Economic inequality is one of the most popular issues in our political and economic discourses. With the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement around the world, the debate has resurfaced in the global scenario too. In our context, totalitarianism is sought after for the sake of equality. The issue, no matter how well-intended, begs for a different perspective. Opportunities against outcome Equality of opportunity is indeed a prerequisite for a free society and the government can play a crucial role. Ensuring rule of law, property rights for every class of people and equal access to economic activities are things a government can do to achieve a prosperous society. On the other hand, equality of outcome sought through government actions is not only antithetical to a free society but also counter- productive to economic growth. Many intellectuals and politicians advocating equality tend to ignore that free people are not equal and equal people are not free. In a free society, economic outcome la...

“I love the sound of rain.” So goes the first line in the lyrics of a song Reiza is writing. “I forgot the sound of rain,” is my response to it. There’s something about rain and romance. Rain and poetry. Rain and love. And as I sit here with the darkness growing around the room – I’m too lazy to turn on the lights! – I hear the rain falling outside. I see the droplets sliding on the window pane like lazy dancers and it stirs memories of rain. Hmmm, that sounds like a cute title for a story. Memories of Rain. A watery view of the world. Camera art, pure and simple.  The first time I experienced rain falling for five days non-stop was in Nepal, the beautiful country, tourist based country, , the beautiful country, tourist based country, . And they thought it was very good weather. Mostly because it cooled down the heat. But the people in places like Surkhet live in fear of rain, for mudslides happen every monsoon, and those in the plains live in fear of floods. But unlike in Uganda w...