The theme for the first panel of the second day of the American Enterprise Institute’s Symposium with His Holiness the Dalai Lama was the ‘Power of Free Enterprise’. Panellists were Hernando de Soto from the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, Shiv Khemka of the Global Education & Leadership Foundation and Vishnu Swaminathan of Ashoka Innovators for the Public. Sadanand Dhume was moderator. 

 He asked Hernando de Soto to elaborate on something he’s said elsewhere, that in many developing countries the problem is not too much capitalism, but not enough.De Soto began by suggesting we ask why so many have so little and so few have so much. He asserted that since the fall of the Berlin Wall it has been clear that free market capitalism has won. He explained that for there to be development capital is crucial because it grants the opportunity to generate surplus value. He introduced the idea that capitalism depends on agreements, on property documents and said that 70% of the world’s population does not control anything by means of paper and the rule of law. The situation reminded him of Wittgenstein’s answer when asked, “What is the Universe?” - “Things in relation to each other.”

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