Editor: Re: It's imperative not to confuse capitalism with democracy, letter to the editor, Feb. 28, and Ideals depend on each other, letter to the editor, March 5 R. Brown's letter was one of the best letters I have seen in a long time. In response to Bob Orrick's letter on the same subject, I respectfully disagree.
Orrick writes: "For capitalism to succeed, democracy is a necessary ingredient; for democracy to succeed, capitalism is a prime component." Unfortunately, this does not always ring true.
Hong Kong is a prime example of successful capitalism. Hong Kong was a British colony and democracy was only an afterthought just prior to the handover to China in 1997.
The People's Republic of China is an extreme example of capitalism. To date, democracy has yet to be established there.
Capitalism does really well under corrupt and undemocratic regimes where regulations protecting
labour, human rights and environment are bypassed in favour of capital investment.
Tom Steele
