Jack Of All Knowledge
Ep 24: Rahul Ahluwalia on classical liberalism and why growth is good
In this episode of Jack of All Knowledge, I am joined by Rahul Ahluwalia who is a director at Foundation for Economic Development in India. FED works with central and state governments in India to identify high-impact opportunities for economic growth and helps them realize those opportunities. Rahul is, what many of us would call, a classical liberal thinker. I came across his work some time back through FED’s “Growth is Good” podcast series; where Rahul invites economists and other experts to discuss various facets of economic growth - all linked to Fed’s central thesis, which is that economic growth is indisputably the best way to improve human lives. In this podcast we went back to the basics. We talked about his connection to economic growth, why does he feels so passionately about it, the foundations of classical liberalism, and why we must stand guard against the perils of socialism. It was refreshing to talk to him about the foundational concepts that we throw around from time to time without realising the deeper meaning behind them. I had a fun time recording with Rahul, and I hope you enjoy this episode. Show Notes: Foundation for Economic Development: https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/ Rahul Alhuwalia (twitter/ X): https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/ 1991 Project: https://the1991project.com/ Growth is Good episode with Shruti Rajagopalan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPC6VzqMsvk A comprehensive analysis of poverty in India: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/847861468257945118/pdf/946460v10JRN0B0O0900170adev0a000021.pdf BR Shenoy’s Forgotten Voice of Dissent: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/hindsight/b.r.-shenoys-forgotten-voice-of-dissent/26922/1 Why conventional wisdom on healthcare is wrong: https://randomcriticalanalysis.com/why-conventional-wisdom-on-health-care-is-wrong-a-primer/ We economists have done the math, growth is a doomed strategy: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/economists-maths-growth-doomed-strategy-un-agencies-political-leaders Gen Z Socialism, From Zohran to Zack and beyond: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/06/04/gen-z-socialism-from-zohran-to-zack-and-beyond How to fight Gen Z Socialism: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/04/how-to-fight-back-against-gen-z-socialism 199 Short history of living conditions: our world in data ( https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions )
