Kautilyan Society

I am taking this knockout class called Voluntary Social Systems (MSE 299), taught by the grand-old-philosopher of this century - Ronald Howard. I've always romanticized being taught by a man of a Socratic stature, holding dialogues much like Socrates and his detractor Thrasymachus in The Republic (Plato). That desire has been fulfilled by Prof. Howard.

He radiates wisdom, and I highly recommend his classes. In this particular class, we're examining what a society would look like if there were no government (and no taxes!), and he's convinced me so far that it would be pretty darn good!

Some of my work in this class:
1. Mini Case Studies on successful voluntary systems in India
2. Presentation on Kautilyan Society - medieval Indian around 4th Century BC, with the data coming from Kautilya's, "The Arthashastra." It was a good deal of fun and I've learnt some startling facts about India's past.

For one, men had to pay women dowry to marry them. If the wife wanted to divorce, she would have to return the dowry. If the husband wanted to divorce, he couldn't get his money back (this was to ensure that there was no economic motive behind a divorce). Drop me a line if Kautilyan Society interests you and we can have a nice chat.