Thought for the day
"If a superior give any order to one who is under him
which is against that man's conscience, although he do not obey it yet he shall
not be dismissed "
-
Francis of
Assisi (Italian, 1182-1226)
Word for the day
Mimesis (n)
Imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of another,
as in order to represent his or her character.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Malice towards none
May I seek a Fatwa from Ulema that only Rozadaar people
have a right to Iftar. To everyone else Iftar is Haram!
About f eudal lords
and a monkey
This week the legendary artist and my all time favorite Guru Dutt would
have turned 90. His classic movie Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam vividly depicted the
decline of a feudal family, which could not manage its affairs in accordance
with the evolving realities in post independence era.
The feudal lords continued with their extravagant lifestyle when
their primary source of income was drying up. Pain, misery, anguish and vanity
was all that got left.
To me the story is resonating in the present day Europe. The
European power began to decline sharply in post war era. The huge income drawn
from erstwhile colonies in Asia, Africa and Latin America dried up fast. The
huge loss of youth life in the war could never be replenished. Socialism
replaced monarchies. The genius, research and innovation that heralded the era
of renaissance and of industrial revolution since 18th century started
dispersing across Atlantic to US. The Asian enterprise (primarily Japan, Korea
and China) snatched a lot of initiative and the market.
The consequence was crippling labor unions, consistently rising wages
and state welfare spending, diminishing tax revenues and ever rising public
debt.
The common market and common currency was to my mind an experiment
to collectively protect the slithering market share and geo-political
importance of individual countries. The idea might have worked partially. However,
presently, the vast socio-economic imbalances within member states more and
more appear accentuating the problem rather resolving it.
I am inclined to join the school which believes that European
Union is inherently unviable and mostly a failed experiment.
Greece to me is the monkey chosen for clinical trials to test the eventual
disintegration of EU. A successful Grexit followed by internal normalcy in
Greece over next 5-7yrs, would provide a platform for exit to other countries
suffering due to a relatively stronger common currency. On the other hand the
failure of this clinical trial would not cause much disruption and Greece will
be kept within the Union with even larger support. The round one of trial has
of course failed.
The long term sustainable solution to the problem would only come through
extensive structural reforms, which includes immigration reforms, labor reforms
and subsidy reforms.
In simple terms, the salvation lies in cutting expenses and
raising income to reduce indebtedness. Raising income may not be an option in
the short to medium term, given the higher dependence ratio in demography, and
falling employment opportunities due to technological obsolescence and highly subsidized
farm sector. So we come to cutting expenses. That essentially means cheaper
drugs, cheaper clothes, cheaper travel, and cheaper workers etc. or in other
words India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, et. al. I would say
more of India, because we share the same education, legal, and political
system.
In the meanwhile I am not bothering about the monkey on the
experiment table. Those in position of power palpably not interested in the
success of this clinical trial as yet.
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