Below is a talk I gave at Thinkfest 2015 to a classroom-sized audience on 26 Jan, 2015 (90 minutes). It was hosted by Nirmukta, dedicated to promoting science, freethought and secular humanism in South Asia. (NB: the audio in the first few minutes is choppy but fine thereafter.)
The topic I chose is "What do we deserve?" For our learning, natural talents, and labor, what rewards and entitlements can we fairly claim? This question is particularly relevant in market-based societies in which people tend to think they deserve both their success and their failure. I explore the fraught concepts of "merit" and "success", and what outcomes we can take credit for or not. I present three leading models of economic justice by which a society might allocate its rewards—libertarian, meritocratic, egalitarian—and consider the pros and cons of each using examples from both India and the U.S. (Also read a companion essay to this video, and read a report on Thinkfest 2015.)
Dear Namit (if I may address you so!)
This is not a comment. It is a question. Any idea what happened in the case of Ajita Kamal of Nirmukt? It is now 10 years since his unexplained death in an "incident". Which was reported as being "investigated" 10 years ago....
Why the complete blackout on all news regarding the investigation and any results?
Any light you can provide on any of this?
Thanks!
Prabhu
Posted by: Prabhu Guptara | January 15, 2021 at 10:55 AM
Dear Prabhu, great question but I have no answers. Perhaps drop a query to Nirmukta admins on this page.
Posted by: Namit | January 15, 2021 at 12:10 PM