The fact remains that our gandhian-socialist The State, with its "central rural development ministry" and all that, has simply no conception of cities as "market centres."
After all, the very "idea" - if you can call it that! - of "self-sufficient village republics" is in blatant denial of specialisation and the division of labour, which Mises elevated to the "principle of cosmic change and becoming." This specialisation is not "theory"; it is the "data" of our senses. We see it all around us - even in villages.
Now, right here in Delhi, the Daily Noose reports that Connaught Place has been DESTROYED by our gandhian-socialist The State.
This was built by the Brits as a Central Shopping District, with "radial roads" leading in and out in all directions: a "hub-and-spoke" design. The architecture of Connaught Place was very carefully chosen - after a modern development in the old Roman City of Bath.
And it has been DESTROYED - by these gaonwallahs!
Have these gaonwallahs built a single decent marketplace in Delhi in these last 60 years? Like Nehru Place - ha ha. Like the piddly little markets all over Vasant Kunj. Like the markets in all the "posh" localities of South Delhi - what a joke. What a DRAG it is to venture to these places. And they have destroyed Connaught Place!
But "political attention" to the problems of street-hawkers and vendors in Delhi is not new. I have just found a column of mine that is over 10 years old on this subject - well worth reading today. It is pasted in full below:
The 6000 Chandni Chowks solution
(The Economic Times,
Several months ago, the Prime Minister's Office sent a letter to the lieutenant governor of Delhi with proposals for a new policy on street-vendors and rickshaw-pullers. It seems odd that the highest executive of the nation has to enter into micro-level policy making; but Madhu Kishwar had managed to raise such a stink about municipal and police predation on the smallest players in the market economy that the PM was left with no choice.
The PMO advised the L-G to divide the city into three zones: one, a green zone where free hawking will be allowed; two, an amber zone in which 'pay-and-hawk' schemes will be implemented during specific hours; and three, a red zone in which no hawking whatsoever will be allowed. However, given the conditions in the city, the PMO's plan is bound to fail.
For starters, there are street-hawkers at every traffic light in the city. There is no concept of a no-hawking zone in Delhi. Second, and more importantly, the bureaucrats will never let it happen. Madhu Kishwar called a meeting of press people the other day in which she lamented how uncooperative the L-G was. I attended a meeting between her and some municipal officials a few days ago, and all I can say is that we urgently need to re-invent our municipal organisation. What we possess today is pure evil.
Given the fact that orders from the top are not being followed down the line - a 'hierarchy failure' in babuspeak - what should the PMO do?
I say: build markets. I mean: build physical markets.
When the PM addresses the nation on Independence Day each year, he does so from the ramparts of Delhi's Red Fort. He must then be feeling like the Grand Mughal. In which case he should immediately see what made the Mughal so grand: the huge market opposite - Chandni Chowk.
Similarly with the Brits, we see the building of physical markets everywhere, from Delhi's Connaught Place to Bangalore's Brigade Road.
But in socialist India we see no market development. The new urban areas built by the Delhi Development Authority are marketless. So is Calcutta's Salt Lake City. The future requires that we combine urban development with the building of physical markets. How can this be done?
Again, think like the Grand Mughal. Akbar did not rule from Agra. He built a satellite town nearby called Fatehpur-Sikri and took his government there. When he died, he was entombed in another satellite town, Sikandra. The lesson is: take each city as a centre, and build satellite towns around it. In these towns, build huge markets. And let everyone come and hawk there for free, for there will be enough space for all. How can the PMO make this happen?
Quite simple, really.
First, dump the 'Golden Quadrilateral' highway project. Instead, build expressways on a 'hub-and-spokes' design, treating every city and town as a 'hub' and developing 'spokes' from it. So Delhi can have six spokes of 250 km each: one to Dehra Doon; one to Agra; one to Chandigarh; one to Jaipur and so on. Along each of these spokes ten satellite towns can be built, each with 10 markets: that is, 600 Chandni Chowks. If this pattern is duplicated in all Indian cities and towns, we can have 6000 Chandni Chowks very soon. Enough space for all the hawkers in the world.
As for Delhi, its future rests on an Emperor Akbar taking the State out of the city and to a nearby (or should I say far away) satellite town. Then Rajpath can be the central shopping and nightlife district, where all that goes on today is ice cream. Similarly, Shantipath can become the CBD, for when the State shifts these diplomats will have to shift too. If we privatise RK Puram, Bapa Nagar and Kaka Nagar and all the various babu localities, we can build a city called Brand New Delhi.
No prizes for guessing where the Grand Casino of Brand New Delhi will be located.
Actually, selling the real estate of the State in Delhi can fetch enough to build not six but sixteen spokes from Delhi. It is time we thought in that direction. I remember meeting a man once whose job involved privatisation of East German state property in Berlin.And as far as rickshaw-pullers are concerned: allow in used car imports. More cars means more business for the roads industry. With cars, roads, the building of innumerable satellite towns, real estate development, and physical markets, India will be extremely rich very soon.
Of course, these are verily "my back pages," which means "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
Thus, to me today, BIG BANG PRIVATISATION does not mean the "selling of these nationalised, or legally plundered entities by those who stole them."
As I have recently avowed:
Thus, to me today, BIG BANG PRIVATISATION does not mean the "selling of these nationalised, or legally plundered entities by those who stole them."
As I have recently avowed:
Now, to most people, privatization is a “process” – a long and laborious one – by which “thieves sell stolen property.”
Absurd, ain’t it?
The better way is to take an inventory of all these stolen properties and hold a public lottery. Those with winning tickets get “titles” to one property each – and thus, all these properties are returned to their rightful owners: The People.
Those with titles will then try to sell these properties – and the market economy will get to work.
BIG BLOODY BANG!
Further, today I'll insist that all the transportation links, and all the urban real estate development - everything should be done by PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS.
What with the failure of Delhi's BRT corridor, as well as the 25 km long Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway - and all the arterial roads sans footpaths.
Even the Delhi Metro had no real "vision" - for the first line they opened was from the slums of Shahadra to the Tees Hazari Courts, obviously because all these poor people living on properties without titles are required to appear in court regularly.
Similarly, the second line was between Delhi University and the Central Secretariat - obviously because after you get your "degree" from DU, you must head to our The State for a "job". They call it "employment generation."
Even till date, the airport line of the Delhi Metro is not operational - while, in Shanghai, the first line they opened was from the airport to the City Centre, and its is a MAGLEV train, running at over 400kmph.
So, I say, "PRIVATISE EVERYTHING."
Do not leave any investment decisions to these "good for nothing" fellas.
As far as shifting our The State OUT of this city is concerned, I stand by this prescription. Bonn is a very small town outside Cologne. Berne is a very little town in Switzerland. And no one goes to Canberrra, Australia.
In my opinion, these gaonwallahs should take their Capital - which has entirely been "consumed" - along with all their "diplomat" friends and shift to Jhumri Tilaya. With a population of just 70,000, these fellas ought be able to manage their own, New Capital reasonably well, or so I hope.
Having covered Brand New Delhi, and a brand new urban India, let me turn to the rest of the world.
As one who has carefully studied the works of Peter Bauer - who pioneered the formal study of the "informal sector" - I have looked at street markets in the developed world as well.
The picture alongside is from Amsterdam - but when I asked around, those who run these stalls report enormous problems they face with the authorities there.
For example, it can take ages to get the required permission. And then this permission cannot be transferred in any way, nor bequeathed. It begins and ends with you.
I had a very different experience in the ancient City of Cologne in Germany - and a local journalist who took me for a walkabout around their cathedral, all shops, shops, and more shops, told me an interesting tale about the duties of their mayors of old.
In the old days, when very few could afford shops, it was natural that poor people would flock to the City Centre of Cologne to sell their wares off the roadside.
(There are still "Roman Stones" to be found paving the area around the Cathedral of Cologne, incidentally - thereby proving, "all roads led to Rome.")
Thus, from those ancient times, one of the duties of the city mayor was to see to the "smooth conduct of all business in the City" - and this included, specifically, the business of street-hawkers.
Things are different today, my journalist-friend informed me, because everyone has a shop - and so this duty has been removed from the mayor's task-list.
It is not at all difficult to find, in Delhi itself, many who started off as street-hawkers now owning shops. If anything, economic progress is much faster now than ever before. What matters most is that these poor entrepreneurs not be preyed upon, and that they be allowed to accumulate capital - which means no inflationism. The rest will look after itself. Each will mind his own business. Each will be the architect of his own fortune.
As I discussed in my last post, the crucial LEGAL issue pertains to PROPERTY RIGHTS - as in the case of the "rules of the road." If these are permanent, clear and transferable - which can happen if private enterprise builds and maintains city roads and streets, and market centres as well - then everything will go hunky-dory, from Here to Eternity. And civilisation - which requires private capital accumulation - will proceed at Full Gallop.
Conclusion: Liberty for street-hawkers and vendors in India is vital because my 10 years old article above proves that prime ministerial intervention on this subject with the lieutenant-governor has not worked in Delhi itself - so, it is impossible that central legislation for the WHOLE SUB-CONTINENT can ever work
Conclusion: Liberty for street-hawkers and vendors in India is vital because my 10 years old article above proves that prime ministerial intervention on this subject with the lieutenant-governor has not worked in Delhi itself - so, it is impossible that central legislation for the WHOLE SUB-CONTINENT can ever work
