Brown PunditsA Deccani miniature of a dancing girl tying her hair, Golconda, about 1700

The Indian Subcontinent Argues with Itself

Inequality

  • Economies of UP and Bihar

    The author disputes the claim that UP and Bihar are poor because they are landlocked, noting coastal states only prospered after liberalisation and that coastal industries are a small share…

    Ace of Spades18 November 20252 comments
  • The Broken Compact

    The author argues that the incremental Indian and American Dream, in which education and merit lead to mobility, has expired for a generation. He sees a new South Asian left…

    X.T.M9 November 202512 comments
  • Zia-Era Pakistan & Today’s India

    Commenting on a reader’s dismissal of comparing Zia-era Pakistan with Modi’s India, X.T.M notes both pair economic growth with cultural conservatism, and asks whether right-wing politics is how societies answer…

    X.T.M2 November 202553 comments
  • A Postcard from Princeton

    A postcard from a visit to Princeton, admiring its curated elegance while arguing that the town is a gated community whose wealth underwrites academics’ ideals. The author also says anti-Asian…

    X.T.M14 April 20254 comments
  • South Asian nations

    Razib Khan dislikes the ‘GDP wars’ between India, Bangladesh and Pakistan and argues that health indicators are a harder-to-fake comparison, saying Pakistan is now the subcontinent’s ‘slow kid’ and that…

    Razib Khan30 December 2022137 comments
  • Stolen oppression

    Reacting to a psychiatrist’s lecture about shooting white people, the author argues that educated, resourced brown Americans are not underprivileged, and claims most white Americans are worse off.

  • Farmers vs Government: The Benefits and Limits of Democratic Redistribution

    The author argues that India’s democracy let its large farming population keep a steady share of redistribution during globalisation-led growth, unlike one-party China and Vietnam, where farm incomes fell relative…

    Vikram12 February 202156 comments
  • Covid-19 Fault Lines and Consequences

    Drafted before the Floyd killing, this essay argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is shattering already fragile economic dominoes left unfixed since 2008, warning of a larger financial crash and social…

  • Brahmin please!

    Discussing a study following Swedish families over seven generations, the post notes that ancestors’ status shapes life chances long afterwards despite high mobility, which fits Gregory Clark’s work on persistent…

    Razib Khan4 February 202073 comments
  • American Caste (b)

    The author argues that America faces a national crisis in maths competence, citing 2018 PISA scores in which only 8 per cent of US students reached Level 5, against far…

    AnAn19 December 201916 comments
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