Economist W.H. Hutt criticized South Africas apartheid but argued that unconstrained majoritarianism combined with capital mobility could result in instability that could make previously oppressed groups worse off even with electionsdue to the likely emergence of a populist strongman. Thus, his work stands as a powerful free-market critique of discrimination and a precursor to subsequent research on the critical importance of institutional design in transitional democracies seeking to overcome colonialisms legacies.
The Danger of Deplorable Reactions
W. H. Hutt on Liberalism, Populism, and the Constitutional Political Economy of Racism
By Phillip W. Magness, Art Carden, Ilia Murtazashvili
This
article
appeared in
the Spring 2022 issue of The Independent Review.
Contemporary PoliticsCulture and SocietyDemocracyEconomyElections and Election LawFree Market EconomicsGovernment and PoliticsPhilosophy and ReligionRace Issues
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