Political Institutions and Economic Development: A Study in Economic Discrimination and Political Philosophy

Abstract

Providing what we believe ought to be the economics perspective, this paper introduces an approach to understanding the economic and political forces driving economic development. Adopted here is a vertical view of the world, through which the notion of economic discrimination (ED) plays a central role. ED, it is argued is a necessary condition for economic development, while its negation, egalitarianism, which seems much prevalent in modern-day democracies. is the seed to economic digression. This paper also traces the growth of egalitarianism in classical Western political philosophy, and also weighs the importance and relevance of the ED paradigm in the backdrop of classical and neoclassical economic thought. To further illustrate its usefulness, we speculate on the development potentials of various types of regimes utilizing a political-economy axis.