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Showing posts with the label statecraft

Decision Making as Output and Bounded Rationality

  The classical economics theories proceed on the assumption of rational agents. Rationality implies the economic agents undertake actions or exercise choices based on the cost-benefit analysis they undertake. The assumption further posits that there exists no information asymmetry and thus the agent is aware of all the costs and benefits associated with the choice he or she has exercised. The behavioral school contested the decision stating the decisions in practice are often irrational. Implied there is a continuous departure from rationality. Rationality in the views of the behavioral school is more an exception to the norm rather a rule. The past posts have discussed the limitations of this view by the behavioral school. Economics has often posited rationality in the context in which the choices are exercised rather than theoretical abstract view of rational action. Rational action in theory seems to be grounded in zero restraint situation yet in practice, there are numerous restra

Mahabharata and Lessons for Foreign Policy

  Indian scholarship in realpolitik, foreign policy, strategic affairs, defence, among other disciplines has traditionally found itself rooted through the prism of Western thoughts and scholars than indegenious models. Indian scholars might bandy about Machiavelli but would shy from Chanakya, might draw thoughts from the Bible but would hesitate to quote from Mahabharata or its central piece the Gita, would discuss Hobbes or Rosseau but remain clueless whether any Indian thought leaders have similar thought processes. The answers can be varied. Most Indian scholarship or treatises of leadership, politics, society etc. remained lost and undiscovered till recent times. A manuscript of Chanakya’s Arthasastra was discovered in Mysore only 1905 or so. It was only after that there was an interest in Chanakya and his thoughts. Therefore Chanakya was equated or compared to Machiavelli rather than the other way round. It is different matter Machiavelli was evil and built a theory that supported