The Rule of Law, Corruption, and Prosperity

When the rule of law is lost, even great nations disintegrate.

by Richard Rahn
November 8, 2016

What is the single most important determinate as to whether a country is rich or poor? It is not the level of government spending, taxation, regulation or monetary stability — even though those factors are very important. It is the rule of law, whereby the rules are known and fair, equally applied to all, and where corruption is not tolerated.

The end of great countries and empires was most often caused by internal decay, not by foreign enemies — ancient Greece and Rome being prime examples. History’s lesson is:

When the rule of law is lost, even great nations disintegrate.

The end of the Soviet Union and the communist countries in Eastern Europe had more to do with the pervasive corruption and lack of the rule of law within the regimes than external pressure.

President Ronald Reagan, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II were able to topple the communist regimes largely with words because their foundations had become so rotten that the for…