>>Valley Patriot>> |
Dr. Charles Ormsby
It is hard to imagine what the next 50 to 100 years could bring. If these advances continue, will all of mankind benefit or just the citizens of the “rich” counties? If this sounds like the introduction to a plea by Ted Kennedy or a UN bureaucrat for massive new commitments of foreign aid to third-world counties, it isn’t. It is a plea to the civilized world that it start drawing some conclusions regarding why there is such a disparity of economic results — why groups of humans having comparable innate abilities, differ in their daily productivity by such large margins. There is no mystery regarding the causes and prevailing conditions that support, or alternatively that undermine, economic prosperity. Hundreds of economic experiments, in the form of different countries following different political and economic policies, have been completed over the last few centuries and the results are in. The price in human misery of ignoring the results of these experiments is beyond anything we can imagine. It is unconscionable that civilized nations do not begin drawing the most obvious conclusions from these costly, bloodstained experimental results and act on them. To be clear, I’m
not speaking here of the fine points of economic or tax
policy that are debated in most first-world countries
every day. I’m speaking of the nearly indisputable
lessons of human history … both economic and moral. *
Government power must be limited to ensure respect for
basic human liberties. The details, extent, and level of purity of any society’s attempt to implement policy based on these broadly stated lessons can be debated and reasonable people can disagree on the particulars. Clearly, Americans disagree on the “particulars” when it comes to our own society, but just as clearly we embrace these lessons in general. The policies of other developed nations also differ in the details, but are largely consistent with these principles. On the other hand, nations that flagrantly violate these principles, almost without exception, are economic basket cases with misery and despair in ample supply. The few exceptions are countries, like Saudi Arabia, Libya and Kuwait, that just happen to have inherited lucrative oil resources. In many cases, particularly in Africa, even vast stores of natural resources are not sufficient to overcome the negative effects of their failure to accept the lessons of history. The nearby graph of per capita Gross Domestic Product in U.S. dollars, based on data from Freedom House, for countries having populations greater than one million, illustrates clearly the relationship between a country’s Freedom Score and the standard of living of its people. Data from the three previously listed oil-rich countries have been excluded, along with Singapore which is an oddball case having a low overall freedom score yet a relatively free, largely capitalist economy. A table showing per capita GDPs — with and without these countries — along with example countries in each “Freedom” category is also provided nearby. See FreedomHouse.org for a summary of the methodology used to assign Freedom Scores. Data from Freedom House below.
So what can we do to move the second and third-world countries towards greater freedom? First, we should stop subsidizing countries that are determined to fail. Our foreign aid merely undercuts reforms and perpetuates failed policies. Worse still, it actually feeds the tyrants and makes it more difficult for freedom movements to flourish. Second, we should concentrate aid and opportunities for substantial trade on countries that are prepared to institute the needed reforms. Provide the carrot where it will have the greatest long-term benefit. If the carrot doesn’t work, get out the stick. In countries that are committed to suppressing freedom, we should actively support freedom movements with whatever aid they need, from printing presses to military equipment. If no freedom movement exists in a given country, confine our initial efforts to educating the population about liberty and free markets – e.g., via radio/satellite broadcasts — while confining military aid to those countries with freedom fighters that are willing to make the needed sacrifices. Ninety-nine percent of the time, there is no need for U.S. troops. Finally, in the most
extreme circumstances and where legitimate freedom
fighters exist but cannot overcome an What’s in it for us? Besides the moral imperative of spreading human liberty, we will be both safer and more prosperous. Why safer? Wars are nearly unheard of between democracies. The record is amazingly consistent. Of the 353 wars fought between 1816 and 1991, at most one was fought between two democracies. Why more prosperous? In addition to the reduced need for defense spending, the increased productivity of millions of newly liberated peoples will provide new markets for American goods and services and increased opportunities for trade. As is always true when freedom prevails, no sacrifice is required. It is a win-win situation. While we could morally pursue this four-part policy alone, it would be tremendously more effective if we were to enlist the support of other free nations. If the world’s leading free nations abandoned the UN and instead invested their resources and energies into an organization truly committed to confronting dictators, real progress would be possible. Such an association of free nations would send a clear message to both the dictators and the supporters of freedom around the world. The risks of choosing “tyrant” as a profession would be raised dramatically. If you do chose to be a tyrant, you know your opponents will have access to the resources needed to depose you and, failing that, you will be vulnerable to a surprise visit with an unpleasant outcome. Freedom movements would know that their struggles are neither hopeless nor suicidal. Just as the cold war seemed hopeless until Reagan decided to win it, the war against local and regional bullies can also be won. North Korea’s Kim Jung Il, Iran’s Ayatolas, Cuba’s Castro, Syria’s Assad, and Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko can finally join Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot in the dustbin of history … a fate they richly deserve. And, no, its not for the oil or for Haliburton. *Send your questions
comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com |
The
evolution of human civilization hardly progressed at all
for the first fifty thousand years since our ancestors
walked out of Africa. Over the last four or five thousand
years, the pace, while uneven and occasionally
regressing, has picked up. The last 250 years have
brought dramatic advancements with the last 50 yielding
an exponential explosion of our knowledge and standard of
living. 
Looking
at the graph of GDPs, it is clear that, if you want to be
economically successful, you must have one of the top
three freedom scores – with a big payoff for being
in the top freedom score. Otherwise, your only hope is to
mimic Jed Clampette and discover black gold in your back
yard. 
iron-fisted
regime, we should support covert missions to attack the
leadership … repeatedly if they are merely replaced
by other thugs. Brutal tyrants, that murder their own
people and rob them of hope, deserve no less.