As with East Germany, a liberalized Cuba would still require decades to catch up to its affluent neighbors, economically. North Korea is an even more extreme case. All these cases illustrate that political changes cannot substitute for the hard work of building wealth.
People are not supposed to notice that every terrorist attack represents a major government failure and that rewarding failure with more of the same policies only invites more failure.
Truly cohesive communities can only exist on a relatively small scale. Most people outside these groups will then be seen as "outsiders." Our goal must be to minimize conflicts with these outsiders, and voluntary exchange is our best option.
My most recent post featured links to a radio episode and magazine article that briefly mentioned the plight of citizens as it related to nutrition after the Castro Revolution. If you are interested in learning more about the consequences of socialism for Cuba I recommend the following ...
Pointing out the follies of Western foreign policy is not to apologize for Islamic radicals. It is simply to point toward a way that the West could make a positive impact in favor of ordinary Westerners right now, with the added benefit of being morally correct as well.
In his children's book on life under the Stalin cult, Breaking Stalin's Nose, author Eugene Yelchin examines a child's encounter of the difference between propaganda and reality.
Human beings like to form cooperative groups to achieve various ends. Research has shown, however, that there are limits to the size and nature of these groups, and this is why the state so often turns to violence.
When used properly, and when restrained by the prevalence of a relatively laissez-faire ideology, democracy can indeed work as a brake on government power.
Mass democracy, as its nineteenth-century liberal opponents foretold, devolves into a contest of contending forces, motivated by corrupt self interest.
