Most young people have no memory of how bad things were under socialism in India.

99% of people were dependent on government subsidies to get basic necessities like rice and kerosene.

You had to wait years¹ to get a phone.

If the monsoon was as bad as it has been this year, people would already be starving.

There were only government news channels, so all news was essentially propaganda.

You worked hard, saved some money, and now you want to build a house? You could not just go to the market and buy supplies. A government officer used to approve your request to spend your own money to build your own house, of course after taking generous bribes.

So when you sit at a nice beachfront club, sipping cocktails, doomscrolling on your brand new iPhone and bitching about how late-stage capitalism is bad, stop and think again.

This Diwali let us not just celebrate the victory of Bhagwan Shriram, but also light a diya to celebrate the victory of capitalism over socialism, and resolve to keep fighting for free markets.

Footnotes

1. My family had to wait 15 years to get a phone after applying. ↩