Liberty Discussion is a program designed to engage and inform the core members on the ideas of market economy and classical liberal ideas. Discussions are made on contemporary issues (local or national) through open market perspective. The article is selected and shared within the members to prepare oneself for the program. The program is organized at the venue of Bikalpa – an Alternative on every alternative Saturday (twice a month).
On, Saturday, 11 July 2020 Bikalpa hosted a regular formal Liberty Discussion online in collaboration with Network For Free Society. The discussion was titled in Article “Self -Sufficiency”
The discussion started with following some insights regarding the Article. Where one of the participants talk about the value of money in society. He shared Money is a value for the work which we work for. It is just a piece of paper and doesn’t have value when people stop working. It is the metric of production. There should not be a moral obligation for people to earn money. Some other participant’s pointed out that Money is just a tangible form of value. Money helps to makes people’s life easy. It helps to ease the work and generates value for Community existence. Participant’s also talked about the barter system in society. Also how to further the money system was evolved in society.
The discussion revolved around the narratives of self-sufficiency, market protectionism prevailing in today’s context which was discussed in detail. While speaking about the topic one of the participants said In terms of economic sense no country is economically self-sufficient and it is also not possible to be self-reliant. We can’t make all the things by ourselves. It is Trade and Entrepreneurship that makes us better off. Whereas other participant’s viewed Instead of using protectionism States should keep in mind the larger public interests and work on nurturing our local business in a competitive global market.
On the other hand, some others argued, Instead of depending on other countries we should focus on our comparative advantage and maximize output through our resources. There should be a balance between imports and export of trade. Also, we can use tariffs as a good source of tax for the development of the economic sector. We should not totally be dependent on other countries in the name of self-sufficiency. Overall, the participants also shared their valid views on the topic. The discussion ended with concluding remarks by Ms. Riya Mallik.
Full Program Record:
