Hunting the Celtic Tiger

I find the letter to FT by Rhodri Morgan (Freakishly low Irish corporation tax is damaging) a bit amusing. Essentially, he seems to be complaining that Wales, Scotland and host of other places lost out to Ireland because of their inability to compete with Ireland's low corporate taxes. He moves on to a discussion about tax havens and asserts that Ireland needs taxes to fund the bail out. What if the whole Europe goes for 12.5 percent, he argues.

One thing is for sure, it is not Ireland's interest or well-being that Mr. Morgan has in mind. Irish problems have resulted from a host of factors, and low corporate tax is certainly not one of them. If anything, FT's article in the same edition (Ireland's Low Corporate Tax Rate Vital to US Business) clearly shows how low corporate taxes have created over 100,000 jobs in Ireland, creating wealth in general. Moreover, if corporate tax was the only reason for choosing Ireland, there are a host of ultra-low tax destinations within Europe that have even lower tax-rates (like Liechtenstein).

Right from German surplus to French protectionism, there is no country in Europe that can possibly adopt a "holier than thou" stance with a straight face. This is not to say that Ireland does not have its problem, but it does seem that its European partners wish to take full advantage of the problem to further their own interests rather than to help the Irish.

Finding Merit

This year I read two books by Ayn Rand- "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged". Very beautifully (and bitterly) written. A considerable amount of depth is evident in every word written in these two books. Nevertheless, like most extreme view points, these books fail to capture the complexity of human society. At the same time, they do raise some key questions that we can ignore only at our own peril.

Let me start with what I agree. I agree with the importance of work, the value of ability against need and justice against charity. I concur with the view that collectivism can promote mediocrity and that many do try to ride on the back of few who produce and create. However, I do not agree with a simplistic view of the world that demands enlightenment from everybody. It completely ignores the fact that the world essentially runs on principles of power and opportunism. You cannot wish it away or solve it magically.Moreover, every argument has two sides. Overall, things are much more complex and the solutions are ever more so elusive.

Many people believe that Ayn Rand stands for capitalism. I don't think so. A careful read will convince you that she damns any system that asks people to discard reason, merit, independence, or happiness. She denounces every system that does not value ability or forces one man to live for another. I think that this can easily include most of the known systems of government except Meritocracy (rule by merit). Hence, I feel Ayn Rand stands for Meritocracy and not an exploitative Capitalism. Once we can see this, it is easy to see that all the problems inherent to a state built on tenets of Meritocracy apply to Ayn Rand's philosophy. Interested reader should read about Singapore to understand the advantages and disadvantages of such a system with a practical example.

I feel that most of the systems of government can succeed, provided certain conditions are met. However, only a few have managed to actually succeed in actually enriching the life of its citizens, maintain peace and provide meaningful progress. Too theoretical or puritan frameworks tend to degenerate more easily. Hence, Communism without fail degenerates into dictatorship while Aristocracy often degenerates to Plutocracy and so on. Meritocracy falls just in between the extremely theoretical and the viable. Provided the country can establish an objective scale of merit that takes into account education, practical experience and practical results achieved into consideration; it is possible to make a meritocracy work. Otherwise there is a genuine danger of it degenerating into a Plutocracy (rule by money) or Oligarchy (rule by elite). Till somebody goes on to establish such a framework (and a country), capitalistic democracies remain our best bet for the better or the worse.

Finally, I think that the same principle can help one make a model corporation. In fact I feel that if a country is run like a well-run corporation, the result would be a true meritocracy.

Hopelessness

Finding a purpose for a meaningless existence is funny. And it is funnier to live with the connections that you make with the world, the way each channel digs into you and saps away your energy. But that is fine. Who are we to decide what is to stay with us and what is to go away. Everything seems to have its time, reason, rhyme, season, pattern..  The mind with its age old experiences and lack of originality lies suspended in an unknown vacuum. Even if you want to write, talk, reason, work; you can't as you cannot feel your very life force that could help you to do it. You are stuck in a time warp with no likes, dislikes, hatred, love, wants or desires. The sands take different shapes. Before you have a chance to make sense out of something you see, it is gone. Leaving you with the sweet-old drowning sensation. The eye-lids become heavy. Your eyes droop but you cannot sleep. The mind works relentlessly doing absolutely nothing. You want to scream, may be you just did. Yet there is nothing to hear in this vacuum you live in. As the quicksand consumes you, ever so slowly but inevitably, you even stop trying...

Guilts and Regrets

At some point in life I left behind guilt and regrets. Not that I regret it, I just feel inclined to observe and analyse its effects.

When somebody feels responsible for an event which they feel is against their moral fiber, beliefs, principles etc, a strong feeling of guilt and/or regret is born.

Some say that if (that is IF) the belief-sets are comprehensive, such guilt or regret can be helpful. The person will never repeat the same mistake again. Or so they think. Mistakes have this uncanny habit of coming back in disguised forms...

Guilt instills irrational fear and people tend to mark things and events as black or white. They tend to forget that life is all about shades of grey. Guilt or regret may also have severe psychological and even physical effects on people. Scientific studies prove that a strong feeling of guilt or depression can interfere with the working of the thyroid gland, leading to obesity and many health related problems.

So what am I trying to say? We should not feel guilty? Like a mercenary soldier who kills without regret, even for pleasure? Hold it right there! Not feeling guilty is not about becoming a psychotic, sociopath with "no regrets"!

What I intend to say is that the only healthy antidote to guilt is strength, awareness and responsibility. To do what is necessary, knowing and accepting the consequences with arms wide open. Feel the pinch: you will if you have a conscience. But don't let it over-power you, don't let it destroy you. Don't let it turn you into a dead stone afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. Learn and move ahead. Period.

In the end life is a beautiful gift. But the beauty is only for the one who dares to look beyond the dichotomy of good and evil, the one who takes responsibility for his actions with awareness, the one who has courage...

And for the rest there is no peace. Neither in this world or the next. They will just keep running here and there, crying and laughing on nature's beck and call, victims of their own mind and weakness.

The power to get there lies with us.

So does the choice to get there.

Analyzing Reservations

Reservations as an affirmative action have found place in several countries of the world. India is one of them. I was thinking about where does this idea of reservation come from and what is the real psychology behind it. Here is my take on it.

To poach is a human tendency. The classic story of the camel pushing the Arab out of the tent is an ugly truth of human behavior. The power flux has the ones at the bottom trying to get up and the ones up trying to maintain their status quo. It is a very animalistic thing and their is nothing very "human" or "fair" about it. You either win or loose. That's about it.

But may be that's not all about it. The Hindu scriptures say that when a man is in hell he does penance to come out of it. Out of the penance comes dominion. By reigning over the dominion a man falls down to hell again and the cycle continues.

A step ahead of poaching is parasitism- to somehow get things done without having to work hard for it. While poaching is relentless greed, parasitism is that topped with sheer laziness.

In society at different times different people have monopolized resources to repress a big part. What comes after that is, generally, a bloody revolution or genocide. Either way a new order comes up which monopolizes the resources for itself. Some make a pretense that all is being done to "equalize" and change. Nothing changes. Only the controlling hands do.

I see reservations as an instrument of reversing the power flow. Hence the repressed and the untouchables of yesterday will become the repressors of future. The villages in India today have still not let go the caste but the order is reversing itself. It is not about merit, development, uplifting poor or economy. It is about who is powerful at this moment and who controls. Nothing more and nothing less.

And there is no use lamenting about it. People who find it unfair will leave the country, die frustrated or work hard and make a mark in the private sector (provided private sector is not brought under reservations). It is not possible that ALL 50% of the reserved category guys will be incompetent duds. Some will be good too and that should keep the economy afloat. Government will get its votes. Only losers will be people who are not labeled as the "disadvantaged".

People talk about meritocracy. A true meritocracy is a very hard thing to achieve. In the end people get what they deserve. With 50% of people in India living a life of poverty things are hard. Development is an enemy of the state. Developed, well-informed people are difficult to mislead. Fortunately the Governments around the world do a good job of that. It is left to the individual to find his/her safe haven.

On the ending note, he was born poor but worked hard and played mean. When he finally got power, he became corrupt. And then he fell again to somebody who had worked harder and been meaner.. And that my friend is the psychology behind reservations.

Reading Till I Die

Stories fascinate me. They have always fascinated me. Any factual or fictional incident or information that is easy to read qualified. When my mother's stock of stories got depleted, she encouraged me to read. I guess I must have been really hungry for more as I started reading at the age of 6. It began with comics, fairy tales, children books. By 8 I moved to my first classic, Black Beauty. By 11 I started reading history and science facts besides the classics, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Enid Blyton. By 15 I had started with philosophy, mythology, religion, astrology, numerology, poetry, psychology. Non-medical made me read physics, chemistry, maths. In graduation, besides the engineering, I read about arts, architecture, form, semantics, cognition, nanotechnology, computers. A few years back I started reading about economics, finance, analytics, distributed computing, artificial life. I am 27 now.

Now I don't read as much as I used to. Till 15-16 years I was a genuine book worm. Still, a good book can be irresistible. The problem is that if I really like a book, I want to read it whole in one shot. I cannot leave it. The pain begins if the book is too long to be read in one day. Then it is almost as if the book starts reading me! I forget about everything(except my office work, papi pet ka sawaal hai..).

As I lay on my bed, hungry and sleep deprived, I read. My eyes ache and water. I still read. In this delirious stage I almost see all the characters jumping out of the book and saying and doing what I read: and I feel high. Don't even ask me how and why. I cannot see anything else, hear anything else, think anything else. And then, one day, the book finishes. Just like that. I can read only (at most) about 500 pages a normal weekday.

Although I know it had to be that way, it really feels hollow. You feel it should continue... And reading big books can be really painful the way I read it. Although I have learned to "cut it off" as I grow, it does happen sometimes. So these days I prefer movies, documentaries, Discovery and news channels. At least they wind up in time! It is almost like putting a drug-addict on alternative medicine. I am not going to read. Never again!

Well, that is after I finish the book I am reading.

And you?