Ever heard the one about the two economists who fall into a mass grave? " How are we going to get out of here?" asks the first economist. "Imagine a ladder," says the second.
The National Center for Policy Analysis recently sent out a press release with an astonishing headline: "World is Becoming More Peaceful Because Killing People is Becoming Too Expensive, Study Says." Senior fellow Gerald Scully examined 31 nations in which dictators had killed over 10,000 of their own citizens. Scully found that genocide doesn't pay: "Even ruthless dictators need tax revenue and you can't collect taxes from dead people." Scully argues that mass murder has declined of late as governments have begun to appreciate the cost. "The Soviet Union and China reached the point where the governments couldn't afford to kill any more," Scully continues. "On the other hand, per capita income is so low in some countries -- particularly in Africa -- that dictators and ruling groups still find killing their own people in their self-interest." Oh, so that's how we explain Hitler. Thanks so much for the information!