> -----Original Message----- > From: Gautam Mukunda [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 10:16 AM > To: Killer Bs Discussion > Subject: Re: Lost in the Baghdad Museum: The Truth > > > --- Andrew Crystall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > What would that be? I for one would certainly argue > > that every > > democracy so far has had a definate weakness in > > terms of long term > > planning and stability.... > > > > Andy > > The oldest written Constitution in the world (the > oldest single government in the world in some > political science databases) is democratic (the United > States). Britain has, depending on the definition you > use, been a stable democracy since some time in the > nineteenth century (most poli. sci. databases use the > late 1860s, after some Reform Act or another - I can't > at the moment recall which one). Since the Second > World War, no democratic government with a per capita > income (inflation adjusted) over $3000 / year has ever > relapsed into dictatorship. The number may be a > little low - it's been a while since I read Fareed > Zakaria's work on the subject. In any case, the > evidence seems to suggest that democratic governments > are considerably more, not less, stable than their > autocratic counterparts.
The Economist had an article with a similar thesis recently (past 3 weeks). -j- _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
