Here is some validation that something is wrong with the policies of our government:

"I do not believe the appearance of small enclaves of prosperous economic sectors in the midst of large undeveloped or informal sectors marks the dawn of an uneven but nevertheless inevitable transition to capitalist systems. Rather, the existence of prosperous enclaves in a sea of poverty conceals an abysmal retardation in a nation's capacity to create, respect and make available formal property rights to the majority of its citizens".

The above excerpt is from The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto. This book must be made compulsory reading for all our politicians (come to think of it, a Dummies version would be more in line with their intellectual prowess).

Though I sort of agree with the central tenet of this book (i.e. it is the failure of poor countries to formalise the undocumented economic activities of the majority of its citizens that prevents them from breaking the cycle of poverty), I have some minor reservations:

1. How much of the developed countries' progress can be attributed to their exploitation of third world countries?

2. Why didn't anybody think of this before?

The problem with any theory of economics is that, unlike almost all scientific theories, it is practically impossible to prove or disprove. My exclusion of economics from scientific disciplines is not accidental, BTW. See here for more on this.