Visit almost any part of Asia and you’ll find poverty (although much more so in some countries than others), but in Hong Kong, you find a wondrous, bustling, wealthy city-state. Why is it so different? Larry Reed explains in today’s Freeman piece. It was due to the laissez-faire philosophy of Sir John Cowperthwaite, who figured that the colony would prosper under capitalism after World War II, as opposed to the socialistic, big-government welfarism that dominated throughout the rest of the British Empire.
I suppose that Obama zealots would reply, “But look at how much work those people do. Socialism and the welfare state would give them a much-needed break.” That’s the risible line they’re taking with the anti-employment consequences of Obamacare.
