PRFL:
Private Property
Rule of Law
Free (and fair) Markets
Limited Government
Those are the four characteristics of a country with a robust and thriving economy. And there simply ARE no exceptions. Yes, there can be limited “damage” to these four pillars and they still stand for a time–like a wobbly JENGA™ tower–but these are indeed the pillars.
And historically (remember, we are historical empiricists, here) the closer a country hews to these principles, the better it does economically. And the further a government gets from these principles, the worse it does. All but the most hidebound political hack student of history knows THAT!
Be a historical empiricist! And just know that removing ONE JENGA block doesn’t seem to make a huge difference–at first. It’s just a minor issue! But…