Freedom
I was called in by the Prime Minister. He asked me what to do. His country was a failure. Mired in debt, they had borrowed money from the foreigners for decades with no hope of repayment. Bankrupt, because the poor got poorer and there was no industry or agriculture to tax. High unemployment because, like most countries, they bought into the idea of open borders and free flow of trade and commerce. Cheap foreign goods drove small business into bankruptcy. They bought the lies of the world powers: “go into debt,” they said. “Open your borders,” the urged. They accepted foreign aid which drove farms out of business: they could not compete with free grain. Ninety percent of the farms ceased production, rural families urbanized and lived disease invested hovels. Tuberculosis exploded. Everyone wanted more. No one had anything to give. Foreign aid did nothing but cement institutional poverty for generations.
“Sir,” I said, “since you can’t sink any lower, there’s no downside to doing something different.”
And I laid it out to him.
“First,” I said, “democracy is a sham.” …