Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist.

In London, I'm Jason Palmer.

And in New York, I'm John Fassman.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

There's a population sized hole in much of economics, a failure to consider the effects

of policies on people who aren't yet born.

We examine a thorny philosophy problem that tries to value the lives that economists

have largely overlooked.

And thus the old foreign language phrase books are of great use to historians.

They reveal how their authors and readers thought about the world, though some of their phrase

choices can be bizarre.

Excuse me, how long have you had that goiter?

First.

In April 2014, Narendra Modi was running to be Prime Minister of India.

He did his candidates do and made a speech at a rally.

In it he warned of a pink revolution, that the government was promoting the slaughter

of cattle and propping up the beef trade.

In short, that the government was encouraging the killing of cows.

It was a powerful political argument.

In Hinduism, cows are sacred.

And in India, coming across as the protector of cows, can be the ticket to electoral success.

After Mr. Modi's Bharatichanata party, they have become cemented as a symbol for the

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