A high-ranking member of the Obama administration recently was sent a letter accusing the government of "monopolising key economic sectors such as transport, telecommunications, and banking; strengthening their control of state and private media; carrying out forced displacement and confiscating land without due process; and diverting public funds to private uses with impunity," the The Financial Times reports in an editorial. Oh, the government in question is that of Angola, and the FT says the dissidents who put themselves at risk by protesting deserve a reply from Secretary of State Clinton. The FT doesn't draw any parallels to the expansion of government control of the economy here in America, and certainly the description applied to the situation here will strike many as a stretch. For one thing, telecommunications haven't been taken over here. But others will see some similarities. The FT editorial concludes by urging that "The US should not repeat its mistake of tolerating despotism to gain short-term stability." The admonition is intended to apply to foreign policy but it could just as easily apply to economic policy.
Angolan Protest Letter
https://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/08/a-protest-letter
by Editor | receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list