Thank you Dr Zimmerman. It would seem that Brazil has reached the level of state control that we all could spontaneously descend to unless there is the required 'eternal vigilence'.

I agree with the first poster,

Brazil sounds like hell on earth...

mind you I suspect Brazil shares similar characteristics of stateism with most the rest of Latin America, regardless the apparent / public 'leaning' of the government, including Peron, Chavas and Galtieri.

Hence, corruption these days is adjoined with drug manufacture, murder and the biggest growth industry, kidnapping.

The most significant danger from unbridled government is the elimination of the individual, destruction of self reliance, crushing personal motivation and ommission of all the opportunities which individuals see but governments are blind to and of course, the glorification of the unaccountable bureaucrat. The parasite which is quietly selling everyone down the river in the name of the "common good" (the goal of "communism", by any other name).

Stateism... just another example of

Power Corrupts....
Absolute Power Corrupts... Absolutely.

This critique is interesting, and accords with my preconceptions on the subject of how an economy ought to run. But it doesn't explain why Brazil is the most successful South American economy.

GY "This critique is interesting, and accords with my preconceptions on the subject of how an economy ought to run. But it doesn't explain why Brazil is the most successful South American economy."

setting a bar for a "the most successful South American economy" is not too strenuous a task when compared to the rest of them...

instead of "hurdling" over that bar, the real challenge would be to limbo under it.....

The difference between Australia and Brazil is our Protestant Christian Heritage. We are rapidly moving to the Brazilian model. The Roman Catholic model where all power comes down from above, has been adopted by all State governments, and legislated to be illegal by the Commonwealth. I don’t know whether Paul Keating was a Protestant Christian, but his government legislated like he was.

Why is Brazil so prosperous. It has enormous natural wealth, and has huge resources. That generates lots of money. That means it has some wealth to redistribute, but not necessarily in a fair way. In Australia the concept of property, is that Almighty God owns everything, but we the people have it upon trust, and exclusive use of it, subject only to the Crown.

Where we are heading in the wrong direction, is in the misconception that each State can have its own Crown. There can only be one Almighty God. To a Protestant Christian that is axiomatic. To a Roman Catholic Almighty God is subject to an agency deal, and the Pope is his agent. That is why the Roman Catholic Church was so annoyed with the English. The Celtic heritage of the United Kingdom, found its expression in the direct study of the Holy Bible, and in the rejection of rule by a single man.

It also found expression in the choice given an Englishman, in the Statute of Westminster the First, from 1275, of the right to free election. Election does not mean a vote every three years. It means a choice. If an Englishman as opposed to a Roman Catholic was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, he could always elect in the Celtic tradition, to pay a fine to the King, rather than have the King at great expense lock him up or kill him.

This choice is supposed to be given to everyone. It is currently not given by Judges. In fact it has not been given in NSW since 1970. KR should move to ensure Australia does not become a Roman Catholic State like Brazil