
Stop throwing cash at poor nations - elmar
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/10/22/stop-throwing-cash-at-poor-nations.html
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RingwormOne
Rule of law and enforced property rights are everything. Absolutely
everything.

Ever wonder how China was able to emerge from decades of regressive economic
and industrial policies in a short span of time? International investors were
willing to pour capital into post-Mao China because there was a strong central
government presiding over an orderly society in which cheap labor was
plentiful. Of course there were other factors that helped as well, like a
cultural obsession with education that has generated a wellspring of human
capital.

Cheap labor is everywhere. Cheap labor and stability is rare.

~~~
alexasmyths
"Ever wonder how China was able to emerge from decades of regressive economic
and industrial policies in a short span of time? International investors were
willing to pour capital into post-Mao China because there was a strong central
government presiding over an orderly society in which cheap labor was
plentiful. "

Whaaaaaa?

No, no.

'Foreign Investment' was _not_ the reason China did well in the 1980's
forward.

In fact, China is still kind of a sketchy 'investment' as there is no
transparency in accounting, you do _not_ have effectively the 'rule of
commercial law' because senior gov. officials are corrupt etc..

You have the opposite: companies invest heavily, and suddenly find themselves
trapped in a bureaucratic dead end, while a government-backed competitor
leapfrogs them.

China was able to redevelop in the 1980's because they chose to end the
decades of Maoist Communist / Centrally Planned insanity.

The colonial interventions, and post revolution years are seen as a 'blip' in
Chinese history wherein they were held back.

What see now in China is simply a 'return to the norm'. Not really a new
development.

"Rule of law and enforced property rights are everything. Absolutely
everything."

They are critical, I agree but they are not quite everything.

As for the article, I might tend to agree with their points - we can do much
better than dump money into dysfunctional systems where the money only
amplifies the dysfunction.

~~~
RingwormOne
That was not always the case. The government used to be much friendlier and
accommodating towards foreign business. In order to kickstart their
Renaissance, the Chinese almost entirely relied on foreign capital.

You make the claim that because China was strong in the past it magically
should be expected to return to strength in the future, and that foreign
capital or not, such a rejuvenation would be inevitable. That's magical
thinking. As I said, yes a strong cultural heritage has greatly helped the
Chinese, but the initial spark and driving force during much of the 80s and
90s was foreign capital investment.

~~~
alexasmyths
It's not magical to assume that the Chinese are as capable of managing their
economies roughly just as everyone else.

The basic rules for managing an economy are well known - all you have to do is
follow them.

If you do this - you'll get a minimum level of GDP/wealth etc. just like
Poland, Mexico, Serbia or wherever.

~~~
RingwormOne
Of course they're capable. That's apparent. But a strong capital base does not
fall into a nation's lap simply because its people are capable.

The Chinese had very little capital, then over the course of the 80's built it
up. How? Through direct investment. They were given the investment because
investors recognized that Chinese commitment to property rights and stability.

------
platz
> Research supported by my organization, Atlas Network, shows that there is a
> measurable connection between economic progress and measures like property
> rights and legal protections for businesses.

You don't say...

------
chrodobert
Although it is extremely unpopular I hold the opinion that it is possible that
there may be genetic differences in intelligence (defined as the ability to
succeed in a modern technological society) among human populations. Is it
possible that by aiding poor nations (increasing birth rate, decreasing
mortality) we are actually subsidizing stupidity in less fit subpopulations
and decreasing the evolutionary fitness of the human species as whole? I don't
know the answer, but scientific research into this question, unfettered by
politically correct presuppositions would be interesting.

~~~
krapp
>I don't know the answer, but scientific research into this question,
unfettered by politically correct presuppositions would be interesting.

This seems to imply an awareness that current science doesn't support your
opinion, and that you dismiss that science as being the result of political
bias. If so, I have to question whether you're looking for unbiased science,
or science which validates your biases.

~~~
chrodobert
[https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Jews-constitute-20-of-all-
Nobel...](https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Jews-constitute-20-of-all-Nobel-
laureates-despite-being-0-19-of-the-worlds-population-What-specific-
sociocultural-elements-are-the-root-cause-of-this-phenomenon)

