[NeoCaveman]

Just as we believe free trade with people living under authoritarian rule will, in the long-run, spread human rights,

I liked everything on that page but this silly statment that should put me well above 80 :-)

[Mark Bahner]

"I liked everything on that page but this silly statment..."

To judge whether that statement is "silly," we can watch present and future events. China has been an authoritarian country since circa 1949 (too lazy to look up the actual year of the communist takeover). They've recently (since the late 1970's) been increasingly open in trade.

Cuba has been an authoritarian country since 1959...or about 10 years later than China. The U.S. has had a trade embargo on Cuba since...practically forever. (And the U.S. even discourages trade by other countries with Cuba, by the Helms-Burton Act.)

So...which country do you think is going to have free elections and a free press sooner...China or Cuba? My bet is on China. When people are struggling to even get enough food to eat (as in North Korea, and to a lesser extent, Cuba), they don't worry too much about whether their press and elections are free. They worry about filling their stomachs.

So I don't think that statement is "silly" at all.