New look for blogger

The new look for b logger is great.  It has inspired me to blog again ;-)

Did prosperity drive self governance ?

I am still looking for more data on how idea of representation would have emerged. It is difficult to believe that Kings would have wanted representation. In recorded history Greeks have been shown as practicing some form of democracy but what triggered this representation.

I would need to do more thinking and research.

Human needs and trade

It is impossible for a individual to produce all what he needs. He has to rely on services of other individuals. Humans also do not have limits on their needs. Their needs can keep growing. The need to trade requires a infrastructure, where a person can produce what he wants and trade with others of his surplus. The infrastructure has to be a fair system. A fair system can only be enforced by a strong ruler but a strong ruler can always become a tyrant in long run. A fair system would be one which allows my say in affairs of the day. We will have more on the infrastructure later.

What is clear is human needs drives trade, which in turn demands a infrastructure. All changes in society for good or bad would have happened in places which had natural advantages over others and trade was high.

So should we looking for roots of prosperity in places which had natural advantages over other ?

How to be happy quest

I am on a quest to be more happy. The question has always been on my mind. It was a worthy goal. Is there a pill which you take and become happy. You can taken bhang but once the effect goes the misery will come back. It was easy to conclude that I will be more happy if the society where I live is happy. My happiness can never be in isolation. The question to be pondered is how can I and the society I live be more happy. In my childhood I thought the government should give money to all and all will be happy. It is as simple as that. The next question to probe was, are there societies which are more happy than us. The answer was west. The next question was how come the west which was caught in religious war and persecution transformed itself in last 200 years. Are they fundamentally better than us ? Having worked extensively with people from west I see no fundamental difference than us. So what was the magic that brought prosperity to western world ? This is the quest which I plan to share with all. This was always a private quest but having learnt so much from Internet I have realized the value in sharing. Who knows how it will help some one. If not anything it will help me to formulate my ideas more clearly. So stay tuned and please give feedback as the quest continues