Report: Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics

The final program of Freedom Caravan: The Morality of Capitalism took place on 10 February, 2012 at Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics. Over 70 faculty and students were present, including Dr Rajas Parchure, Director of the Institute. All the attendees were presented with the Indian edition of The Morality of Capitalism, a collection of essays edited by Tom G Palmer, as well as Social Change and Public Policy, published by the Centre for Civil Society.

The first part of the programme was a talk by Parth J Shah, founder-president of the Centre for Civil Society, on ‘Capitalism: Morality, Efficiency and Inclusion’. Using relevant examples like the difficulties faced by rickshaw pullers and the poor quality of state education, he outlined the importance of reviewing key government policies and turning towards the market in providing more effective solutions. The talk was followed by a theatre performance of A letter from Jonathan Gullible from Mostly Harmless Ink.

The second address of the day was delivered by Andrew Humphries, Charles G Koch Fellow with the Institute of Humane Studies and faculty at the Reason Individualism and Freedom Institute Summer Programs who developed on the ideas presented by Tom Palmer during his earlier talks in Delhi. Using practical examples like the advent of mobile technology, and interesting statistics based on research carried out by the Fraser Institute in Canada, he conveyed to students the benefits brought on by freer markets. The day was rounded up by the audience participating in the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.

With the end of Freedom Caravan, Centre for Civil Society has successfully reached out to over 3,000 students in Delhi and Pune.

To view Parth's presentation on Capitalism: Morality, Efficiency and Inclusion click here. To view photos of the day click here.