Friday, September 18, 2009

Would India win over China? Nuh, the question should be if India would catch up on China.

People are proud of their own egos. No intention to insult, India has an over-developed democratic systems but under-developed economic system. What is the worst is their people are proud of it.

Is a democratic political system really coupled with your economic development that, of a good intention, should lead to only success? When Industrial Revolution took place in Britain, surely Queen Vitoria wasn't part of any sort of congress. Look around the majority developed economic power houses in the world today, which of them had a congressional system when they grabbed their first bucket of gold. Even a small country like Belgium was exploiting Rwanda for coffee beans back then. Were they democratic? Instead, their political structure gradually shifted to a commonly-accepted public voting system - democratic system only after enough wealth was accumulated speedily to lead their economy to a leapfrog.

Infrustracture is key to wealth accumulation. A good saying even express "want to be rich, build your roads first". Wherever British emperial army reached for colonisation, they built railways to transport their robbed resources. Indirectly, the legacy was left in place after they retreated years after. Similarly, the U.S. built their cross-continent railway system from the East coast to the West thanks to British capital. Furthermore, during the post WII national highway system was put in place like spider nets.

So, how's Indian infrastructure compared to their close counterpart and psychological rival, China? The answer is quite obvious but the implication is profound. No roads, no logistics, no wealth.

An over-developed democratic system in a under-developed economy will stall the advancement of public infrastructure projects. Where do those projects get built on? Public land, farming land, either government-owned or private held, you need to get permission from the owners before seizing it for infrastructure use. Because everyone has rights, rights to ask more and more and more for land compensation with voices backed by political oppositions, a government like India will not take the land with ease. Plus people who are responsible for the project getting pressure from their political backers for the fear of losing votes in the next election, thanks God now, your infrastructure projects are stalled.

No comments: