A lot more than $6000 per person to make Democracy work...

Post #150,939 by gdaustin 4/12/04 9:47:12 PM Reply	A lot more than $6000 per person to make Democracy work... And none of it is money-related. 1. You need a bunch of people who are fundamentally honest, willing to work to get ahead, but not greedy (will not exploit others for gain). 2. You need a large "opportunity" space. What I mean is that resources must be available in the economy that are available to the working class who have inititative. In the U.S. economy, that meant available free land from the late 1700's to the late 1800's. In the 1950's, it meant available factory and management jobs as the economy grew. The money doesn't need to be there free, but it must be available to people who show initiative. 3. You need a government that rewards people who do work and show initiative, and not burden them with large tax bills. Also, the government needs to be honest enough that large corporations don't control the economy, and stifle innovation. 4. Finally, you need a work force whose wages are reasonable for the world, while their education level is relatively high. I think it's less about how many dollars can be doled out to individuals and more about whether people are honest, and whether the government supports the creation of wealth, and lets the working middle class keep some. Glen Austin
Post #150,942 by ben_tilly 4/12/04 9:59:37 PM Reply	Maybe, but... The claim isn't that $6000 is a magic figure that is responsible for it working. The claim is that countries which meet that figure have a good success rate when they try to move to democracy. Since average income in the country is highly correlated with all of the other factors that you cite, it is not too surprising that income (relatively easy to measure) would turn out to be a reasonable proxy for the other factors (which are much harder to measure). (Another figure that you didn't cite was exposure to Western culture.) The $3000-$6000 figure must, of course, be determined empirically, and is unlikely to remain constant over time. Cheers, Ben To deny the indirect purchaser, who in this case is the ultimate purchaser, the right to seek relief from unlawful conduct, would essentially remove the word consumer from the Consumer Protection Act - [link\|http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1246&Page=1&pagePos=20\|Nebraska Supreme Court]
Post #151,105 by gdaustin 4/13/04 10:48:20 PM 4/13/04 10:50:32 PM Reply	Fundamentally People in a Democracy are used to managing their own affairs. If the country allows enough freedom (even in a non-democracy) to allow people to determine their own affairs (where to work, where to travel, what to do, what to buy), then it's a short road to democracy. However, it's really like that in just a small part of the world. In most of the world, people are RULED, by monarchs, dictators, and meddling governments. The people of Iraq have never really managed their own affairs, personally, or as a country. Someone has always ruled them. Now you come and tell them they are free to do what they please, they don't believe you. They ask you what to do, they expect to be told. The few who do "get it" then begin a campaign to bring their faction (Sunni, Shi'ite) into ruling power. That's all they know, rule or be ruled. Glen Austin Edited by gdaustin April 13, 2004, 10:50:32 PM EDT Expand All History

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