In his latest publication ‘Reason to be Happy: Why Logical Thinking is the Key to a Better Life‘, Indian economist Dr Kaushik Basu has discussed at length the existence (or the non-existence) of God! Dr Basu has denied the existence of God, saying that there is so much injustice in the world; hence, the existence of an omnipotent and infinitely merciful God is logically impossible. He has argued that if God exists, then s/he would not have allowed these injustices to happen. The author has mentioned that there may be someone who is quite powerful and generally kind in this world. However, s/he cannot be considered as God.

In fact, Professor Basu looks for an answer to a question in the framework of logic. In this book, he shows how to use logic to arrive at the best decision in any given situation. He has placed his arguments on the basis of Game Theory or Conflict. Game Theory is an old theoretical framework in the world of science, used in discussions from Mathematics to Economics, Political Science to Computer Science or Philosophy over the last 100 years. Professor Basu has mentioned several games in this publication. If a reader is not interested in Mathematics, then also it will not be a problem as the author has used conflict only to clarify the structure of his arguments. So, Dr Basu’s discussions may appeal to the reader who does not like Mathematics, but has interests in Logic.

Indeed, the scope of this book is wide. Dr Basu has made an attempt to logically explain various issues, including the suffering due to depression after seeing the bright images of successful friends on social media, ways to prevent the dangers of Climate Change, strategies to suppress rebellion in an authoritarian system, etc. According to the author, it is quite natural that one shall choose the best moments of her/his life while posting pictures on social media as per the Nash Equilibrium. The Nash equilibrium is a decision-making theorem within Game Theory that states a player can achieve the desired outcome by not deviating from her/his initial strategy. In the Nash Equilibrium, each player’s strategy is optimal when considering the decisions of other players. So, it is better to think about why grim images remain unexposed before one gets disheartened by others’ glowing pictures.

How can a dictator suppress a civil uprising? Dr Basu has answered this question through Nash Equilibrium in the book. Let’s assume that a country has a population of 1,000 and everyone is upset with the ruler. Also, everyone wants to stage protests. The only problem is if one knows that s/he will be arrested for sure in case s/he takes to the streets, then the person shall never take part in protests. However, the ruler’s prison can accommodate a total of 100 inmates. In that case, the probability of getting arrested is 1/10. In other words, nine out of 10 people will not be arrested. In such a situation, it is expected that everyone will take to the streets, and will trigger the fall of the authoritarian ruler.

Meanwhile, the ruler also has a strategy to suppress the unrest… by dividing the population into 10 groups of 100 people. Opposition leaders will be in the first group, journalists in the second group, and students will be in the third group. A total of 10 groups can be formed in this way. Then, the ruler should announce that 100 people of the first group would definitely be arrested if they stage protests. If 100 people from the first group do not take to the streets, then arrests will be made from the second group. In this way, the matter will go on till the 10th group. Since people will not take to the streets if they are sure to be arrested, naturally the 100 people of the first group will be absent on the day of the protest. Logically, the people of the second group will realise even before leaving their houses that they would have to be arrested as people of the first group would not come. Hence, people of the second group would not take part in protests. According to the Nash Equilibrium, no one, except people like the Tankman of Tiananmen Square, will take to the streets and the ruler will win the strategic battle.

Dr Basu has reminded his readers that we have no control over anything in the world, except ourselves. Hence, one would have to think whether s/he can do something in order to make a difference in the global situation. If that is possible, then s/he should do it with all her/his might. And if it is not possible at the moment, one should keep in mind that something needs to be done. There is no need to be angry or disappointed about that. According to Dr Basu, one should analyse everything through logic.

However, one issue still remains unaddressed. Dr Basu has questioned several presuppositions of Economics in this book. He did this important job in his previous books also. The fact is the reasoning power of human beings is infinite. Unfortunately, he did not question this utterly unrealistic presupposition of Economics. In particular, research in Behavioural Economics shows that when one needs to apply logic, s/he has the least ability to think logically in that particular moment because of anger, sadness or excitement. If the brain does not have the means to think, how can people think logically?

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das