Arab Islamic Belt Bombers vs the Free market

The protesters who are transforming the Middle East have a long list of grievances. At the top, of course, is the suppression of democratic aspirations by authoritarian regimes. But also important is the dangerous state of the region’s economies. Income growth and business productivity are low. Economic growth and job creation have been too slow to keep up with an expanding workforce, and this has led to high unemployment, particularly among the young. In Egypt, at least twenty-five per cent of young workers are jobless. Inflation, even before the recent spike in food and fuel prices, has been a persistent problem throughout the region, and corruption is endemic. The autocracies of the Arab world have been as economically destructive as they’ve been politically repressive.

The New Yorker is rooting for the free market