27/08/2017 Which is the worst country in the world?

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Which is the worst country in the world?

31 Answers

Anonymous
Answered Jun 2

India.

Why?

If Africa were a country, India would be worse off in terms of virtually every economic and social index on per
capita basis. As a proportion of Indias population, the countrys people are among the worlds poorest, most
diseased, wretched and malnourished.

First let me make it clear that India would never gonna beat the China in living standard.

Chinas GDP is USD 11.4 trillion (2016; IMF). Indias GDP is USD 2.25 trillion (2016; IMF). These economies are
in no way comparable. The Chinese economy is more than 5 times larger. Chinas GDP per capita stands at USD
8,260 and that of India at USD 1,718. Chinas population (1.37 billion) and the population of India (1.34 billion)
are comparable but China is five times richer on a per capita basis.

Based on these figures, India will add USD 129 in economic output on a per capita basis if it grows at a pace of
7.5%. Similarly, if China grows by 6.3%, its output will increase by USD 520 per capita.

Those who say that India is home to the worlds largest economic growth have not even done primary school
math on the situation. India actually needs to grow at more than 30% to outpace China in absolute terms per
capita.

It helps to play around with the numbers cited above to understand how erroneous expectations have been. If one
assumes that India continues to grow at a rate of 7.5%, and China at a rate of 6.3% from here on out, it will take
127 years before Indias per capita growth will actually begin to exceed Chinas.

The problem is that many people confuse rate of growth with actual growth. They blithely assume that a
higher growth rate means greater growth. They assume that a decline in the growth rate is a decline in growth.
Perhaps people simply see what they want to see as a result of their ideological preferences.

In the early 1980s, India was richer on a per capita basis than China Indias population was much smaller than
Chinas, but its GDP was of similar size.

If one pores over statements released by international institutions and media reports published over the past 36
years, it was consistently claimed that while India would be slow in getting to this point, it would eventually
outpace China.

Not only did this not happen, but as demonstrated above, by now it looks as though it will be virtually impossible
for India to outpace China. One should pause to reflect on why so many have been so consistently wrong about
India.

The Sacred Cow of Democracy

One of the major reasons why the West, its institutions and the upper and middle classes prefer India over China
is that India follows the western religion of democracy. They refuse to see that democracy tends not to work in
poor countries (it is debatable whether it worked in the West).

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One could well say that by the time democracy was introduced in the West, particularly in its present form in
which everyone has the right to vote, the West had already reached its intellectual peak.

The history of democracys achievements in the non-western world is particularly bad. Africa, the Middle East,
South East Asia and most of South America are riddled with countries that embraced democracy and almost
immediately took a turn for the worse. In fact, I cannot think of a single country in these regions that improved
after adopting democracy. Nepal, East Timor, and PNG are vivid recent examples.

Non-western countries which have performed better in terms of economic growth and social indexes improved
during time periods in which they were for all practical purposes not democratic. To name a few: Lee Kuan Yews
Singapore, British and now Chinese Hong Kong, Park Chung-hees South Korea, Pinochets Chile, and Chiangs
Taiwan.

In India democracy never worked, but who need facts when emotions need to be satisfied? If Africa were a
country, India would be worse off in terms of virtually every economic and social index on per capita basis. As a
proportion of Indias population, the countrys people are among the worlds poorest, most diseased, wretched
and malnourished.

48% of Indians dont even have access to toilets. Similar percentages of Indias population live without electricity,
water and other basic amenities. To put this number into perspective again: at a per capita GDP of USD 1,718,
India is poorer than Sudan, the Republic of Congo, Laos, Papua New Guinea and many other countries not
exactly known for their great wealth.

It is often claimed that India has the largest English speaking population outside the western world. This was true
in the past, but it is likely no longer true. China has brought in a large number of native speakers from Canada,
the UK and the US to teach English to its students. It seems very likely that there are now more English speakers
in China than there are in India and they speak better English.

Population growth and demographics of India incl. projection

India certainly appears to be in an advantageous position in terms of demographics. While Chinas society is
aging and the number of young people is declining, more than 50% of Indians are below the age of 29. Alas, this
is likely to turn into a liability, as the vast majority of them are unskilled and incapable of participating in the
modern economy.

There is a net increase of 12 million Indians joining the workforce every year, but India continues to exhibit job-
less growth. While their expectations are increasing for they all watch American TV they lack wealth-
generating capabilities. As a result, crime is on the rise.

Indias institutions are often highlighted as the reason for the countrys superiority over China or other non-
democratic systems. The reality is that in the last 70 years, Indians have systematically destroyed the institutions
left by the British. Todays judiciary, legislature and executive are not comparable.

Today none of these institutions are run for the benefit of the countrys citizens. They operate for the glorification
of the State, in which citizens are mere cogs. These institutions have mutated on account of Indias underlying
tribalism totalitarian tendencies.

Unless one is a criminal, one doesnt visit a police station in India. The tyranny of the police, up to and including
killing innocent people in fake encounters, has a long history. Court cases can drag on for decades. Regulations
and laws are mere pieces of paper, with decisions sold to the largest bidder.

It is virtually impossible to get anything done in India without a bribe. Worse, people must grovel and humiliate
themselves in front of public servants to get what is rightfully theirs.

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Readers will do themselves a service by challenging themselves to find out whether democracy really has any
connection with improved governance, stronger institutions of liberty, or faster economic growth.

Indias Problems Have Deep Roots

India is an extremely irrational, superstitious, and tribal country. The concept of reason is mainly conspicuous by
its absence in much of India. India was long associated with Britain and has imported western institutions, ways
of living, technology, etc., over the last 200-300 years, but has failed to import the concept of reason.

The same could be said for Africa, the Middle East, rest of South Asia and most of South America. But we will
stick with India here. Without the concept of reason, people can have no understanding of the rule of law, of
fairness, or simply of what is right or wrong.

They can only think in terms of might is right, street-smartness and political connections. Such a society cannot
have any understanding of the principles of the ten commandments, or have respect for the individual and
liberty.

Assimilating the concept of reason hasnt happened in the last 200-300 years. In Europe it took about 2,000
years after i t was discovered by Roman philosphers. Could it take another millennium or more before Indias
society will be able to assimilate the concept of reason?

In the last three decades, Indias economy has grown, but most of this growth can be attributed to significantly
improved access to the western world and its technology through the new medium of internet and cheap
telephony. The low-hanging fruit from this have been plucked and India is starting to show signs of stagnation.

While India grew economically, government grew at an even faster rate. People and corporations took on debt
faster than they could repay it. They imported the lifestyle and a generous helping of consumerism from the
West, mostly its entertainment aspects. Reason fell by the wayside.

All evidence indicates that Indians were actually disincentivized from developing critical thinking, creativity and
reasoning skills. Why bother when one could become rich without them?

Indian manufacturing plants or offices, including those in the private sector are chaotic, wasteful and incapable
of planning and following a system as a result. Labor costs appear cheap, but Indias chaos ensures low
productivity.

Given a chance, Indian companies prefer to move their factories to China. Indian cities and villages are packed
with Chinese good, even very basic ones.

What Will Indias Future be Like?

It shouldnt be too difficult to abandon the idea that India will be the next China. Indias much-celebrated growth
of 7.5% is too low to make any real impact on the world economy. But even this is under massive threat, once
considers the countrys institutional and cultural problems.

As mentioned earlier, the low-hanging fruit from importing western technology have been plucked by now. India
has failed to cultivate critical thinking and hence the ability to develop its own technology.

India has been a massive beneficiary of the fall in oil price, as oil is by far its biggest import. This was a one-off
gain, a benefit for growth that will trail off again. Indian exports are already showing signs of strain and are
falling, partly losing out to other countries which continue to improve their competitiveness, such as China and
the Philippines.

Growth in Indian exports has turned negative in early 2015 .

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Members of Indias middle class have become remarkably arrogant, thinking that there must be something
special about them that made them so much richer, but they were merely lucky beneficiaries of western
technology. This arrogance has boosted nationalism, which is spreading like wildfire.

In a society lacking in rationality, nationalism is not perceived to be about human values but is a mere
geographical, tribal concept. Hindutava (Hindu-nationalism) has been on the rise. The BJP, the party
representing this ideology, has come to power two and half years ago, with Narendra Modi as the prime minister.

Under Modis reign, as the institutions which t he British left continue to get destroyed, liberties are falling,
taxes are going up without any improvements in public service, and the regulatory burden has increased
significantly. The country is getting increasingly centralized as well, and brought under Modis command. He
believes he has to do more of all these things to ensure India remains on a path to growth. This is a recipe for
disaster.

On 8th November 2016, Modi announced a ban on banknotes affecting 86% of the monetary value of currency in
circulation. This has been another example of his dictatorial policies, as the decision was not even discussed by
his own cabinet. Even the central bank did not know about the ban until the very last moment.

Readers should reflect on the fact that Modi took a decision crippling the economy by robbing it of its life-blood,
depriving people of the medium of exchange they needed for performing transactions, without worrying in the
least about checks and balances.

Conclusion

It should be easy to see that India is not the next China. There is no point in holding out much hope for
India. Rather, it is ever easier to conclude that it is on the way to becoming the next banana republic,
similar to neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar or Nepal.

Intellectuals should engage in some self-reflection on why they have been consistently wrong
about India. It is China that exhibits continued economic and social growth. China keeps coming out with
innovative products. In Chinas book shops one can find Chinese translations of many of the best foreign books.
Im worried that India could rapidly become a backwater by comparison.

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