As practiced by the United States, Free Markets aren’t so free. They tend to require a lot of force. At that, this country excels. From silencing word of the 1791 slave revolt in Haiti to ensure that enslaved people here wouldn’t find out about it to backing cold war coups in Guatemala, Iran and Chile...when it comes to keeping economies set up the way corporations like it, it takes more than a village. It takes an army. Lots of them. 

What’s the fallout? A case in point is Pakistan--long-time US ally, staunch free marketeer, and recipient of massive US military aid. Pervez Musharraf stepped down on Monday with impeachment pending and his nation in profound trouble.

Worried about instablility? The fact that every Pakistani city faces a severe food crisis doesn’t help. The price of gas -- used for cooking in many Pakistani homes -- is up 30 percent; With wheat being smuggled into Afghanistan to feed NATO’s troops – the price of that crop is up 20 percent. According to a June 2008 survey, an astounding 86 percent of Pakistanis find it more and more difficult to afford flour on a daily basis.

Georgia’s not so different. Outside of Tbilisi the lives of ordinary people have only improved marginally over the last two decades. Poverty’s rampant. When the Bush administration set up an 18-month, $65m program aimed at training and equipping Georgia's impoverished army – it was overlooking one detail: the nation's impoverished people. If we've learned anything over the course of the twentieth century, it is that building up a nation's military does nothing for the well being of its people, let alone for democracy.

From New Orleans to Islamabad, the United States likes to talk about security. But look around. After so much money spent here and everywhere on security – how secure do you feel?