Freedom

We are living in a free country. We celebrated India's 65th Independence day yesterday. Therefore I cannot but write about Freedom today. Thinking about freedom, has brought me to the conclusion that there are basically two kinds of freedom. One is the freedom which the society one lives in, confers on its citizens. The other is the freedom one grants oneself. These are two different things and one would argue that the second is far more more important than the first. That is the freedom one grants oneself is far more important than the one gifted by the society.

For eg. The Indian constitution grants Freedom of speech, but the freedom from the need for unnecessary speech only we can grant ourselves. The constitution grants the freedom to pursue any religion. But the freedom from the need to pursue a religion or the ability to follow the best in all religions can only be granted by the individual himself. In more mundane ways, citizen of India can watch any form of legal entertainment, but the freedom from the need for entertainment is only something that the individual can find. We have fast food joints, bars and pubs opening almost everywhere but the freedom from the need for excessive consumption is only something an individual can achieve. India allows its citizen to trade/invest in various asset classes but the freedom from the need to be right in every trade only an individual trader can grant himself!

Clearly, while the society we live in decides the overall freedom we enjoy, true freedom comes when we can consciously recognize and break all the bonds that the freedom granted by the society creates within us.                       

The fact that I wrote this note means that I have given myself the freedom to write about anything in the guise of a morning note on markets! But what else can be done. I cannot keep saying that the International Financial crisis is far from over. I cannot write about stocks and the results because there are others better suited for that. If I had to write only about markets then all I could say is that I am short and will cut my short only if Nifty futures trades above 5210!