Amy Chua Sparknotes

Yale law school professor Amy Chua writes an excellent well thought out novel that parallels from her own experiences as a Chinese ethnic minority. Chua’s thesis is that markets, democracy and ethnic hatred have been the cause of instability in the world. In some areas Chua’s arguments that ethnic hatred resulted from free markets, such as in South Africa, are well thought out and delivered. However in the case study that I will be looking at, in Sierra Leone, her argument fell flat. A free market was not in place and therefore the resulting ethnic hatred had little to do with western values.

In Sierra Leone the free markets did not concentrate wealth in the hands of Lebanese diamond traders. Chua’s reference to free markets in regard to this case study is incorrect. The Lebanese dominated by monopoly franchises and had restricted access to property rights and credit. This is not a free market system. Competition and equality before the law is the essence of capitalist market directed commerce. (Adam Smiths book)

The book review will look at the case study of the diamond traders in Sierra Leone paying attention to crony capitalism, British colonial rule and the author’s definition of free markets.

Chua makes a persuasive argument about how crony capitalism in Sierra Leone between the prime minister and several wealthy …show more content…
The definition of free markets is: “an economic system whereby prices are determined by free competition between privately owned businesses”. This was not the case in Sierra Leone. Government officials in Sierra Leone did the work of the invisible hand and intervened in the economy to grant certain individuals a monopoly to import items pg 42