If ASEAN managed to convey to them that allowing aid in was a smaller threat to their rule than keeping it out, it is to be congratulated.
Optimists counter that a degree of pragmatism characterises both kinds of governments, that there are strong links between them, that the oil companies are happier with their rule than they let on, and that capitalism is alive and well in all these countries.
In some cases, their rules are tougher than what the federal government has at its disposal — especially in California under a landmark privacy statute adopted in 2018.
While Bill Clinton and his administration courted business from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, certain agencies in the 1990's were far more aggressive in their rules and enforcement than in the prior administration.
Last month, the New York University economist William Easterly argued that observers tended to give too much credit to leaders for development gains when progress might have happened despite their rule, rather than because of it.
An American-trained outfit created to fight the Việt Cộng, the Special Forces were better-equipped, better-trained and better-paid than the regular army, but were used by the Ngô family as a private army for repressing dissidents and protecting their rule, rather than fighting for the national interest.
Fifteen societies have changed their rules, to require more than a simple majority vote to force conversion.
Swiss bankers claim that their rules are now tighter than those of many of their competitors abroad, including Britain and the United States.Better tax than snoopBut the real issue in Swiss banking secrecy is taxation, says Daniel Zuberbühler, the Federal Banking Commission's director.
In an interview, two of the researchers who led the study told me that although they had only examined Reddit, their findings might be applicable to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which tend to enforce their rules against individuals, rather than groups.
