Caroline Glick, Khodorkovsky and the freedom agenda:
Both the Iranian democracy activists then and the Ukrainian protesters today demonstrated through their actions that they do not seek the mere overthrow of unrepresentative, repressive governments. They seek freedom, and are willing to work for it. All the Iranians needed then, and all the Ukrainians ask for today, is assistance from foreign powers, just as George Washington’s Continental Army required French assistance to defeat the British Empire.
While those are easy cases to understand, the lesson of Putin’s Russia and of post-Saddam Iraq is that freedom doesn’t sprout from thin air. The only way to plant democracy in nations unfamiliar with the habits of liberty is to cultivate them, relentlessly and unapologetically, over time.
Democracy has to start with property rights and contract law. Joel Mokyr has made a pretty good case that the absence of those factors prevented the Industrial Revolution before the 19th century.
I wonder if anyone worries that the diminution of property rights and contract law this past 50 years will set us back to the age of anarchy and war lords.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Hussein to help them.
I would look at a map before I made suggestions about foreign powers relentlessly cultivating in the Ukraine.
Ukraine chose Russia when it chose Orthodox Christianity many centuries ago.
Madness.
I would also look at the history of Soros et al in the 90s and since in regards to “democracy” in Eastern Europe. Their idea of democracy is state sanctioned plunder, as they did in Russia. As they do here. We rather need to get our own house in order before we go pushing our system on others.
We need to pursue our interests. Risking war with Russia isn’t one of them.
}}} While those are easy cases to understand, the lesson of Putin’s Russia and of post-Saddam Iraq is that freedom doesn’t sprout from thin air. The only way to plant democracy in nations unfamiliar with the habits of liberty is to cultivate them, relentlessly and unapologetically, over time.
I recall reading somewhere the argument that no society ever freed itself using only its own bootstraps. It always requires some external assistance to provide the heavy lifting capability the nascent powers-to-be need to go from a rebel cause to a serious threat to the status quo.
}}} We need to pursue our interests. Risking war with Russia isn’t one of them.
Wow. Overt warfare is hardly the only option. Money and advice through back channels, as well as asserting a strong measure of “peer support” providing international pressure — is hardly a “causus belli”.