> I'm not an economist either. My point was that
> democratic government and economic development do not
> necessarily go together.
Yes, I agree with you. I am saying that there is no such thing as "crisis free" economic development. This is equally true for democratic as well as non democratic governments.
>South Korea
> under a military dictatorship, Indonesia under
> Suharto, China under a one-party state. Russia is
> booming right now under conditions of "managed
> democracy."
1.South Korea's rapid growth had lot to with the US help. South Korea was a frontline state during the Cold War. Alexandre Fenelon had posted the link to an interesting article on SK's economic development some time back.
2.China has considerable access to developed country markets, which are democracies..
3. As for Russia, even Khruschev did not continue Stalin's policy. We need to wait to confirm whether Putin's Russia can sustain current growth rates over the next decade. Surely Putin's approach to economy is not Stalinist?
4. Consider Germany's annual cumulative growth rates for industrial production from Bismarck to Hitler: 1850-1874 ( 4.5%), 1875-1892 (2.5%), 1893-1913(4.3%) and 1914-1938(2.2%)
Ulhas