Had a pretty interesting discussion in class today... capital account convertibility being the topic.
The professor, affectionately called chandu by many is someone I admire. A relatively centrist outlook, a polite disposition and an everready smile are his hallmark.
Although seemingly unrelated, my inference from this class discussion was regarding the power of information.
Public opinion, fickle as ever, is rarely moulded by what is actually good for them... most tend to behave like sheep, follow the herd.
The integrity of most newspapers is severely compromised.... Times Of India being the worst.
I have never seen such blatant forms of monetary induced promotions anywhere else...
By the insertion of a few biased articles in popular mouthpieces the whole nation can be brought about to support just about anything.
Capital account convertibility, a possible path right down Argentina's alley is being touted by most as the greatest thing since the '91 reforms....
Im not taking the lefties side on this one.... im just trying to say that we are being shown a very biased viewpoint.
I havent read anything showcasing the possible adverse effects of such a move.
The south Asian crisis of the late 90's and the perennial Latin Aerican crisises could be seen as an indirect fallout of the introduction of capital account convertibility.
Why hasnt anyone told us that?
D
1 comment:
Well that is an interesting viewpoint. the newspapers do publish really biased articles at times. the only thing that is still maintaining some kinda semblance of a balance is the fact that at times two of the most widely read papers in the country tend to have diametrically opposite view points,i.e The Times of India and The Hindu.the Times claims to be a politically correct newspaper,though it\\\'s interpartion of the term politically correct is read as supporting whatever the government considers and then promulgating it.
The recent thing with Sonia Gandhi\\\'s resignation is another case in point.That was a classic example of how biased these publications can be, the Times touted it as a strategic masterstroke on the part of the Congress, whereas The Hindu criticized the govt. for trying to intervene in the Budget session and trying to push thru an ordinance just for the sake of one person.
having said all that the newspapers are also a business and nobody religiously reads articles that are totally neutral.a newspaper at the start of the day is a really big morale booster. when you open up a newspaper you read and you find that the article published matches your own ideologies or opinions then it does give you a really good feeling of somehow being part of a very large population that supports your viewpoint.so as far as the educated class is concerned the paper that they read is a major insight into their own viewpoints and people would rather read a newspaper that reflects their own viewpoints instead of reading one that just supplies straight up facts and analysis.
it might be somehting that people do unconciously at times but the fact of the matter is that people like to have an opinion and also like to hear or read about other\\\'s opinions.
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