Currently Reading 08/19/2009
"Why Democracies Excel" by Joseph Siegle, Michael Weinstein, and Morton Halperin
Money quote: "Economic development makes democracy possible," asserts
the U.S. State Department’s Web site, subscribing to a highly
influential argument: that poor countries must develop economically
before they can democratize. But the historical data prove otherwise.
Poor democracies have grown at least as fast as poor autocracies and
have significantly outperformed the latter on most indicators of social
well-being. They have also done much better at avoiding catastrophes.
Dispelling the “development first, democracy later” argument is
critical not only because it is wrong but also because it has led to
atrocious policies—indeed, policies that have undermined international
efforts to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people
in the developing world."
Money quote: "Economic development makes democracy possible," asserts
the U.S. State Department’s Web site, subscribing to a highly
influential argument: that poor countries must develop economically
before they can democratize. But the historical data prove otherwise.
Poor democracies have grown at least as fast as poor autocracies and
have significantly outperformed the latter on most indicators of social
well-being. They have also done much better at avoiding catastrophes.
Dispelling the “development first, democracy later” argument is
critical not only because it is wrong but also because it has led to
atrocious policies—indeed, policies that have undermined international
efforts to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people
in the developing world."
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