Countries Are Poor Not Because Their People

As South Korea Shows, Active Participation In International Trade Does Not Require Free Trade. Indeed, Had South Korea Pursued Free Trade And Not Promoted Infant Industries, It Would Not Have Become A Major Trading Nation. It Would Still Be Exporting Raw Materials (e.g., Tungsten Ore, Fish, Seaweed) Or Low-technology, Low-price Products (e.g., Textiles, Garments, Wigs Made With Human Hair) That Used To Be Its Main Export Items In The 1960s.

Between The Great Depression And The 1970s, Private Business Was Viewed With Suspicion Even In Most Capitalist Economies. Businesses Were, So The Story Goes, Seen As Anti-social Agents Whose Profit-seeking Needed To Be Restrained For Other, Supposedly Loftier, Goals, Such As Justice, Social Harmony, Protection Of The Weak And Even National Glory.

The History Of Capitalism Has Been So Totally Re-written That Many People In The Rich World Do Not Perceive The Historical Double Standards Involved In Recommending Free Trade And Free Market To Developing Countries.

Equality Of Opportunity Is Meaningless For Those Who Do Not Have The Capabilities To Take Advantage Of It.

The Korean Economic Miracle Was The Result Of A Clever And Pragmatic Mixture Of Market Incentives And State Direction.