In an unequal world, violence protects property

There is a lot of high-minded concern that Africans don't respect private property rights -- but don't Western companies own most of what is valuable in Africa, anyway? Why should desperately poor Africans respect this?

I appreciate the Western impulse to impose by force that which could almost always be resolved peacefully by another means; for example, by taking the concerns of Africans seriously. When it comes to government by the privileged few, every problem looks like a nail, and requires a hammer.