Uncle Scrooge's Economics

For more than 1000 years, temples have played a crucial role in the development of India as a nation. A very few people know how temples have actually transformed this beautiful country. I am not talking about the spiritual aspect. That's not my cup of tea. Rather, I am talking about the economics behind the workings of a temple. I always wondered: why would anyone spend millions of dollars on an architectural masterpiece that kept minting money but never paid taxes? I also wondered why evildoers like Allaudin Khilji went after breaking our temples instead of looting some kingdom. Well, I must say. Khilji understood temple economics, and that's what we are going to talk about in today's blog. I request that you all read this blog from an economics perspective and not a spiritual perspective. I don't want this to be my last blog. So, without further ado, let's dive deep into the fascinating history of temples, economics, and economic development.  India has a rich m

"Nothing good is ever free." One of the most prominent dialogues by one of my favorite cartoon characters, Mr. Scrooge McDuck. Who says cartoons are a waste of time? You just haven't come across Duck Tales. This statement made by Scrooge got me to think about that one belief, that one ideology, that binds us all together. Not just humans, but countries, continents, states, and every goddamn thing on this planet. A belief system that was born in the 16th century helped strengthen and fasten the industrial revolution. One of the greatest beneficiaries of this ideology has been the United States. Yes, I am talking about the mother of all ideologies, CAPITALISM.  Capitalism is a word used variously to describe an economic and social system, a modern form of political power, a dynamic mode of production, a stage in a world historical process running from feudalism to communism, a western objective of ideological allegiance, a durable form of inequality, or, more simply, a thin