Dakota Beacon

A woman from Senegal told intrepid libertarian John Stossel what is holding Africa back.  One wonders (at least I know I have) why a continent continues into the 21st Century in relative economic stagnation, illiteracy, disease and general unrest.  Most of us do not believe it is necessarily a geographic problem - Africa, as a whole, enjoys a variety of terrain, vegetation, lakes, streams, a wealth in mineral resources, varied climate with few natural disasters - seldom a hurricane.  Some will point to tribalism, where rather than cooperating in a common effort with one another, tribes make war on each other.  Surely this is part of it.  But a Senagalese businesswoman, Magatte Wade, sees a modern issue which holds Africans back - rules and regulations combined with too much generosity on the part of developed countries.

The former is something most libertarians will understand immediately - the heavy hand of government regulation exhausts the resources of private enterprise.  As we all know, government does not produce anything tangible.   They produce a lot of paperwork and bureacracy, of course, but those are roadblocks, not products.  Therefore they are naturally parasitic.  They must siphon productivity from actual producers of goods and services.  Of course, to the extent that government provides a TANGIBLE service, such as real police protection of personal rights and property or a fire department provides a service in protecting homes and businesses and the occasional cat up a tree, most government employees are, in effect, parasites who feed off of the work of others.  They burden, rather than assist, entrepreneurs who try to create wealth through development of products and services.  In Africa, according to Wade, there are suffocating rules for everything - importing, exporting, employment, and on and on.  It sucks the resources from the productive members of society and discourages others from even trying.

Another drain on African productivity and potential is the well-intentioned charity which has American schoolchildren bringing toothbrushes and combs to school to put "Care" packages together and corporate giants (such as TOMS Shoes and others) giving away products to Africans.  Wade puts it very simply and logically.  Why would Africans try to manufacture shoes?  To whom would they sell them? Will people buy something at a price to allow a profit when if they just wait for it, TOMS Shoes will come along in a truck and distribute free stuff to the people?  I have always argued against volunteerism.  Many times I have said that the ladies who teach kids to read for free in the libraries do a great disservice.  Firstly, the service is discounted - it's free, after all.  Can't be "worth anything", right?  Then there are people who would normally tutor kids for a modest fee and earn a living from something they enjoy doing and provide a worthwhile service.  Many musicians and artists are asked to provide their services free of charge.  This is wrong.  We should all say no to this.  There are rare kinds of charity which are legitimate - providing funding to medical research (so it does not depend wholly upon pharmaceutical companies) or in times of disaster to help others get on their feet again.  But the constant flow of free services expected of some people only cripples the practitioners of the skills they want for nothing.  

It is the same with non-developing nations.  The best thing we can do for them is offer suggestions and training based on our experience of free market economies.  There is a reason a wealthy, successful nation such as Venezuela is in a wretched condition - it was no natural disaster, just the human one - Socialism.  There is a reason why South Korea is an economic giant in several industries and its people are productive, yet across the border in North Korea they are forced to eat grass to stay alive.  Socialism.  Communism, if you prefer - they amount to much the same thing economically.  It is why Hong Kong is offering a better life to its people than Beijing.  As James Carville put it, "It's the economy, stupid!"  

Here is an article based on Stossel's interview with Magatte Wade.  Well worth reading - short and to the point and it applies to us in America.  As we are sliding into an over-regulated society which will hamper our progress, Wade can teach us better ways.  https://libertynewsnow.com/the-government-is-keeping-people-poor/article17193