The Endangered Classical Liberal Tradition in Lebanon: A General Description and Survey Results
2015; Atlas Network; Volume: 12; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1933-527X
Autores Tópico(s)Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
ResumoLINK TO ABSTRACT The Lebanese people believe that they live in a free market economy. However, Lebanon is ranked 96th in the Heritage Foundation’s 2014 Index of Economic Freedom and 60th in the Economic Freedom of the World Index. Compared to its Arab neighbors, the country is lagging behind Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Economic freedom had been a tradition in Lebanon dating back to the period of the Phoenicians. This tradition reached a peak, under the influence of the ‘New Phoenicians,’ in the period from independence in 1943 until the beginning of the civil war in 1975 (Gates 1998, 82). Today, however, economic freedom has few prominent advocates. To the extent that classical liberal ideas still have a home at all in Lebanon today, it is among economics professors, because of the focus of economics on voluntary exchange through markets. Like the rest of the population, though, economics professors usually belong to a religious sect and have a corresponding political bent toward a particular party. Lebanon has 18 recognized sects, including Christian (40.5%), Shia (27%), Sunni (27%), and Druze (5.6%). 2 Some sectors of the government and the economy are known to operate under Christian influence, others under Sunni influence, etc. Some subsidies are known to be directed to Shia interests, others to Druze, others to Sunni, etc.
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