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therefore provide sufficient benefits to their supporters
so that those supporters, or cronies, continue to back the
incumbent regime rather than the opposition. Cronies
can always shift their allegiance to the despot’s opposition
if the opposition makes them a better offer.
Political power under despotism is always tenuous. On
the one hand, even if a substantial share of the population
would prefer a change in leadership, most people will
not become activists because of the threats that despots
can hold over those who oppose them. On the other hand,
if the opposition gains sufficient support that it appears
likely that they could take power, the general population’s
allegiance can suddenly and unpredictably shift. 3 Thus, it
is important for despots to reward their cronies in order
to maintain power.
The cronyism necessary to support despotic governments
is one of the reasons economists Daron Acemoglu
and James Robinson cite for the poor economic performance
such governments deliver. 4 Similarly, referring to
the poor nations of Africa, Ghanaian economist and president
of the Free Africa Foundation George Ayittey says,
“African despots are loath to relinquish control or power.
They would rather destroy their economies and countries
than give up economic and political power. This power
allows them to allocate or extract resources to build personal
fortunes and to dispense patronage to buy political
support.” 5 That patronage is cronyism.
Despotism is a form of cronyism because despots need
the support of cronies to remain in power, and cronies
offer that support in exchange for the favors that the force
of despotic government can provide them. Despite economic
models that depict government as an omniscient,
52 LIBERALISM AND CRONYISM