in many relatively free countries we have something close to a corporate-plutocratic-oligarchic stranglehold on the state. This needs to be broken, by democratic means, or else the electoral procedures of democracy will continue to be exploited to subvert liberalism, as populists (sometimes themselves plutocrats) stir up unhappy majorities.. Faced with creeping authoritarianism, liberals need… Read More Timothy Garton Ash: The future of liberalism
Nearly forty years ago, political scientist James Q Wilson and criminologist George Kelling observed that a broken window left unattended in a community signals that no one cares if windows are broken there. The broken window is thereby an invitation to throw more stones and break more windows. The message: do whatever you want here… Read More Robert Reich on America's broken windows
NB: An excellent analysis by one of America’s most forthright journalists. Hedges is also an upholder of human conscience: here’s a review of one of his books on war; and here are titles of two other books (among others) written with courage and of relevance to our times: American Fascists – The Christian Right and… Read More Chris Hedges – We've lost control: The real lessons of the Trump regime and the pandemic
For Chris Hedges, a reporter for The New York Times who was a foreign correspondent for 15 years, war was like a drug. Under the spell of its elixir he was imprisoned in Sudan, expelled from Libya, ambushed in Central America and shot at in Kosovo; he has uncovered mass graves and witnessed atrocities that… Read More Book review: War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
We live in strange and interesting times. There are now not just three different groups of people in this country but three different realities. That’s scary in and of itself, but what’s even scarier is that most people in power have no idea this is happening or how to react to it. What are the… Read More Not two, but three Americas: We can't agree on anything. By CENK UYGUR
NB: Continuing the discussion of issues raised by the ongoing kisan agitation, here are some observations made by Jairus Banaji on the nature of corporate domination and subjugation of peasant agriculture. They appeared on his Facebook page, the dates of which are appended. A long-standing dodge in mainstream commentary on economic policy as well as in political… Read More Jairus Banaji on the Indian corporate strategy of subordinating farm households and family labor
At the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the country’s new Parliament building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that in a vibrant democracy like India, there was room for differences, but not disconnect. This is a welcome acknowledgement of the Argumentative Indian who loves debate, who is curious about the world around them and is open to… Read More Shyam Saran: If Modi really sees India as a democracy, then he must stop the labelling exercise / Sukhbir Badal says BJP is ‘real tukde tukde gang, has smashed national unity’
NB: Here are some observations which I have received from friends (or passed on by them) on Indian agriculture. The observations have been provoked by the current farmer agitation. The comments are placed in the order I received them. Some are in the public domain, and helped spark off the debate. Five of these are listed… Read More Discussion on Indian Agriculture and the ongoing Kisan agitation
September 30 is celebrated as World Translation Day every year. Translators are unsung heroes and heroines of communication. Even while enjoying translations of great works in foreign languages, we rarely notice the names of the translators and it is rarer still, if we do register the names, for us to be interested in or try… Read More Translation and Modernity. By T Vijayendra
The pandemic has illuminated deprivation, inequalities and political unrest, while reminding us of the power and beauty of nature and humanity.. A fitting symbol of this global pandemic would be a magnifying glass. For while the virus ended and upended so many lives, and spawned a whole new vocabulary – social distancing, furlough, herd immunity,… Read More Jonathan Freedland – The magnifying glass: how Covid revealed the truth about our world
