Bangalore: Billionaire investor George Soros said he was “long” on Indian democracy as the country had begun to play an increasingly important role in the world.
A warning: Soros says democracy in the developed world is in a crisis, particularly in the US and Europe.
Soros issued a warning on the state of democracy in the developed world.
“Democracy in the developed world is in a crisis, particularly in the United States and Europe,” he said. He also said that while the difference in economic terms between the developed and the developing world is closing, the developing world has made great progress in inculcating democracy.
He cited the Arab Spring and the the stirrings of democracy in Russia and Myanmar as signs of progress. “I find solace, frankly, in the rise of thirst for freedom and the progress in democracy made by the developing world,” he said.
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Billionaire investor George Soros talks about the financial crisis of 2008 and why he’s optimistic about India’s democracy
The Soros Fund Management chairman said he was in India to learn more about it.
Soros also spoke extensively on his philanthropic interests and the decision to give away $8 billion to various initiatives.
“I am only trying to make the world a better place,” said Soros, a student of Austro-British philosopher Karl Popper at the London School of Economics.
“I am a disciple of Karl Popper, and was shaped and influenced by his philosophy, and eventually became critical of some aspects of it,” he said. Soros said the work of his foundation was largely based on the ideas propounded by Popper such as the idea of open society and the promotion of democracy.
“I have been applying theories based on the ideas of Popper successfully in the financial markets, and now I am going to test them in the political sphere,” he said. He admitted that his theories were not perfect—for instance, he did not foresee the collapse of the Soviet system. However, once it was clear to him that the Soviet system could not survive, he established a foundation as early as 1987. He said he has also started a project on promising an open society in Myanmar and was confident that the country’s president and Nobel winner Aung San Suu Kyi would collaborate together to make it a success.
shamsheer.y@livemint.com
