Many of us are deeply troubled by what is happening in the Ivory Coast. The fundamental issues are being overlooked. The consequences and ramifications of this denouement are also being overlooked. – Ghana Joy OnLine

Dominant Social Theme: There is no reason for concern over the ouster of Laurent Gbagbo. It was the right thing to do. Plus it's a small country and people around the world won't notice.

Free-Market Analysis: We have stayed with the Ivory Coast story because it is not often one gets to watch a meme in the making. But that's how these dominant social themes work. The meme in this case, and it is larger than the Ivory Coast, is that if Africa's teeming countries can become properly managed regulatory democracies then its peoples and institutions can grow wealthy beyond belief. Western power elites will make it so.

Those who understand this sort of analysis also understand that it is not merely theoretical. One can use such meme watching to pick, say, the turning point for gold and silver circa 2001. Those "in the know" were able to pick the turning point almost to the month. These individuals and groups began accumulating gold at US$250 an ounce and now own those same ounces at US$1500. Silver provided the same opportunity.

How does Africa fit in? If one goes along with the promotion now rolling out, one might be apt to grant this perspective – that Africa is the next China. But there are two caveats. One, the Anglo-American power elite that already did this in Japan and China has to have the psychic and economic space to work the same miracle with Africa. Second, African leaders and their peoples have to let it. This second caveat is a big one. The reason the elites are not focusing on South America is because many South American leaders distrust the Anglo-American economic approach. Africa provides less pushback or at least it did.