University of Botswana Law Journal - PULP

18 UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA LAW JOURNAL DECEMBER 2010
Reform efforts, however, should be approached with caution. Simply
earmarking foreign aid funds for Rule of Law reform, for example, will
probably have little positive impact because institutions grafted on
exogenously are unlikely to stick. In order to stick, an institutional change
must be rooted in the informal practices and expectations of the indigenous
population, and be compatible with their prevailing culture and norms. For
this reason, it is unlikely that aid can provide the appropriate shock to the
indigenous institutional regime to help them break out of their current
institutional trajectory. Indeed, most underdeveloped nations in Sub-Saharan
Africa remain mired in poverty despite recent attempts to exogenously
introduce institutional change. For Rule of Law reform to be successful, an
amenable cultural climate is an essential prerequisite. Therefore, recognizing
and articulating the importance of the Rule of Law is at least an important first
step because attempts to impose institutional reform without widespread
support are premature and likely to fail.
The entire mindset of central planning, even for Rule of Law reform,
needs to be dropped. Instead, effort should be spent trying to discover
mechanisms that effectively constrain predatory government and make it
possible for poor nations to get past stakeholder problems. The population and
the political leaders must support and devise mechanisms based on their own
indigenous institutions to coordinate around new rule changes and usher in a
Rule of Law regime. Development planning merely interferes with individual
decision making (individual planning) and the natural evolution of market
institutions. Ill-conceived development planning, such as foreign aid,
undermines the foundation that makes development possible.
The answer to poverty is not foreign aid, which does more harm than
good. What is needed instead is an institutional environment that unleashes
the creative energy of a society. Economic development depends upon the
attitudes of the individual citizens and the conduct of their government. When
individuals have freedom, their natural drive to improve their own lives brings
about the process of economic development. If the impoverished masses of
the third world want living standards comparable to the people in the west,
they must adopt the institutions of Western civilization that make such wealth
possible. If individuals in developed countries want to help those in poor
countries get out of poverty, they must convince them to adopt the necessary
institutions, such as the Rule of Law, and help them devise mechanisms to
secure it.