Posted on 03/13/2006 5:29:56 PM PST by neverdem
So the one thing that will prevent a government from ultimately descending into a mess like Camaroon's is a productive citizenry which is also well armed and willing to shoot thieves (private or public)
It's actually working out quite well there. We need to repay our investment by confiscating a portion of Iraq's crude.
How much extra taxes are we willing to pay to finance the military we would need to implement such a policy?
Nope. The "host" country pays for the military ... in the long run. Once they're up to speed, we begin to take our royalties from their exports until we're repaid and they can stand alone.
Not a new idea. Rome did it two thousand years ago.
Or stop funding the projects entirely. It's the excess money that keeps the thieves in power. If the thieves had to steal from the locals, the locals might be more likely to rise up in rebellion
Francis Fukuyama did - he may not be particularly popular on this board at the moment (deservedly, IMHO) but he nails this issue in Trust - The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity. For his pains he was called a racist and a panderer but in fact those are the cries of a stuck pig, again IMHO. This issue is precisely what he was talking about.
I think we ought to look at this article as a warning to ourselves. When the legal system breaks down and the government is run by thieves, chaos ensues. How close are we to that? I would say closer than we think. No, we're not as bad as Cameroon is, but I think we are in worse shape than we realize. One problem here is that there is a thin veneer of respectability covering corruption in our court system. I think that citizens are increasingly aware of the number of corrupt officials that are fattening their wallets at public expense. One main difference here is that the Democrat voters all point to corrupt Republicans and the Republican voters all point to corrupt Democrats. Few on either side realize how bipartisan the theft really is.
bookmark
Look at the malevolent stringpullers that attack government integrity. There are no nasty governments in the world that aren't being set upon and to some degree controlled by malefactors of greed and wealth...
I thought this was a back country dirt road in Arkansas going to the Clinton Presidential Library.
Wow, that guy looks like Rev. Jesse Jackson's relative.
that is an excellent article.
Blind to the same Cameroonian attitudes in the major citys.. Abramoffs attitude is the attitude.. American politics seems to run on that quid pro quo attitude.. with lawyers at the top of the food chain.. Gangsters in a suit..
geesh... why don't they ask difficult questions?
Why are poor countries poor?
1. the general culture places no value on time, planning, delayed-gratification, industry, or discipline.
2. the governing culture is just as corrupt as one would expect such a ruling class to be when derived from the general culture.
next.
Rule of law and respect for private property are all it takes for a country to be wealthy.
well... not quite.
work-ethic, discipline, delayed-gratification, respect for time - these also are needed.
This article should be appended to every aplication for foriegn aid.
The rot starts with government, but it afflicts the entire society.
There’s no point investing in a business because the government will not protect you against thieves. (So you might as well become a thief yourself.)
There’s no point in paying your phone bill because no court can make you pay. (So there’s no point being a phone company.)
There’s no point setting up an import business because the customs officers will be the ones to benefit. (So the customs office is underfunded and looks even harder for bribes.)
There’s no point getting an education because jobs are not handed out on merit. (And in any case, you can’t borrow money for school fees because the bank can’t collect on the loan.)
Every country has the government it deserves. - Joseph de Maistre.
"Not a new idea. Rome did it two thousand years ago."
...and eventually fell upon its own petard.
"Why Poor Countries Are Poor - The clues lie on a bumpy road leading to the world’s worst library."
Because they haven't learned personal responsibility. We keep sending money, and/or trying to fix the problem for them. If we quit doing that, we quit enabling, and they will eventually turn to the west for an example of how to do it right.
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