In this article for The Liberty, I examine why much of the Third World is returning to a Malthusian equilibrium despite decades of aid, technology transfer, and claims of rapid economic progress.

The article argues that, except for China, much of the so-called emerging world has failed to develop the institutions, habits, and rational cultural foundations needed to accumulate capital and sustain civilization. The temporary benefits of Western technology and Chinese demand have masked deeper institutional decay, overpopulation, tribalism, and the destruction of social order.

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