The New Wealth OF Nation Is Education.

     In The New Wealth of Nations, Bhalla takes on Thomas Piketty and his ilk and points out that contrary to the popular notion, inequality is declining in both advanced economies and developing nations, including India. And his central argument is that this has been made possible by education. Make no mistake, the new wealth of nations is not gold, or land, but education.

If there is a freakonomist in India it is none other than Surjit S Bhalla. Bhalla is a purveyor of uncommon wisdom that provokes you, especially if you are a bleeding heart liberal. And to say that Bhalla is a confident and ambitious man would be an understatement. He does not hold back his punches and the title of his new book in itself is enough to irk many of his peers—The New Wealth of Nations (Published by Simon & Schuster India, Pages 207, Price Rs 599)—as if he is the Adam Smith of our times. But times, they are changing, that is what Bhalla is singing.

Bhalla discusses the course of the wealth of nations over the last three hundred years and the important role played by education in helping the poor countries move towards convergence with the rich countries.

Bhalla also reminds us that there was less of an inequality in the world three hundred years ago because everyone was relatively poor. In 1500, income in China and India was close to the world average; two hundred years later, in 1700, the average was 10 percent lower; in 1890, aided by the heavy presence of colonialism in India, the average became less than half, says Bhalla. But significantly, in 1870, China had 100% illiterates and India, 99.6%. (In 1700 and before, there was zero education wealth inequality.)

Bhalla is a reader’s delight in the way he organizes his arguments and presents them in a clear, simple and elegant style. He ensures that he is not opaque and takes you to the nub of the matter in a few short sentences. Bhalla makes his charts, figures and adds up the numbers but befitting a freakonmist, he spices up his tome with an outlier theme—songs.

Each of the 13 chapters in The New Wealth of Nations has a lyrical preface, starting with Bob Dylan and his The Times They Are A-Changing, something that readily hooks a wary reader and keeps him awake, not weary of the hefty subject that he is asked to negotiate with. The New Wealth of Nations sizzles with wit and wisdom and is a great read to end 2017 and welcome another year of promise and prosperity.

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