ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses several fundamental and related issues concerning the relationship between property rights and economic development in the Belgian Congo. Securing property rights from expropriation is perhaps the most important state function because it defines economic freedom to own, to produce, and to freely exchange. The rulers of the Belgian Congo emphasized the fact that the role of the state should be limited to safeguard public order and the rule of law, but leave the economy to the private sector. Throughout, the colonial state respected market role in the development process and saw itself as an economic partner with business. Although it had shares in most major private companies, it let the private sector manage these shares on the market basis. In the final analysis, the capitalist system worked in the Belgian Congo because the colonial state protect private ownership and never renege on this commitment to make the Belgian Congo a real friendly environment for business.
