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This reminds me more than a little of Hernando de Soto's work with _The Mystery of Capital_, subtitled "Why Capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere

This reminds me more than a little of Hernando de Soto's work with _The Mystery of Capital_, subtitled "Why Capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere else." It's an interesting read for its specifics (and I think he's got it right that successful private markets depend heavily on a network of accepted public services). But one generalizable takeaway might be that would-be sociocultural exporters often don't understand why their social systems work -- it's easy to take for granted background cultural features and social institutions you simply assume are there. Also: it's probably worth noting that while the US isn't particularly dystopian, it can't be taken for granted that it will remain a liberal democracy (there are highly visible impulses to turn it down a different path right now) or that technology won't be a significant tool of social control. (Nor is it entirely clear that the West has capitalism totes dialed-in.)

photojosh 8y ago
Thanks for this comment. It initially piqued my interest because I confused de Soto with the Spanish conquistador of the same name, quickly cleared that up though! It was cool to realise he was key in the economic reforms of Peru, my family had to move because of the Shining Path, so it's close to home. So I've quickly read his Wikipedia entry (and have the book to read later). It seems like the critiques of his approach, resulting him being lumped in the 'neoliberal' bucket, is that he pushes property rights as practically the only requirement for developing countries to successfully reform their economies to the benefit of all. Whereas your phrasing as "successful private markets depend heavily on a network of accepted public services" (which I agree with more) would seem to encompass more than only legal and justice frameworks towards property rights. Anyway, I'll read the book and think more about it. Thanks again.
- wwweston 8y ago
  Yeah, I'm probably overly vague about "accepted public services." More specifically, the kind of thing De Soto seemed to focus on are property recording systems, functioning courts working on reasonably well-defined property law, and permitting/review/accounting that makes economic activity legible. These aren't super sexy public institutions, and it may well be they aren't sufficient for a truly thriving society, but they are basic entry level public components of a functioning private enterprise system, and apparently more than a few attempts to export US capitalism have failed to account for them.

photojosh 8y ago

Thanks for this comment. It initially piqued my interest because I confused de Soto with the Spanish conquistador of the same name, quickly cleared that up though! It was cool to realise he was key in the economic reforms of Peru, my family had to move because of the Shining Path, so it's close to home. So I've quickly read his Wikipedia entry (and have the book to read later). It seems like the critiques of his approach, resulting him being lumped in the 'neoliberal' bucket, is that he pushes property rights as practically the only requirement for developing countries to successfully reform their economies to the benefit of all. Whereas your phrasing as "successful private markets depend heavily on a network of accepted public services" (which I agree with more) would seem to encompass more than only legal and justice frameworks towards property rights. Anyway, I'll read the book and think more about it. Thanks again.

wwweston 8y ago
Yeah, I'm probably overly vague about "accepted public services." More specifically, the kind of thing De Soto seemed to focus on are property recording systems, functioning courts working on reasonably well-defined property law, and permitting/review/accounting that makes economic activity legible. These aren't super sexy public institutions, and it may well be they aren't sufficient for a truly thriving society, but they are basic entry level public components of a functioning private enterprise system, and apparently more than a few attempts to export US capitalism have failed to account for them.