South Africa Tried Taking White Farms, Now Their Economy Is in a Tailspin
It’s a fact that South African leadership wants to take land from white farmers. The agricultural African nation’s “expropriation bill” was crafted specifically to end racial disparity “once and for all.”
Although the bill was withdrawn after farmers vowed to fight back, it’s already too late. The government has proven how far they are willing to go in the name of social justice.
The market responded, as it always does, and the South African Rand is still tanking. This is the second consecutive quarter of economic decay, meaning South Africa is officially in a recession.
And why wouldn’t it be?
Although South Africa discriminates based on skin color, the free market doesn’t. President Donald Trump’s policies have shown that a freer market means less unemployment and more wealth, regardless of race.
There’s a reason the United States of America is immigrants’ number one destination. The Constitution and our libertarian origins have created one of the best market environments in history.
When people are allowed free investment and the ability to reap the rewards, economies thrive. When people are overtaxed and regulated, economies wither and die. Take a look at Venezuela if you don’t believe me. They are out of food, toilet paper, and even running water.
The surprising thing is South Africa could have prevented this. The recent history of their northern neighbor, if they cared to pay attention, held some valuable lessons.
Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, made the exact same mistake for the lofty goal of social justice.
Laws passed there in the early 2000s forced many white farmers to give up their land. Despite his plan of farm theft working, Dictator Robert Mugabe soon wanted the farmers to return.
After achieving social justice, why would they ever want whites to return?
Believe it or not, social justice doesn’t exactly work outside of a gender studies classroom. Zimbabwe discovered this firsthand after their economy did things that would make a stock broker sick to his stomach.
Once known as the ‘Breadbasket of Africa,’ Zimbabwe is now the textbook example of hyperinflation, the result of one disastrous economic policy after another.
Million-dollar notes were common, and eventually cash was printed in denominations as high as 500 billion. Bread could cost upwards of 10 million Zimbabwean Dollars.
The farmers (unsurprisingly) never returned, and now over 25 percent of Zimbabwe is starving. The country has recently begged for international aid to keep its people alive.
The reason Zimbabwe is starving isn’t racial and it has nothing to do with historical inequalities either.
As South Africa is about to find out, it’s because the market never responds well to tyranny.
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