Hi Russ.
You make an interesting point regarding taxation in many "third world" countries as being extremely challenging ... even in some formal "2nd world" countries like Russia. However, I believe countries like the Argentina, Brazil, and Chile have reasonable tax collection mechanisms.
I also believe some serious manner of more equitable land distribution in many countries such as Guatemala and Brazil is absolutely essential to form a self-sufficient middle class. There are many models of economic organization beside large corporate institutions for achieving economic well-being ... and the indigenous in Latin American and Land Reform Movements such as Brazil's MST offer provocative alternatives to large agribusiness agricultural development. See the following link:
counterpunch.org
The above being said, I think there's also a lot to be said for many so-called "capitalist" institutions and mechanisms, and democratic institutions and mechanisms as well. Capitalism is a tremendously powerful and efficient form of focusing economic production. However, it's kind of like a neutron bomb ... it's "value free". In other words, it's a mechanism, not a reason ... or as the Merovingian says in the Matrix, "It's a what, not a why". Certainly free market economics, "free" (but fair) trade, personal security and sense of ownership and personal responsibility (to which property rights can contribute) , rule of law, economic specialization (or as Michael Porter says, "comparative advantage") ... these can all be very beneficial mechanisms for a society. But as the IMF and World Bank have so eloquently proved during the 1990's in particular, they can also be mechanisms of exploitation and injustice (my favorite examples are Russia & Argentina ... because they are such textbook cases).
Thanks Russ for recommending Hernan DeSoto's books. I'm aware of his writings but have not read. I have, however, read Eichengreen's "Globalizing Capital" and "Toward a New International Financial Architecture - A Practical Post-Asia Agenda", David Landes' "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations - Why Some are so Rich and Some are so Poor", and Rosenberg and Birdzell's "How the West Grew Rich - The Economic Transformation of the Industrial World". Also interesting was Mokyr's "The Lever of Riches - Technological Creativity and Economic Progress".
A fascinating world to be sure.
Best wishes,
Glenn |
