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Comment by dsplittgerber | Hacker News Reader

There actually was an analysis lately that showed the highest level of economic freedom in autocratic regimes (Singapur), not in democracies.

Edit: Heritage Economic Freedom Index: Autocracy Wins Again http://athousandnations.com/2010/01/20/heritage-economic-fre...

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Only 2 of the top 10 countries on this list are autocratic. In both Singapore and Hong Kong, most of the economic freedoms are for colonialists and not for the local Chinese. Hong Kong has some of the greatest economic disparity of any city in the world. Finally, both cities are open markets with cultural ties, special relationships, and proximity to the largest closed market on the planet, China. They are both port cities, essentially gateways to the hinterland. My point is I think autocracy has less to do it than this article would have you believe.

Look up where Singapore is located. It's not even close to china.

I know where Singapore is, I dun need to look it up... Singapore is in a great spot for a port--lots of easy-to-travel water to the east and to the west and big trading partners in all directions. But, besides Hong Kong and maybe Keelong (in Taiwan) I'm not aware of any closer "Chinese" ports.

Anyway, this is a digression. Your remark does nothing for your original point.

Geographical locality matters somewhat less than the fact that any ship sailing from China to India, the Middle East, Africa, or Europe passes trough Singapore.

In both Singapore and Hong Kong, most of the economic freedoms are for colonialists and not for the local Chinese.

As a Singaporean Chinese, I must say, wtf? There are practically no colonialists here, and I've never experienced a lack of economic freedom. I probably agree more with you than maxklein in terms of ideology, but please, get your facts right.

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