Comforting Guilty Consciences

at 12:13 AM Tuesday, May 3, 2011


BY: THE ECONOMIST


Last week, we posted (within a broader context) how the sharp increase in repression by the Chinese regime over the last few months has led The Economist to begrudgingly conclude:

"In the short term at least, these troubling developments undermine the comforting idea that economic openness necessarily leads to the political sort."

This is such a fascinating quote -- "the comforting idea."

Comforting for whom?

The "idea" that economic engagement (enriching dictators) can somehow lead to a greater respect for human rights and political reform may have been comforting for the guilty consciences of those who have profited from transacting business with brutal tyrants -- but it's surely not comforting for the countless number of Chinese democracy advocates (and their families) imprisoned, tortured and executed over the years.

Yet, sadly, some lobby for the U.S. to adopt this same model in regards to the Castro regime in Cuba.

Instead, why not stress the model that 34 out of 35 countries in this Western Hemisphere enjoy -- representative democracy (consistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter).

It seems much more fitting -- not to mention humane.