June 15, 2001

DELHI, INDIA (June 4, 2001)

THE LIBERTY INSTITUTE CONFERENCE

Dear Friends and Subscribers,

We woke up this morning to a rhythmic whirring sound--whiiiirrrrrrrr, stop, whiiirrrrrr, stop. It sounded like a sewing machine or a carpet sweeper, or more than anything like someone pulling an outdoor clothesline. We looked out our window to see what it was: Three men were mowing the grass with a push mower. One pushed, and the other two pulled ropes attached to the front of the mower. They were cutting the grass so close that it wasn't even green anymore, and from our height it was looking like an old, threadbare carpet. But we were impressed by their industry. They collect the grass after each swipe, probably to feed to the cows. Nothing goes to waste here!

We had the morning to ourselves, so we decided to go upstairs to the gym for some exercise and then have a refreshing swim in the rooftop pool. As I jogged on the treadmill and Mark lifted weights, I watched the men down below, pulling and pushing the mower. Two women in colorful saris knelt below the palm trees, clipping the grass by hand. A young man dressed in a hotel uniform, apparently late for work or perhaps fulfilling an errand, ran across the plaza. Two other young men swept the walks with giant brooms made of bundled sticks. Meanwhile, here we were in our air-conditioned gym doing make-believe work to keep our muscles from atrophying, while these young people performed genuine work in searing sunshine for our pleasure--clean walkways, pleasant landscaping, cold drinks at poolside. I'm sure the sight of what we were doing would have perplexed or amused them. The man on the treadmill next to me wiped the sweat from his forehead with his t-shirt, and, remembering the brutal heat from yesterday, I realized what temperatures those yard workers were enduring. Sting's "Desert Rose" began to play on the gym's sound system, its plaintive, Indianesque strains heightening my awareness of this absurd juxtaposition of two cultures so completely separate in experience and understanding.

After our swim we wrote postcards, read, and met our hosts, Parth Shah and Barun Mitra for lunch. Parth earned a degree in pharmacology, hoping to get a visa to work in the United States, but he switched to economics after reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. He went on to earn a Ph. D. in economics and taught at Hillsdale College in Michigan before coming back to India to found the Center for Civil Society, a free-market think tank he hopes will have a positive influence on government policy. Barun was a member of the Merchant Marine who filled his shipboard off-duty hours with reading. One day he was given a book by Ayn Rand and he, too, was hooked, starting the Liberty Institute with the same hope of influencing the Indian government to institute more free-market policies. Sohini Carr, who met us at our hotel and arranged for all our needs here in India, studied political science in college. Hearing about a huge book fair held in India every two years, she went to the fair hoping to find a book by Ayn Rand, whom she learned of from a classmate. There she found both The Fountainhead and Barun, who was also looking for freemarket books that day. Sohini left her job and came to work as Barun's administrative assistant. Three people, three backgrounds, all brought together by the writings of the great libertarian objectivist, Ayn Rand.

As we met for lunch the sky began to darken, and before the first course was served, the sky was black. Soon a downpour began. "How long will this last?" we asked. "Hard to say," was the reply. "It will either finish in half an hour or it will last all day. But if it lasts into the afternoon, the buses will be halted and people will not be able to come to the meeting." We all worried through lunch, but by the time dessert was served, the sky was already lightening and the rain was stopping. I was even able to walk to the Internet Cafe, down the alley behind our hotel, between lunch and the start of the meetings. I have to say that the people in India have been wonderful. We're the only Americans in our hotel, probably in our whole vicinity, away from the area were Europeans and Americans generally stay. Everyone has treated us with kindness, courtesy, and perhaps curiosity. I wasn't the least nervous about walking down the alleys by myself (Mark was meeting with the press), and I enjoyed being in the internet cafe with the local people.

The Liberty Institute did a wonderful job of advertising this event. Five reporters attended the lecture, meeting with Mark beforehand to interview him in a low-key press conference. A representative of India's branch of the Oxford University Press also met with him, and offered a contract to publish an Indian edition of his book The Making of Modern Economics. Parth and Barun usually get 40-50 people at the lectures they sponsor, and Sohini set up for 70, but before the meeting even started she had to send for additional chairs. It was standing room only, and the question and answer period went on for an hour. Several people hung around until the lights were turned out.

One of the questions came from a Marxist who happened to be sitting next to me (throughout the lecture he kept whispering things like, American workers are slaves. Jobs are slavery. Employers are slaves too!) His question centered on colonialism and its relationship to capitalism, the implication being that the British wouldn't have taken over India if it hadn't been for capitalism. But Mark's answer focused on the American colonies, explaining that the desire for freedom to choose was the catalyst for breaking away from England, and that capitalism was the tool by which America became such a great nation. Parth and Barun thought it was a great answer, turning the focus on the success of capitalism in America rather than on the failure of colonialism in India.

I added to the discussion as well, explaining that under the mercantilist system, wealth was considered fixed and finite, and that the only way to increase one's wealth was to take it from someone else. Consequently, nations went to war in search of gold to increase their wealth. As Mark's book explains (always bring the discussion back to the book!!) Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations more accurately defined wealth as the sum of materials plus labor to produce new goods. Consequently wealth is infinite, limited only by a person or nation's innovation, industriousness, and capital investment. This was a great revelation and changed the whole course of history. Now wealth could be accumulated and increased through commerce, not war. Mr. Marxist just grumbled under his breath, "Capitalists are slaves too!" and I chuckled.

All in all, it was a highly successful visit, and we wish the best success to these sincere, earnest men and women who are trying to make a difference in their country. If you have some extra money lying around that you want to donate to a good cause, I highly recommend both organizations.

Our flight out of India left at 2:45 in the morning! This is where our round-the-world trip becomes grueling. Over the next six days we will be in four different countries, and we will sleep in beds only three times (the other three nights we will be flying on overnight flights). Again, I praise my husband for deciding that Business Class would be worth the extra cost. Arriving at the Delhi airport we bypassed the lengthy line of economy-class passengers, checked our bags in less than five minutes, then found a comfortable seat in the Red Carpet Club to wait for our flight to be called. We are now relaxing in the comfortable sleeper-seats of the upstairs cabin of a Boeing 747, waiting for take-off. For once I wish our flight were going to be longer, not shorter. Four hours just won't be long enough for a good night's sleep...

-- Jo Ann Skousen

email: jaskousen@mskousen.com

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