Most girls see domestic service as low status and prefer to work in a factory or office, never mind the savings on board and lodging that go with domestic service. Now almost the only source of servants are the tea estates-tea plucking seems to be the only job lower in status (or perhaps it’s the easier work that attracts them) to domestic service.

I personally know a friend who employs a servant - but they have to go through the pretence of employing her in his brother’s laundry business so that she can save face at the village.

When there was no choice they were quite happy to accept domestic service and choice is what neo-liberal economics has brought these people.

The whole edifice of Marxism is constructed on an unrealistic assumption of human nature - that men are naturally cooperative and will sacrifice personal gain for the betterment of the community. This is never explicitly stated anywhere but for Marxism to work in practice this is what is necessary. This is why it had to be imposed, by force through dictatorship in China, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. And this is also why it proved to be unsustainable. The remaining countries that practise it are all failures in one sense or another: North Korea, Cuba, etc.

Trade happens only if it benefits both parties: otherwise it simply will not take place. If we did not trade each family would have to forage for its food, teach its young, heal its sick and bury its dead. Specialisation and trade is what allows it to be otherwise and international trade is no different from domestic trade.

Marxism has lost its support in most areas because it is seen to be failure; however fine its ideals might be it cannot deliver. The only remaining proponents of this doctrine are to found in the guise of anti-globalisation groups, which trumpet the same agenda under a different name.

Do you think the quality of life of a textile factory worker who is messing around with dangerous chemicals day in and day out is better than that of a machine operator or a cutter? Do you think a chinese factory worker gets a better salary than one of our garment factory girls, especially those who work the specialized machinery in a lingerie factory?

Also do you think that it was better for village girls to come to Colombo and serve as domestic aides to people in Colombo at houses of thos who preach against liberal economics neo or other-wise? Village girls slaved 7 days a week in houses in colombo and elsewhere got up at the crack of dawn and went to sleep late at night after the ‘hamus’ who preach against private enterprise and well as those who engage in private enterprise went to bed.

Sometimes the girls also had to go to bed with them. We have read enough in newspapers about such cases. And that must be the tip of the ice-berg.

The so-called ‘tailoring industry’ changed the lifelstyles of the hundreds of thousands of young women rescued them from drudgery of ‘house-maiding’ and gave them a 9-5 job or overtime if not.

They got a day (or two) off a week, a provindent fund, however imperfect it was, it was better than than the drudgery of being a domesic aide in Sri Lanka.

Even now millions of girls are going out of the country to be housemaids abroads. If we had good jobs for them here even courtesy of “The Dead-End Formula of Neo-Liberal Economics” they would be here with their families.

Assembling cars is just tax arbitrage. Knocked-down cars are taxed lightly vs fully constructed ones. It makes economic sense to assemble cars because the government taxes fully built cars heavily. Any profits the assembler makes is due to tax losses made by the government. It is just an arbitrage game.

I am not blaming the assembler for making use of the opportunity.

May be it it is not a bad thing if some hardworking chap gets a car at a cheaper price, even if the hated capitalist assembler makes millions off tax arbitraging and enjoying the protection of ‘non neo liberal economics’ government policy of heavy taxation of the citizenry.

Are cars only a perk to be enjoyed by non-tax paying government workers who preach “The Dead-End Formula of Neo-Liberal Economics” and live off the taxes of the ordinary people who have to work hard and pay taxes and have no chance of enjoying the perks of tax free cars?

Don’t make us laugh.

Your observation that the tea industry and the “Garment Industry” are dead-end models is accurate. SL’s garment industry is really not a real garment industry. It is a tailor industry. They do not design garments or weave the clothes. All material inputs are imported and the product exported to countries that give quotas to keep the cheap production going.

I remember Srimavo and her leftists who sold their souls to become Ministers banned and restricted imports of vehicles. Some clever entrepreneurs imported parts of whole cars and tried to assemble cars. Instead of encouraging assembling of vehicles, for which the talent was there then, and is there now, they banned the imports of parts for whole cars to restrict production of cars. This is well before South Korea or even India started exporting cars. If not for state interference, SL would now have a vehicle manufacturing industry, instead of Tailoring Industry.” Yes it was a missed opportunity.

To drive policies which suit us, at our interest is difficult when big brothers try to discipline us and we’re demanded to be sensitive to others’ sensitivities. For example look at how India threatens. With the given circumstances (all these debts to the Twins, and to all the other places you can name) coupled with our short sighted policy makers whose knowledge is limited to form ‘flying ministers model’, I think there’s no other alternative than to continue with dead-end policies and go to hell!!!

How can you say this with a straight face? Most countries that have democrazy, rule of law, low inflation, low poverty haved so-called ‘neo-liberal’ framework. Neo-liberal is a label given by fascist, large-state, promoters of government action that supress the individual freedoms and competition. This was clearly Sri Lanka’s experience since 2004.

People who oppose free trade automatically support inefficient domestic producers (local enterprenures who get fat on the poor consumers) and the collection of taxes to run governments. Why should local enterprenuers be given preference? All ‘developed’ countries with low inflation and low poverty have low tarriffs in general, though domestic lobby groups always try to push the prices up through taxation in order to preserve their own businesses/jobs.

Deficits

Government deficits are bad. Deficits give the government to spend beyond their means on questionable projects. Individuals, - you, me, a private company - will not spend money except on something that gives us a good return and in turn the country. The government on the other hand will spend on things that give politicians votes. These include government recruitment, subsidies and other vote buying techniques. Deficits means governemtn is taxing people, and it is not enough and it is borrowing. These borrowings will have to be repaid out of the earnings of our children. Why should our children pay for political popularity through deficits?

In Sri Lanka state enterprises run losses (financed by peoples taxes and inflation) and are run for the benefit of their workers rather than the people - their customers. Government workers get tax free salaries and pensions. They get inflation protected salaries. More than half the taxes are now spent on salaries. Government workers also get tax free cars. Politicians get tax free cars and pensions after five years. So do at least five of their lackeys (personal staff), usually a politicians wife is appointed to a position to get the benefit.

This is not soviet or leftist justice. This is a feudal system of patronage and living off the taxes and inflation of the poor by the creation of super citizens. Government and its workers through a clever rhetoric that basterdizes individual hard work, private enterprise (no shame in private enterprise of ordinary citizens) who pay taxes, working in cohort with those elements of local enterprise who fear foreign competition (oppose free trade)and like to perpetuate fiefdoms created through barring foreign producers.
Inflation

Inflation is a result of deficit spending and controlling interest rates through central bank activity. Interest rates are controlled through printing money. This causes inflation to go up.

Central banking manipulates interest rates through printing money and gets everyone in trouble. This is neither ‘capitalist’ nor neo liberal. This is the very opposite of what was said by people like Ricardo who has been criticized in the article. It never ceases to amaze me how poeple will put faith in politicians and governments against their own fellow citizens in productive sectors who work hard producing real goods and services.

Modern governments run on taxes and inflation through money supply created by nothing other than treasury bills, taxing people, especially old peoples savings through low interests brought about by money printing.

Such dastardly legalized crimes of the state are justified through the rhetoric against various percieved or otherwise labels, neo con or whatever. Why is this that politicians advocacy groups, and what goes for so-called leftists come up with these labels.

Markets are practical reality. Market forces are the same. There is no emotion, good or bad. If governments manipulate markets invariably the poor will suffer. a governmetn that manipulate money and credit markets to create inflation and steal from the poorest of the poor and old peoples savings has no right to talk of social justice.

that is why big governmetns are bad. Governmetns were established to give what ordinary free citizens could not properly deliver, public goods like roads, law and order which needs taxation and collective contribution.

Ordinary people should be left to run their lives the way they want not at the behest of people who think they know what to tell us to do with their money, to the extent that they will tax foreign goods in a bid to force normal people to buy what they think is right.

A governmetn that cannot deliver, roads, law and order and tries to control free trade and restrict the right of an ordinary tax or inflation paying citizen to buy a good made by the cheapest producer is an absurdity.

It is an absurdity in governance and cannot be held as an example to support the dubious glory of state or politically or ideologically based action that against the so-called label of neo-liberalism and other labels that are brought from time to time to justify increased goverment actions against the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens outside state patronage.

Trying to make Sri Lanka competitive in this day and age is a herculean feat given how we’ve slumped since Independence.

Cuba, Burma, North Korea, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.

Mahinda Chinthanaya is based on turning back from neo-liberal policies so your wish may soon come true.