The reality is that it comes down to two styles of government. With economic policy being the biggest problem in North Africa, the countries with the two strongest economies; the United States and China have two very different governments. The United States is the proponent for Democracy around the world, and would love to see North Africa fall into a Democratic system. China on the other hand uses a Communist system of government. This is where the opportunity cost evaluation come in. These countries have a choice ahead of them that will effect their countries for years to come.
The people of these countries need to do an opportunity cost analysis of the two governmental systems and decide what they feel is best for them. I will offer you an example of some the opportunity costs that are associated with the choices ahead of these countries.
In the case of choosing democracy the countries of North Africa can expect some things for certain:
1. Capitalism under the Democratic banner of government does not always mean assured economic growth. The people of North Africa need to make sure that they do certain things with in the government in order to be able to reach a future where economic stability is attainable. This means that steps like bulking up infrastructure and increasing education need to be taken in order for capitalism to flourish (or any economic policy for that matter).
2. With Democracy and Capitalism, some people will still be impoverished. Unfortunately, the capitalistic economy does not allow for every single person to attain a standard of living that a lot of the North African countries are fighting for.
3. Democracy is a very fragile thing. With corruption running rampant in these countries, we can not assume that these potentially new democratic states will be governed properly and fairly.
If the North African countries choose a communist system like that of China they can expect a few things:
1. Communism is not entirely fair. A true Marxist state has never been attained. People in power still exploit those that are not, even though everyone is said to be equals.
2. Human rights are not truly a priority. Sure the communist Chinese government may be able to promise economic growth but often, as is the case in China, human rights get tossed to the wayside. For example the Chinese government executes the most people in the world annually, and have a track record of poor human rights (e.g. Tibet)
3. Often Communism is not far from Despotism. If we hearken back to both the USSR under Stalin and the Peoples Republic of China under Mao, we see that communism often means tyrannical rule under a self motivated ruler. Even though communist states are run by a party, that party often is just represented by one single figure. The people of these countries have been under despots for as long as they can remember, and the thought of that happening again might be enough to scare them away.
The reality of this situation is that economic policy should and probably will play a large role in deciding what government these countries will choose. At this point democracy might not work because these countries lack the strong middle class that holds government responsible. We as Westerners tend to see our system of democracy to be the best form of government, and in most respects that is true. But the fact of the matter is that the communist party of China has been able to lift a substantial amount of people out of poverty while the Democracy demonstrated by the United States has been faltering a bit in the same category.
This is a perfect example of how opportunity cost should be weighed. These countries have the scarcity of not only time but the peoples willingness to listen to ideas, they have the choices of either Communism or Democracy, and they must weigh the value of both systems. Opportunity cost at its finest.
