Jesse Helms Center Hosts Lecture on Moral Foundations of Free Enterprise

About 100 students, faculty and members of the community filled a lecture hall at rural Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina to hear Houston Baptist University Provost and former Assistant Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Dr. Paul Bonicelli speak about democracy around the world.  The program, funded by a grant by BB&T, was part of the Jesse Helms Center’s annual lecture series on the Moral Foundations of Free Enterprise.

Dr. Bonicelli’s main argument was that people desire democracy, that is, to self-govern and practice political freedoms and without fear of government reprisal.  People also want to shape their economic destinies for themselves and for their families without overbearing government policies or authorities that deny them that ability.

Bonicelli presented examples from history and from his own experiences at USAID of places where there have been gains in economic freedom and social development, which he claims is a logical consequence of economic freedom, on account of democracy.  Places like South Africa, Nicaragua and moderate Islamic states like Saudi Arabia have seen societal development and economic prosperity coincide with democratization.  These examples give him hope for a country like Iraq that has already overcome nearly every negative prediction about democracy’s short term sustainability.

Examples of the opposite, where centralized government control has stifled development both economically and socially, according to Bonicelli, include Cuba, Venezuala, and Russia.  Nations like China and Chile, who have, at times, enjoyed economic success, he considers to be outliers.  He believes the Chinese economic growth is unsustainable with and oppressive government that continues to practice gross human rights abuses and that we could see a movement against the government within our lifetimes.  He also pointed out that General Pinochet in Chile allowed a free market system, but since the system was full of cronyism, the economy in Chile has been subject to wild swings, often erasing what development was achieved.

Speaking about the moral foundations of democracy and free enterprise, Bonicelli consistently presented what some would consider a pessimistic view of human nature, consistent with what Thomas Sowell would call the “constrained view.”  Because humanity tends to seek their own interests and can seemingly practice as many vices as they can virtues, democracy provides the proverbial “check” on their authority.  In places where there is not that check, there is more prevalence of government abuses, kleptocracy, and less concern with the individual needs of the people.  Bonicelli believes that history demonstrates that we cannot count on leaders to act virtuously without these constraints.

The event closed with questions from the audience.  Several students were interested in Bonicelli’s own take on the healthcare legislation before Congress as well as some of his personal experiences working for USAID.

I commend the Jesse Helms Center for hosting these important lectures for students and community.  It is not often that college students get to hear about the benefits of democracy of capitalism since, as studies show, the vast majority of college professors hold views that are far left of the average American.