" If you ask me (and I know I'm not alone on this), I will say that the cheap and educated workforce of South India was the primary attraction to the foreign investors. The free market policy that was adopted was second. I know you think the other way around...and that's where we disagree. (Maybe we need an arbitrator :-))." - You are right in that money followed the cheap and educated workforce. And you are right that is why we don't see call centers in Bihar. But Argentina is a different story, let's leave it out. Ok, you see education as first. My point is that without an environment of freedom education does not naturally enable people to achieve progress. Don't take this to mean that I imply the converse, i.e. the achievement of progress is guaranteed in an environment of freedom. Freedom allows people the ability to choose, to choose to make their lives better. Education is a natural course, in that sense, where freedom exists. Education, again, does not guarantee freedom. I don't think anecdotal evidence is appropriate here as we can each find examples that will "prove" our point. But, let's just look at Nepali history. For 30 years, education was promoted, albeit in very strange ways, during the Panchayat system. I don't think we made much progress in the freedom side. Even the system we brought into place after Panchayat did not bring freedom. Why? Because the political barriers to freedom had not been surmounted. Now, your education first hypothesis causes the following potential problem, although I get the sense that you would not want your thoughts to be interpreted that way. It would say, let's leave the status quo - let the King rule with is army and the Maobaadi with their army - and focus on education. When a critical mass of people have become educated, we will see people revolt for freedom. Before I destroy this argument, I will take a step back and assume that you, too, think this is a farcical argument. Second, education first tends to say democracy DOES NOT work without education. This I can never agree to. The first need to free people -" Emancipate yourself from mental slavery" in Bob Marley's words - and only then wholesale progress can be imagined. Only then will education play a role in achieving wholesale progress. I think at this point, it is imperative that we define "education" and "freedom". You go first, I'll happily follow. hehehehe.