CounterCurrents: New Indices Show Economic Contraction In India, Tribalism, Nationalism And Fascism

Dear Friend,

Today I bought  four kilos of lemon just for Rs 100. It used to cost Rs 100/kg. Being a son of a farmer myself, and my siblings still doing farming, I can imagine how much the farmer who produced the lemon would have got. May be Rs 5/kg! As I said yesterday, farmers are selling their produce at throw away prices. Indeed, in some parts of India, farmers are throwing their produces away. 

The newly released indices like the Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index shows contraction of Indian economy.  The just released December index was 46.8 from November's 46.7. In October, just behore Prime Minister Narendra Modi declare the demonetisation of high valued notes, The Economic Times headlined, "Manufacturing growth up, October Purchasing Managers Index at 22-month high". The report said "The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) climbed to 54.4 in October from 52.1the previous month, data released on Tuesday showed." 

From 54.4 to 46.8! Any number below 50 shows economic contraction. 

I don't trust these indices as they rarely consider the economy of rural India into consideration where more than 70 % of Indian citizens live. A case in point is the price of lemon I purchased today. 

Eminent academician, intellectual and a Nobel Peace prize winner with Pugwash Movement, Johan Avery had said in his wonderful book 'Information Theory and Evolution' that human consciousness hasn't evolved for the last 40,000 years. Tribalism of the of our hunter gatherer forefathers still govern our social structure. In his article 'Tribalism, Nationalism And Fascism' he argues that this triablism has fallen into Nationalism and ultimately into Fascism. Europe, India and now Trump's USA give enough credence to this argument. 

And also more stories from around the world. 

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Editor
www.countercurrents.org





Tribalism, Nationalism And Fascism
by John Scales Avery 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/tribalism-nationalism-and-fascism/

Fascism appeals directly to the lowest human emotions. Fascism calls up the devils of tribalism and nationalism. Therefore it is fundamentally antisocial and destructive. At the same time, the low, emotional appeal of fascism has led to its political success. The fanatical crowds that cheered Hitler, Franco and Mussolini in the 1930’s are worryingly similar to the crowds that cheered Donald Trump during the disastrous 2016 US presidential election.






Ending Ostrich Syndrome
by Rachel Olivia O'Connor 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/ending-ostrich-syndrome/

It is sick, by any standards, to stick by one’s partisan guns, while witnessing the carnage we’re causing ’round the globe. It is long past the time for concerned citizens with a conscience to declare that no matter who’s serving as our Chief Executive, the U.S. is rotten to the core to such a degree that we must put aside purist identity politics to move in solidarity to undermine what the country is all about. Not just on the war front that we’re directly engaged in, but with regard to our increasing encouragement of abominations abroad among others.






The Biggest Underreported Stories Of 2016
by Eresh Omar Jamal 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/the-biggest-underreported-stories-of-2016/


We have had organisations such as Wikileaks filling the vacuuming created by the absence of an unbiased press, attracting more and more people to look towards it for information. And although it is a real shame that these stories and so many others have gone unreported in 2016, what 2016 has taught us is that they can no longer be blacked out completely, largely because of organisations such as Wikileaks and others. And that, dear reader, is the biggest story of 2016, regardless of whether it was reported, or not.






What Will Baghdad Face In 2017?
by Cathy Breen 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/what-will-baghdad-face-in-2017/

But then the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq was based on lies and deceit. Many in the U.S. accepted, without adequate investigation or even curiosity, the notion that the U.S. would improve conditions ordinary Iraqis faced following the 2003 invasion. Tragically, almost fourteen years later, nothing could be further from the truth. Yet we should ask now, with genuine care, what Iraqis will face in 2017 and how we can make reparations for the suffering we’ve caused.





Positive Thinking In A Dark Age
by Jim Tull 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/positive-thinking-in-a-dark-age/

I have to honestly think of myself as deeply cynical and hopeless in relation to what I believe our cultural systems and institutions can ultimately provide us. A new deal with the old dealers won’t save us. New dealers in the same game won’t either. A new game, or an assortment of new games, might. The needed change is fundamentally a cultural change, not a piece of legislation or a piece of technology, and it is a change that is struggling from many directions to break through. The mainstream culture is focused on news-making individuals, institutions and events – not systems – so this cultural shifting is relatively invisible and under-reported. Have faith in it, be on the look out and maybe even jump in somewhere.






Doomed And Duplicitous Education System In Kashmir
by Khaki Audil 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/doomed-and-duplicitous-education-system-in-kashmir/


Public Institutions have become the largest victim of this iconic tragedy, and more so has public education system. Building on the momentum, the heritage of ill functional and discriminatory (politically motivated) public education system has been adopted from the masters. The public education system in the State is, thus, rotten to the core, only to serve a purpose to these puppet installations






Three Remaining Cultural Activists Of Kabir Kala Manch Granted Bail

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/04/three-remaining-cultural-activists-of-kabir-kala-manch-granted-bail/

Finally three years and ten months after their arrest, Sachin, Sagar and Ramesh will walk out of jail on bail, even as their matter proceeds at its own pace in the Sessions court. This partial victory is vital for creative young artists who have already lost precious years.
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