A Wirtschaftswunder for Iraq

We don't suppose many Iraqis have heard of Ludwig Erhard, but the late German economist may hold the key to the successful reconstruction of their country.

The cigar-chomping Erhard was a national hero in Germany, where his free-market policies laid the basis for that nation's postwar economic miracle. In the early 1990s, his how-to book, "Prosperity for All," found new readers in former Communist countries eager for their own Wirtschaftswunder in the wake of the Cold War.

Conservatives usually understand what liberals don't.....that the legal protection of private property ownership is the absolute foundation of not only our prosperity, but of all our liberties.

Attempts by Third World countries to introduce capitalism fail because of the lack of laws protecting private property (except for the ruling classes who can use "connections" or can afford continuous bribes).

We have to insist to the White House and to Congress that priority attention be given to this matter in Iraq.

There's a good case to be made for keeping the dollar permanently (just ask Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama or East Timor, which have stabilized their economies by dollarizing).

Why isn't Argentina on the list of countries to ask? Because simple dollarization failed. Dollar convertibility - like gold convertibility - works only when the government (or governments in the Argentine case) has the fiscal fortitude to restrain itself. Dollarization (or goldization) amplifies the incentives for fiscal discipline, but of course if a government really had the stomach for such discipline, dollarization would lose much of its appeal. If dollar convertibility helps keep the government fiscally prudent, then by all means, do it. A politically insulated monetary authority, such as the currency board suggested in the article, can push the politicians to avoid profligacy. But it is ultimately the political will on the fiscal side - the tax and spend policies - that finally determines what happens with the economy.

Pursuit of Property is of course important, as Mr. Jefferson would agree..... But where is mention of Individual Liberty???

That must be the primary focus over there to keep Islomofascist law confined to those who want it for themselves only. The rest of the country (and the women) need to be inculcated with the concept of personal liberty that has been given to them by God (via the USMC?) which can only be relinquished by them each personally.

This concept of "the oil belongs to the people" and "Iraqis will decide how they will be governed" sounds more like a one-shot road right back to lock-down theocracy for all, and justice for nobody.

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