Free Trade, Not Free Lunch, For Africa

Kudlow writes today about Live8 and the push to give more to Africa. He speaks as do many: charity has its place, but freedom, free enterprise and the unseating of tyrants is what Africa really needs. Here's his summary:

Money from the Millenium Challenge Account should avoid dictators like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Also Obasango in nigeria, which is a major oil producer, but whose stock market is off 30% in the past year because of widespread corruption.

Private industry efforts like the Cisco Alliance are investing in the internet. So are the Last Mile Initiative and the Digital Freedom Initiative. This is all to the good.

But the key point is that open trade, honest government and free market capitalism is ultimately the best way to bring Africa into the modern economic world of globalization and prosperity.