. It is because of this era that Indian exist in so many countries of the Africa, Europe and West Indies. It seems that where ever the British empire existed there was a considerable population of Indians there, this was mainly because of the labor and minds that the British needed. Even Gandhi was in South Africa for a long time before he moved back to India.

Another reason that Indian exist everywhere is their obsession with foreign countries. Those denied entry into the West tend to still attain that obsession of other countries by moving to less prominent ones all over the globe, for example Chile. I was very surprised to read an article in an Indian Newspaper that a 1000 strong Indian community existed in the Chile.

Another reason for the success of Indians in foreign countries is their adaptability and resilience. From a temperate country that is India, we have managed to live and thrive in countries like Canada, Russia and even the blistering hot Middle east. No its not desperation to make money that drives this adaptation but the idea that weather is but an obstacle.

Go Go Indians Go.

Ayn Rand: Cant't believe I agree with her

Ayn rand is being revisited lately by, especially due to the increase in popularity of the" tea partiers". While going through the unabridged version of Atlas shrugged (I though the book i was buying was the abridged version, don't regret it though) several aspects of her philosophy made a lot of sense.

Francisco's speech about money was an eye opener and belonging to the "Money is the root of all evil' club I found it hard to digest at first but upon more consideration it made perfect sense. Money is not the root of all evil, its the exploitation and dishonesty among men that is the root of all evil.

Religion, Ayn rand says and I agree, requires you to be a zombie. Give up your consciousness and put your faith in god. Obey and you have heaven while you lie in the grave, disobey and the lake of fire waits. Using this as gun the "mystics of spirit" have long subdued the consciousness of humans.

The purpose of life is Reason-Purpose and self esteem. There might be a few more purposes but these three are mandatory. No reason, then we might as well be put in a padded cell. No purpose, then we are a waste of resources. No self esteem, then we can't have a purpose and we cannot have reason in our purpose.

More to come.

I'm baaaack

After a very long hiatus, during which i cracked the gmat, applied for B-schools and met a whole lot of people and finished Das Kapital and Atlas Shrugged, I am back to the blog. Statcounter is amazing, it directs a 1000 visits to my page every month for $10. I am curious though if my blog one of those annoying pop-ups now.

Capitalism is evolution

I am not arguing the pros and cons of capitalism, only pointing out the parallels between evolution and capitalism.

1) Small genetic changes in an organism can cause a population explosion or extinction of its species. This might be kind of vague when applied to capitalism, but any small changes from a change in CEO or a bad or good decision can cause a company to either go out of business or stamp out the competition.

2) Adaptation or extinction. Companies like organism need to adapt to new environments quickly or face collapse.

3)Survival of the fittest: I don't have to explain much here. It is pretty obvious how this applies to both evolution. For capitalism in its purest form (.i.e no bailouts) a company that allows itself to be caught in on the wrong foot will go out of business or be bought up by a fitter company.

4) The meek will inherit the earth, this is not exactly a part of evolutionary theory but it has happened over and over again. The biggest example is the current dominance of mammal which happened as a result of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Bye bye Fossil fuels?

Many products are now available online from companies like First Solar, Evergreen Solar and GoGreensolar that will reduce our carbon footprint. Cheap easy to install solar panels, wind turbines can be used to generate a percentage of our energy use and with the expected implementation of a smart grid (which I will talk about at another time) any excess energy can be sold to electric company. Not only will we reduce our dependence on environmentally costly fuel but also have the opportunity to reduce the dependence of others.

A case study: This was reported in the economist last year. Farmers on a small island of the coast of Denmark, were encouraged by the government to place wind turbines on their farms. I am not aware if any subsidies were provided, but the farming community invested in the several turbines over the last few years and have succesully generated enough power to be able to sell it to the electric company which then supplies it to the main land. Denmark now generates 15% of it power from wind,(17000 megawatts of electricity) which was made possible by encouraging schemes such as these.

I don't want to lecture but this is an opportunity for each one of us to make a difference. So approach your local community organization, city or town hall to implement applicable clean energy technology. If thats not possible you can buy panels or turbines for your home and reduce your footprint.