The freedom to be exploited

Unsurprisingly, nations with massive oil revenues fared poorly in a new study of government corruption. Iraq and Pakistan fared conspicuously badly, our amigos in Venezuela tied with the notoriously unctuous Zimbabawean leadership, and most of the former Soviet republics landed in the bottom third. Nordic countries seemed to be the least corrupt, while the U.S. tied for 17th place with Belgium and Ireland.

It's not an auspicious study for those who believe that the liberation of Iraq will spread freedom and democracy and thus transform the Middle East. The organization's chairman writes, "Without strict anti-bribery measures, the reconstruction of Iraq will be wrecked by a wasteful diversion of resources to corrupt elites." If we understood that the liberation of Iraq referred primarily to an economic freedom, it seems, we can expect that free market to be thoroughly exploited.