|
A comment in a discussion forum of the Fellowship of the Free Software Foundation Europe:
So who's putting the fun in WIPO meetings? That's what the NGOs are for. One of the more lunatic statements came from the International Policy Network, which claimed that "most poor countries lack the rule of law". The statement characterized as "lunatic" was:
A precondition of sustainable development is the strength of the institutions of the free society: property rights, the rule of law, free markets and limited government. Most if not all poor countries lack the rule of law, which in turn dictates that property rights are inadequately defined and contracts are poorly enforceable. Most have markets that are either rigged by the state or otherwise unfree. Most have governments that are anything but limited. That is why people who live in these countries are poor. These are also the same reasons that influence the brain drain and the prevalence of the informal sector to which the African Group proposals refer to specifically. While these are legitimate concerns, they are symptoms of a greater problem caused by a lack of economic freedoms, which excludes people from legal rights that would otherwise empower them and contribute to their development. [From Alec van Gelder of IPN.] Were I a European policymaker, I would think hard before taking the advice of anyone who thinks that my continent should adopt the rules that have led the underdeveloped world to its current unhappy state, and who regards disagreement with such a course as "lunatic."
There are indeed lunatics in this tale, but they are not at the IPN.
posted by James DeLong @ 1:43 PM | International
Link to this Entry |
Printer-Friendly |
Email a Comment | Post a Comment(0)
|
