fatvegan

I've had this niggling impression for many years now that Botswana is the success story of Africa. It has developed really fast for the past 40 years, is a healthy sort of democracy and is now considered "middle income". It has a GDP per capita of $11,400. So, as you do, I was scrounging through the Botswana bit of the CIA World Fact Book to put off starting my assignment. Obviously, I'm mostly interested in the economics section. It turns out that Botswana, united healthy democracy though it may be, has pretty much the highest income inequality in the world. In 1993 it had a GINI index of 63, which is definitely a good deal higher than any other democracy.

Interestingly, especially for a healthy democracy, the same conservative party has been in power since they started having elections back in 1965. I think that Botswana provides a very interesting lesson for African elites who want to get rich but also not die. The most similar country I can think of is Singapore. Although there are plenty of other countries who have shown that you don't need to give the poor a lot. Giving them "enough" is usually enough. I also think that avoiding violence makes "enough" a much lower number for most people. Oddly, I don't really have a problem with all that. Maybe it's my age showing, but I'd rather raise children in Botswana and Singapore than most countries in the world. Personally, if I have enough and it truly is enough I don't really mind what other people do.