There is no doubt that the initiative of individuals and communities has been stifled by the state. But the idea that foreign investors will flock to the Horn is just plain silly. So the market will be no magic bullet for the Horn. And in fact production for the world market can be held accountable for many of the region s present problems. In a way starvation itself has its roots in market logic.
Food is a commodity.
The new governments in Ethiopia and Eritrea created after the overthrow of the Mengistu junta are far from being mad devotees of free-market doctrine. Both have their roots in a flexible socialism - one that looks to what works rather than ideology. And some things have worked in Ethiopia in the past. Befekadu Degefe, who teaches economics at Addis University, points out that his country s inflation rate has always been remarkably low by African standards. Ethiopian Airlines or the Credit and Commercial Bank, for example.