The Vulnerability of the Arab State : Reflections on the Ayubi

As the twentieth century draws to a close, many countries are making headlinegrabbing attempts at economic and political liberalization. The former goal typically entails shrinking the reach of government, the latter the extension of individual rights. As a practical matter, the two goals are not always compatible. To protect individuals against theft and coercion, one needs a state strong enough to enforce the rule of law. But powers vested in the state may be abused to restrict market competition, seize property arbitrarily, and plunder collective assets. The establishment of broad political and economic liberties is therefore a delicate task that cannot be completed in a hurry. Wherever essentially free societies have emerged, the process has involved prolonged intellectual ferment and institutional experimentation. Reforms under way in countries as varied as Russia, India, and Mexico illustrate the immense difficulties. In all such cases, state officials are resisting the curtailment of their prerogatives, and it is proving impossible to enforce full personal rights in the absence of an efficient judiciary. Nevertheless, regimes disrespectful of economic and political liberties are, if not everywhere in retreat, at least generally on the defensive. The manifest failures of communism, the welfare state, and the dirigiste development strategy have forged, at least for now, a climate of opinion that forces even socialists to acknowledge certain virtues of market freedoms and even entrenched dictators to promise broader political rights.