If You Can't Have Bread, At Least Have a Circus is an article in TCS Daily that shows how many of the problems in the Middle East are economic, not political. The author, Peter Schaefer, basically makes the case that economic opportunity precedes democracy. I have become persuaded of this view over the years. He concludes the article with the following:
After former grade-B actor Josef Estrada was elected president in 1998, the international press was shocked. "Why," they all asked, "would Filipinos elect a crooked, drunken, philandering buffoon as president?" But the honest answer was, "Why not?" If you can't have bread, at least have a circus. The sad truth is that Philippine presidents can do little but entertain, so in 1998 they elected an entertainer. Elections in the Philippines are little more than a chance for poor people to sell their vote for a few bucks.
But when the law protects a person's home and his life, the political equation changes dramatically. Then, those who make and administer the law directly affect the lives of the poorest voters. Elections will actually matter to the people. Only at that point will they tend to select leaders rather than entertainers. Economic opportunity fertilizes the growth of a civil society, which is the only real support for an electoral democracy. Votes alone are bricks along the Yellow Brick Road. Behind the curtain of electoral democracy, we'll find no wizards, only men.
Leave a Reply