Government officials and police are not the only ones to blame however. The state simply lacks the funds to maintain its institutions.
Corruption among the political elites has exacerbated the country’s economic situation, but so has decades of international pressure to “liberalise” the economy by cutting trade tariffs and reducing state expenditure.
Nowhere has ever grown, sustainably and substantially, through autarky. Yet it’s still the go to policy for idiots.
Tim
As you say this isn’t new. The late Lord Bauer was pointing out these lunacies for four decades. But look at Murphy. Even at 60 he’s still clinging to an ideology which is wholly discredited and which I grew out of at 19. Old habits die hard..
Why is the ‘Guardian’ expecting us to take out an onion for thieves?
Tim, have you got a link to a decent study on “Nowhere has ever grown, sustainably and substantially, through autarky”? People sometimes give claimed examples so it would be handy to have a source that refutes them.
Sadly, no. It’s more one of those statements with an implied “Go on then, prove me wrong!” attached.
Ireland 1922-1950. North Korea. China 1950-1980. Japan pre-1868.
A country in sub-Saharan Africa is a corrupt, third-world sh*thole. Is anyone actually surprised?
“ As you say this isn’t new. The late Lord Bauer was pointing out these lunacies for four decades. But look at Murphy. Even at 60 he’s still clinging to an ideology which is wholly discredited and which I grew out of at 19. Old habits die hard..”
As the quote that I can’t be arsed to look up goes: it’s hard to get a man to change his mind when his job depends on not changing it, or something similar.