Free How Capitalism Will Save Us by Steve Forbes Page B

actually hurts poor nations. She wrote a book with the incendiary title
World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability
.
    Chua claims that instead of planting the seeds of democracy in struggling countries, capitalism in fact makes things worse, exacerbating ethnic conflicts and widening the gap between rich and poor. She points to nations like Nigeria, that, despite having open markets, continue to experience bloody tribal conflicts and have failed to establish democracy.
    Chua’s perspective is no doubt partly shaped by personal tragedy: her well-to-do aunt, a Chinese businesswoman living in the Philippines, was stabbed to death by her chauffeur. For some people, her arguments may appear compelling. Yet they reflect a poor understanding of the history of democracy and an ignorance of Real World economics.
    No, capitalism does not magically turn nations into American-style republics overnight. But political scientists have documented the relationship between free markets and free societies.
    Cato Institute analyst Daniel Griswold has found that “the most economically open countries are three times more likely to enjoy full political and civil freedoms as those that are economically closed. Those that are closed are nine times more likely to completely suppress civil and political freedoms as those that are open.” 22
    Griswold cites research showing that since the nations of the world began to liberalize their economies in the mid-1980s, the percentage of democratically elected governments surged from 40 percent to over 60 percent today. 23
    When you think about it, the link between economic and political liberty makes sense. Free markets not only demand, but teach, the skills needed for political self-governance. Griswold explains, “Economic freedom and trade provide a counterweight to governmental power.” 24 That is because under capitalism you, and not government, are responsible for most day-to-day economic decisions, from how to raise money to start a business to how to take care of the maintenance of your home.
    Sooner or later, people realize that if they can vote with their money and choose their refrigerator or automobile, why shouldn’t they have the similar ability to vote at the ballot box and elect their officials?
    Truly free markets also require an open flow of information. A Silicon Valley can emerge only when people have the freedom to develop and exchange ideas. Capitalism also fosters democracy by encouraging the growth of a better-educated middle class—people who are more likely to make demands of public officials.
    As for Russia and China, it’s true that they remain politically repressive. But both nations allow more personal freedoms than they did under communism. In China, the days of murderous Maoist campaigns like the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward, which took the lives of tens of millions, are over. People now have property rights to their apartments and the ability to travel. Tens of thousands of entrepreneurs have created new businesses.
    The New York Times
reported that China’s growing middle class is increasingly pushing back against authoritarian rule: “The new property owners have poured their energy into everything from establishing co-opboards to spar with landlords, to organizing real estate market boycotts to force down prices. Others, meanwhile, have begun running for office in district-level elections, where they hope to make the city government more responsive to their needs.” 25
    The
Times
quoted a scholar at the China Development Institute who observed “an awakening of awareness on public issues” and civic leaders who see “a steady growth in citizen involvement.” This was clearly the case after the 2008 earthquake disaster in Sichuan Province, which led to an outcry against corruption, which was blamed for the shoddy “tofu construction” 26 that helped cause some seventy thousand deaths and