Politics and the destruction of our cities
Years back, I sent an article titled, “Nationalization of social and moral values in Pakistan,” to a newspaper. It did publish but with entirely a different title. The new title, “A state that took over society” aptly described what that article was about. Now when I want to write about the destruction of our cities by the political elites in their bid to impress the citizens as voters, I cannot think of a better title than the present one. First I thought of this one: “Preserving the older cities.” However, both the titles communicate what this article argues about. First, the political elites are destroying our cities; and, second, we need to preserve our cities and their age-old soul.
… As far as the concept of cities prevailing in our society is concerned, it needs to be reminded that cities are not a
Renaissance for Reforms – Introducing a new book
Here is the Introduction by the authors:
The recipe for growth is well-known. Most economists would agree that lower taxes and less regulation can encourage entrepreneurship and job creation. Yet, many governments are unwilling to introduce such reforms. An important reason is concern over a voter backlash. Jean-Claude Juncker, a likely candidate for the EU-presidency after two decades as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister, famously lamented “We all know what to do, we just don’t know how to get re-elected after we’ve done it.” Based on an analysis of 109 governments in developed countries, we would suggest that Juncker’s view is mistakenly gloomy. Although market-oriented reforms may initially meet fierce resistance, governments that introduce them are more often than not rewarded by voters.
In our new book “Renaissance for Reforms” we look at the pace and direction of reforms in 29 OECD governments