Society

Adapting is not a threat to people’s freedoms. It does require a change in their perception of freedom, though. Limits placed on individual freedoms to deter them from acting as they wish are not to be regarded as a diminution of their freedoms rather a strategy that would lead to stability for all. In this day and age, when individual freedom of thought and action has gained considerable ground, the responsibility that comes with the freedom has to be taken more seriously than ever.

Democracy requires reciprocity from citizens. It is based on the principle of subsidiarity, which places trust…

Politics

“Did we realize in the 1990s that it would be us who turned to shit? Here’s what neither political scientists nor geopolitical scholars sufficiently gamed out as it was happening: The wicked brew of trade globalization and outsourced manufacturing, industrial policy fueled technological innovation, and rent-seeking financial capitalism — and how those forces not only accelerated power diffusion globally but also deindustrialization and political polarization at home.”, says Parag Khanna in his article named The New End of History. According to him, the rise of Asia is proof of the aforementioned power-diffusion or what he calls geopolitical entropy[1].

In the…

Politics

“The incipient, creeping fascism of the past few years has been groomed by many of our ‘ democratic institutions ’. Everyone has flirted with it — Parliament (Congress), the press, the police, the administration, the public. Each time you defend the right of an institution, any institution (including Supreme Court), to exercise unfettered, unaccountable powers that must never be challenged, you move forward fascism.” says Arundhati Roy.

You all must have gathered by now that democracy can be used both as a tool to further the cause of people and as a weapon to undermine the same; it depends entirely…

Politics

Bad political outcomes are a result of inappropriate individual behaviors, inordinate structural processes, and misinformed/uninformed citizens. Sometimes it is difficult to assess the attributiveness of the factors or the degree of political responsibility assigned to them with regard to the outcome. Some elements are certainly more worthy of censure than the others. Citizens and political leaders of democratic societies differentiate themselves from authoritarian societies by bearing more responsibilities and not just by exercising more rights.

We, the people, are also accountable for the behavior of our leaders other than they themselves for setting these violent and undemocratic events into motion…

Politics

China is neither faithful to communism from which it once extracted legitimacy, nor is it anywhere close to being a democracy. It is a market-based system called state capitalism that China developed after 1978. The Chinese government continues to control every small part of the economy, believing it is the best path towards politically stable economic growth. They come from a place where there has been a long tradition of secrecy and centralized control for years. They cannot let go of their command so easily. …

Politics

Pragmatism implores people to turn to evidence and embrace it. Pragmatism in politics means not letting a particular ideology come in the way of the right solutions. It means going beyond one’s beliefs and assessing things rationally, and devising solutions that work. What does it take to achieve this other than a good state and non-partisan institutions — illuminated citizens, I think.

A well-informed electorate is the unrivaled public good. It is something that the state cannot provide you. Instead, we have to provide it to the state.

“Pragmatism has two enemies: ideologies and populism, and each seized its opportunity…

Politics

“When a racial group’s collective prejudice is backed by the power of legal authority and institutional control, it is transformed into this racism, a far-reaching system that functions independently from the intentions or self-images of individual actors,” says Robin Diangelo in his book, White fragility.

The anti-minority sentiments integral to white supremacists’ identity have a superiority complex behind them without any rational basis. Because they don’t have a rationale and are based mainly on prejudices and assumptions, they get aroused even at the slightest challenge, especially when their insecurities are on the rise, or they face a social identity crisis…

Work

When the pandemic takes a retreat from our lives, and we are safely on the other side, what’s it going to be like going back to work. Let’s start by asking ourselves a very simple question. After the two most important factors — a. Fondness for work and b. Salary, what is it that attracts people to their workplace? Aren’t we fascinated by the variety of different people we encounter in an organization? Work from home/ Anywhere (WFH/WFA) takes that away from us. …