Just Blame It on Capitalism

In the latest twist on why capitalism is a bad system, author and Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua has written a book based on a thesis with which reviewer George Leef completely disagrees. In World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, Chua proffers that violence results when capitalism is at work in economically developing countries because “market dominant” minorities create resentment among the masses with their success. Leef tells readers of The Freeman’s October issue that while Chua concentrates on allegations of danger and gives examples in Russia, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines, “she says nothing about the upside of freedom.” And he reminds us of a simple but profound fact. “Nothing does more to reduce violence and many other social ills than the rising standards of living that capitalism alone makes possible,” Leef writes.