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Singapore is fairly authoritarian and they've had outsized success going from third world to first. I think the root cause is pretty simple: having no checks a
by chillacy 7y ago
Singapore is fairly authoritarian and they've had outsized success going from third world to first.
I think the root cause is pretty simple: having no checks and balances lets you move faster, no matter what direction (either up or down), and it's a lot easier to mess things up than it is to do everything right.
- puranjay 7y agoAgain, countries like Singapore are poor models to follow simply because of their size and population. It is drastically easier to govern a country you can cycle across in a few hours, than a country like India or China.
- chillacy 7y agoI think that's certainly a factor but your initial claim was: > the only countries that are successful are democratic And you're supporting it by excluding all counter-examples. Maybe a more accurate statement would be "most successful countries are democratic". And since you mentioned China and India, India is a democracy, China is ruled by an authoritarian single-party. Both have huge populations, yet China has grown its GDP better? Assuming good economy = successful here. http://statisticstimes.com/economy/china-vs-india-economy.php http://statisticstimes.com/economy/china-vs-india-economy.ph... Let me present an alternative thesis: democracy has little to do with good governance. It acts as a buffer against discontent, it's in many ways moral, but it is not by itself sufficient to create prosperity.