The same occured in Korea, in Singapore, in Taiwan, all autocratic states that eventually became democratic as their per capita incomes reached a third to half the US level. all were peaceful and successful transitions unlike the foreign press inspired ones in the Arab world.

FORBES: Japan and China: A Clash of Civilizations?

The question for the United States and other democracies is how to keep autocratic powers safely contained.

NEWYORKER: After America

Do you imply that private enterprise should stay out of states where an infrastructure of laws and permissions is lacking and where political structures are autocratic so that there is no electorate worth its name?

ECONOMIST: Letters | The