The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

88 THE FREEMAN Februaryism, or Buddhism, or modern technologyand medicine more so thanancestor worship, magic, and sorcery?"Old World Domination"Fairy tales about the ThirdWorld abound in America as wellas in Europe. Thus, we hear that,in Latin America especially, thehangovers from Old World dominationare responsible for the bigso·cial differences and the continuedinternal exploitation. Now,whence does the poverty of theLatin American masses come?How great is the expectation ofraising disciplined, skilled, laboriousmen in the sometimes nearlypolyandric and matriarchal "families"with up to 80 per cent illegitimatebirths, characteristic ofthe Caribbean and other· moresouthern areas?In addition, one has to rememberthat only three areas in theentire world have "modern" workethics or what the Spaniards callla gana de trabajar: Europe (withthe center of gravity in theNorthwest), North America, and EastAsia (including perhaps Vietnam,but certainly excluding Laos andCambodia) . We must bear in mindthat in the Middle Ages the year,according to regional customs, hadbetween 90 and 130 holy days ofobligation besides the 52 Sundays.Systematic and rationalized workbecame an ideal only with theReformation. In a generally easygoingcountry, if a small minority(often of alien origin) works reallyhard, it will, for want of competition,become rich almost overnight.Hence the "social problem,"hence the rapid rise of ferventlyenvied minorities all over theglobe - the Parsees in India, theJapanese in Brazil and Peru, theSpaniards (los zopilotes!) in Mexico,the Chinese in Southeast Asia,the Lebanese in Africa, the Jewsin Central and Eastern Europe,the Ibos in Nigeria, and so on.They will always serve as scapegoatsfor mankind's most deepseatedvice: envy, murderous, furiousenvy. Naturally, these unpopularminorities rarely feel safe;demagoguery agitates againstthem, and they tend to seek securityfor their savings.Related to the myth of the OldWorld's culpability is another one:given the "deplorable sins of thepast" in these areas, the only reasonableeconomic development canbe one along socialist lines. "Letus help them to follow Marx!"True, individualism and a competitivespirit are essentiallyWestern characteristics, but besidesSpain we have the cases ofJapan, Formosa, Singapore, theIvory Coast, and Lebanon wherefree enterprise has, after all,proved to be the goose that lays