As the title of the little book by Gordon Tullock pictured above indicates, the author's purpose is to reveal the many dimensions of "self-interested behaviour on the part of State personnel, both elected as well as appointed."
This little book is well over 30 years old now - and is available as a free download here, from the Institute of Economic Affairs, London. The introduction on their website to this latest edition states the following:
In this classic introductory public choice text, Gordon Tullock analyses the motives and activities of politicians, civil servants and voters. Government 'servants' can most likely be assumed to be pursuing their own interests, just like those in the private sector, although, given the coercive power of the state, the effects can be far from benign. The incentive structures present within public institutions mean that government action may well fail to improve economic welfare and frequently has results different from those intended. The application of the 'economic theory of politics' effectively undermines the market failure approach to government policy-making, which relies on the assumption that benevolent and far-sighted governments are capable of clearing up the failings of private markets.
While this very old work looks at Western "liberal democracy" - and I do recommend it to my readers - in this post I will focus on what is really happening in "Socialist, Welfarist, Inflationist, Interventionist, And Protectionist India," widely hailed as the "world's largest democracy," despite the FACT that coercive State interventionism continues in the area of "population control," which means they desire a "smaller democracy."
What is supremely IRONIC is that this coercion is occurring in Kerala - where 100 percent literacy has been achieved long ago, and whose skilled and trained workforce continues to migrate en masse (thereby reducing the population), sending home most of their earnings, upon which the province survives.
Why is there this mass migration of the young and the skilled from Kerala? Because of communism - and the consequent absence of opportunities to create wealth in The Market. No "economic freedom" - because of their government.
This only serves to confirm that all the "actions" as well as all the "propaganda" from this The State is aimed at directing public attention to "imaginary problems" - while the real problem is this The State itself, something to which I drew my reader's attention to only yesterday.
The best example, in socialist India, of "self-interested behaviour on the part of State personnel, both elected as well as appointed" is from the area most basic to the usually accepted notions of "legitimate State functions" - and that is the "Providing Speedy Justice" and the "Maintenance of Law and Order."
[The traditional expression, "maintenance of law and order," is based on the PRESUMPTION that the free, market society is already possessed of a "natural order" - and only those who "disturb the peace" should be dealt with by the authorities. Today, with so much interventionist "democratic legislation" outlawing so many consensual trades, another term is used, one that reflects the paradigm shift that has occurred: "Law Enforcement." This term, of course, reveals complete ignorance of the vital difference between "law" and "legislation."]
First: The central State has employed over 200 battalions of "para-military forces" - while the Constitution says "Law and Order" is a "State subject."
[In this connection, do read George Reisman's column arguing most persuasively for "Gun Control - On the Government's Guns."]
[In this connection, do read George Reisman's column arguing most persuasively for "Gun Control - On the Government's Guns."]
Second: The inability of the socialist courts system to settle their long-pending caseload, itself caused by interventionist legislation - which increases litigation and disputes, from which lawyers gain. And only lawyers become judges.
We as a nation are suffering precisely from the "highest degree of disorder" that Adam Smith warned of - because of interventionist-legislation.
Which means nothing other than the fact that it is our The State itself that is the problem - as I explained in full yesterday.
Further, in another post, I explained why "Justice, Order, Law, Prosperity, Civilisation, And An 'Open Society' – All Require The Inviolability Of Private Property."
Socialism and communism are about COLLECTIVE PROPERTY.
Capitalism, Liberty, Prosperity and all good things are about Private Property, Individualism, and Individual Rights.
Now, we as a people - over 1 billion strong - face a CHOICE:
On the one hand, we could go on FEARING lawlessness and disorder - and go to this very same our The State to "do something."
In which case, there will soon be 500 battalions of para-military forces in their employ - or even 1000 of them. Very big BUDGET for the bureaucrats.
There will be 100s of more courts established and hundreds of thousands of more judges recruited as well - Big Budget once again.
On the other hand, we could opt for the INVIOLABILITY OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, which results in a "natural order" because it liberates all "consensual trades" from State intervention and coercion. Since all these trades are consensual, this implies there are NO DISPUTES at all. No disputes means ORDER. I have explained it all here.
We could add to these Sound Money and Free Banking based on Property and Contract - which will lead to private capital accumulation, the basis of civilisational progress.
We could add to this the liberty to keep and bear our own firearms - and ourselves SHOOT AND KILL any "terrorists" who might dare to cause trouble in any city or town where everyone is armed.
Remember: This is why the Swiss could stay out of both World Wars, and none dared to invade their territory.
Having said all that, allow me to now turn to what exactly this "world's largest democracy" is all about:
First: Who really elected Manmohan Singh? The people of Assam? Then why has he not bothered to even visit this province now - when there is so much trouble there?
Second: As usual, Parliament is to be disrupted because of the Comptroller & Auditor-General's report on the corruption in the award of coal block to private and public mining firms. So, within Parliament itself, there will be no "debates," no "persuasion" - which means there will be no "politics" either. All that will occur is empty "sloganeering" routed by the media: "sound-bytes."
Third: ALL CORRUPTION that is being reported is only on account of COLLECTIVE PROPERTY - the socialist-communist ideology that The State should own everything, while the people own nothing. The spectrum, coal, iron ore (a BJP scandal), forests (under the administration of the Supreme Court), Air India, the Electricity Boards, et. al.
Thus, socialism - and the socialist Constitution itself - are part of The Problem.
Democracy ought to mean "we rule oursleves," which ought to mean "liberty," and further, the "diffusion of power" - not its CENTRALISATION.
I will now repeat the anecdote on how schoolkids in a little town in Chikmagalur (a district that one returned Indira Gandhi to Parliament) said they would much rather prefer to elect a good, Mayor for their tiny town in such beautiful natural surroundings - that was a complete SHAMBLES under panchayati raj:
I once lectured at a tiny, little town nestled in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, for schoolchildren, on the differences between socialism and capitalism. This tiny town was quite a shambles - and, since it was in the district of Chikmagalur, which once returned Indira Gandhi to Parliament, I posed a question to the kids: Would you rather elect a good mayor for your town, or would you prefer to go on electing people to "represent" you in Dilli Door Ast? All the kids unanimously chose the former - without any hesitation.
In other words, we need URBAN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT - that is, REPUBLICANISM.
Thousands and thousands of free-trading and self-governing cities and towns.
Each running its own affairs, with its own resources.
CIVIC INDEPENDENCE!
I will now conclude:
"Socialist, Welfarist, Inflationist, Interventionist, And Protectionist India" is a nation ruled by a centralised State that has an UNLIMITED BUDGET along with an UNLIMITED CONSTITUTION.
This has led to CLIENTELISM.
And to what is best called "clientelistic legitimacy."
What this term means is that no "functions" are performed - not even "Justice" or "Road Safety," for that matter - and only client after client argues in favour of all they are doing, and even for them doing more!
What this term means is that no "functions" are performed - not even "Justice" or "Road Safety," for that matter - and only client after client argues in favour of all they are doing, and even for them doing more!
These clients include:
All the "appointed personnel" - who pursue turf- and budget-maximisation. That is, more legislated powers, and more funds, of course.
As with welfare and the PSUs.
As with the cops and the courts - as just discussed, and I will add more on them below.
As with all the "quasi-federal" State governments, even more dysfunctional, almost all of them broke, requiring funds from the Centre. A bank report that just reached me says, "The consolidated fiscal deficit of India's states increased to 2.7% of GDP in FY10/11 (up from 2.3% average in 2004-08), resulting in a general government budget deficit of 7.6% of GDP."
As with the Armed Forces - for the real dangers to our security and safety lie elsewhere, and their solution does not require any Armed Forces Special Powers Act anywhere, nor any electrified border fences, nor any coast guard to "protect sand," nor new fighter aircraft, either. Read on - and I will explain further.
As with all the "protected domestic manufacturers" - who use the indirect force of the GUNS of the Customs Department to LOOT consumers by keeping out competitors who would serve the masses better. "Competition is Liberty, while the absence of competition is Tyranny," wrote Bastiat. This is not just cronyism; it is far worse - FASCISM.
All this explains why this dysfunctional State requires FORCED MASS MISEDUCATION.
The "education bureaucracy" - and all the "bureaucrat professors" - BLIND students to reality.
And this is why this The State of ours must rely on Goebbels-style PROPAGANDISING - even to their own recruits - and also through manipulating media content and planting their "moles" everywhere in the free press, who masquerade as "journalists."
This further explains why it must go about snooping and spying on the citizenry - and if things continue thus, we will soon be a POLICE STATE.
Which is precisely where they want to head - what with computerising citizen information and data (on the PRETEXT that this will aid their "phony welfarism").
In my book, if a free society, businesses must be able to keep their secrets - which is how Swiss banking succeeded. This means the "Right to Privacy," itself a derivative of Property.
And all "public functionaries" must be open and transparent - without any "official secrets" whatsoever.
Today, socialist demagogues are going on and on misleading the gullible masses about how India will get rich by "bringing back black money stored in Swiss banks."
The TRUTH is that India will obtain all the Capital in the world in its own banks if they were secret as well - and if the money and banking system was fixed to be honest.
Black money is NOT the problem; rather, the problem is EXPROPRIATIVE TAXATION. This is justified by socialists - but it ends up making the poor poorer, for if the rich can save and invest more, the poor gain. Taxation only goes to all the "tax parasites" of The State.
Thus, all this snooping and spying for some perfectly phony "national security concerns" is best done away with. Just more turf- and budget-maximisation by bureaus and bureaucrats of the Central State.
The real "security concern" we ALL face is on our horribly unsafe roads and streets, where over 1000 Indians DIE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The solution: Privatise all arterial roads and streets, and all highways - and then ensure VICTIMS of road accidents find relief through financial compensation in TORTS.
This is what I THINK.
Feel perfectly free to think for yourself - even to decide to ask this our The State to "do something" or the other to fix something or the other.
But before you do so, do read my post asking you to BEWARE of such ideas.
Yes, there is this our The State - good-for-nothing, if you ask me.
THE WORST TYRANNY IMAGINABLE!
Which is precisely where they want to head - what with computerising citizen information and data (on the PRETEXT that this will aid their "phony welfarism").
In my book, if a free society, businesses must be able to keep their secrets - which is how Swiss banking succeeded. This means the "Right to Privacy," itself a derivative of Property.
And all "public functionaries" must be open and transparent - without any "official secrets" whatsoever.
Today, socialist demagogues are going on and on misleading the gullible masses about how India will get rich by "bringing back black money stored in Swiss banks."
The TRUTH is that India will obtain all the Capital in the world in its own banks if they were secret as well - and if the money and banking system was fixed to be honest.
Black money is NOT the problem; rather, the problem is EXPROPRIATIVE TAXATION. This is justified by socialists - but it ends up making the poor poorer, for if the rich can save and invest more, the poor gain. Taxation only goes to all the "tax parasites" of The State.
Thus, all this snooping and spying for some perfectly phony "national security concerns" is best done away with. Just more turf- and budget-maximisation by bureaus and bureaucrats of the Central State.
The real "security concern" we ALL face is on our horribly unsafe roads and streets, where over 1000 Indians DIE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The solution: Privatise all arterial roads and streets, and all highways - and then ensure VICTIMS of road accidents find relief through financial compensation in TORTS.
This is what I THINK.
Feel perfectly free to think for yourself - even to decide to ask this our The State to "do something" or the other to fix something or the other.
But before you do so, do read my post asking you to BEWARE of such ideas.
Yes, there is this our The State - good-for-nothing, if you ask me.
And there is the OTHER WAY.
