On Fri, 18 Mar 2005, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Competitive markets and rule of law help to reduce corruption, a problem
> everywhere but especially acute in developing countries. World Bank estimates
> suggest that $1 trillion a year is paid in bribes in all countries. Even a
> small fraction of this would do a lot to improve living standards if spent
> productively. Democracy, a free press, and the rule of law are an antidote to
> bribery and corruption.
Maybe I'm sensitized to this because I just finished the paperback edition of the Roaring Nineties, but I find it astounding that this hack is bloviating about corruption in the "developing" world. How quickly we've forgotten Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, etc!
American style democracy, free press and the rule of law are in fact quite fertile soil for corporate corruption and bribery--
Miles