tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post4983277725258549639..comments2023-10-02T14:33:30.079+05:30Comments on Democracy and India: Some thoughts about the upcoming elections in India.Vipul Shahahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304336580858176863noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-3443739373064481062009-03-17T21:34:00.000+05:302009-03-17T21:34:00.000+05:30@PratishAs I had said..one needs enough relevant a...@Pratish<BR/>As I had said..one needs enough relevant and correct information to think about something even if she/he has enough intelligence. A person who knows Quantum Theory well probably has enough intelligence and if she/he wants can easily educate him/herself with the required things to lead the people.<BR/><BR/>Science education doesn't train you just Quantum Theory, it trains you how to think logically and precisely. Now if you want you can use this training either to do science well or lead the country well.<BR/><BR/>About Laloo..which one applies?..ahem..ahem..<BR/><BR/>@Vipul<BR/>If you interpret correctly you will realize that I have never said that the "illiterate, poor, and uneducated people" are not politically aware.<BR/><BR/>I said that people in the above situations have to think within severe constraints (I have pointed out the various constraints) unlike you and me.Hence their decision is hugely likely to be affected by immediate things like you said "free rice and TVs" rather than by large scale or broader considerations.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Its a question of longer debate as to how individual perfectionism and professional excellence can contribute to better government.Anirbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00257290158956552196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-72772967290058202292009-03-17T21:21:00.000+05:302009-03-17T21:21:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Anirbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00257290158956552196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-52228703973794295752009-03-17T19:51:00.000+05:302009-03-17T19:51:00.000+05:30Anirbit, you seem to have mixed too many things to...Anirbit, you seem to have mixed too many things together. How can you expect a Quantum Mechanics expert to lead the people? Each field has it's own uniqueness and each field's expert should try sticking to that area only. Imagine a situation the other way round - a Lalu Yadav teaching Algebra in some college. Your ideas are just as weird as this one, if not more. True, things like minimum level of education ('minimum' is highly debatable here, I agree) and crime record etc. are important, but you seem to be suggesting lofty impractical goals for our 'elections', a concept which is a 'compromise' (as you rightly pointed out). Too much of extremes in either direction will be harmful for India.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-67950888420196418782009-03-17T19:49:00.000+05:302009-03-17T19:49:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-73831255996106097222009-03-17T02:00:00.000+05:302009-03-17T02:00:00.000+05:30Secondarily, there is a difference between contrib...Secondarily, there is a difference between contributing to world happiness, productivity, knowledge, and in particular, the happiness, productivity, and knowledge of India, and between contributing to the growth of Indian democracy. By studying physics, you probably increased the total amount of knowledge that you have, and thus contributed to the country. That doesn't necessarily strengthen Indian democracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-46523627912597109672009-03-17T01:56:00.000+05:302009-03-17T01:56:00.000+05:30Hi,Let's "continue" the "conversation" on how we c...Hi,<BR/><BR/>Let's "continue" the "conversation" on how we can "reform" "democracy".<BR/><BR/>To begin with, I challenge your assumption/assertion that illiterate, poor, and uneducated people are less aware about the intricacies of politics than the educated elite.<BR/><BR/>I think this varies from place to place, but urban poor (not the poor people in remote areas that don't get to vote) are affected positively and negatively by a lot of government decisions, and many of them are aware of the power of their voting rights. Whether they have the "broader national interest" at heart may be moot (who does, anyway?) but they're likely to keep tabs on issues such as which political party has slum demolition on the agenda, which political party plans to dole out free rice and TVs, which political party plans to upgrade public transport and set price ceilings, and so on.<BR/><BR/>I've seen poor people do pretty elaborate math on maximizing their personal benefits, not unlike the now-broke college student or the smart investment banker. In general, avoid confusing lack of literacy with lack of resourcefulness or lack of desire to tailor outcomes.<BR/><BR/>As such, people who are most affected by an event are likely to be the ones who put in the most effort to control it to their liking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com