SA’s shrinking economic freedom represents lost opportunity and further decline
For each resident of a society, increased uncertainty about the social and political constraints under which one lives will reduce one’s ability to make wise choices in the present and to plan for the future. When a government increases its role in the lives of those who live within its jurisdiction, the complexity of the government’s structure and its relationship with its residents will also increase. Some elements of that relationship might reduce uncertainty in several aspects of life. This is both true and beneficial when the government limits itself to the application of the rule of law in the protection of its citizens’ lives, liberty, and property. But when a government’s role grows beyond what is necessary to protect these essentials, the overall effect is increasingly to limit freedom of action and to impose greater uncertainty on a citizen’s pursuit of a livelihood. The Economic Freedom of the World index (EFW) offers South Africans detailed insights into the levels of po...
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